A Silent Truth in To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee Essay

Jean Louise ‘Scout’ Finch is the main character in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird and is the narrator of the story. She starts the novel at the age of six, and over the course of the novel, grows to be nine. Racism affects Scout throughout the story mainly because of her father, Atticus Finch, being involved with defending a black man in court that was accused of raping a white woman. Scout also resides in a small Alabama town called Maycomb. This also leads to much prejudice throughout the book.

“We're paying the highest tribute you can pay a man. We trust him to do right. It's that simple.” quote from Harper Lee . To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee portrays the characters in the story in such a way that the reader almost feels as if they are best friends with the character themselves. Three of the main characters stand out to the reader: Jean Louise Finch, otherwise known as Scout, Jeremy Finch, known as Jem, and Atticus, plain old Atticus. These three characters show a great amount of loyalty deep loyalty to all their friends and family. The characters not only show loyalty to all around them, but fight for their loyalty. Out of many characters in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Scout, Jem, and Atticus, display loyalty to all around them.

What it Means to Kill a Mocking Bird: an in depth analysis of the morals in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird

The American actress Goldie Hawn once said that “the biggest lesson you can learn in life, or teach your children, is that life is not castles in the skies, happily ever after. The biggest lesson we have to give our children is truth” (Safire 99). In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch, a lawyer, emphasizes teaching his children the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. To Kill a Mockingbird exposes the reader to several situations in Maycomb County, Alabama, in the 1930s, and reveals Atticus’s beliefs concerning those situations. Atticus’s beliefs can be seen through the lessons he teaches his children, which center around a reliance on coping skills and personal fortitude when dealing with unjust

The people we surround ourselves with will eventually greatly influence how we develop and change over time. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird we follow a young girl named Jean Louise Finch or commonly known as Scout. As she goes through life she comes across many events that will being to shape how her character will turn out to be. Her moral decisions and reactions to the controversial events that occur, play a big role in the way she develops as a person.

Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee represents Atticus Finch as a man with integrity. Atticus, the father of Jem and Scout Finch, constantly tries his best to do what he believes is the moral and honest thing to do. Atticus shows integrity by teaching Jem and Scout to treat others as equals, standing up for what he believes in, and by not changing his beliefs.

In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird the theme is that truth is vital to human relations.

In Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, a reader can learn many lessons that are hidden as the story progresses. It not only is a story about the many life events that surround Scout's life, but it is also about the several truths and lessons about life that are given in the story. One of the themes that stays consistent in the book is many people are complicated and one must get to know a person before judging them. Throughout the story, there are several characters that don't portray the same impression of who they really are. One example of a character who exemplifies this theme is Mrs. Dubose.

In the novel,To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee, the author, brought us into the lives of Jean Louise, seven, Jem, thirteen and Atticus Finch. Living in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama during the 1930s was undeniably difficult for the Finches. Jean Louise, often called Scout, and her brother Jem saw their entire world change when their father, Atticus, was appointed to be Tom Robinson’s lawyer. Tom Robinson was a black man accused of raping a white woman named Mayella Ewell. Despite all that occurred in and out of Maycomb, Atticus proved to be a great role model for his kids.

Prejudice has caused the pain and suffering of others for many centuries. Some examples of this include the Holocaust and slavery in the United States. In to Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee racism was the cause of much agony to the blacks of a segregated South. Along with blacks, other groups of people are judged unfairly just because of their difference from others. The prejudice and bigotry of society causes the victimization of people with differences.

Harper Lee, best known for her book, “To Kill a Mockingbird” was born on April 28, 1926. After reading the book as well as her biography, I feel “To Kill a Mockingbird” was roughly based on Lee’s own life. For instance, just like the character Atticus Finch, lees father was a lawyer as well. In 1919, lee’s father defended two black men accused of murder, a cases ultimately lost due to racial injustice. The novel may have also been influenced by the Scottsboro Trials of the 1930s, where two white women accused nine black men of rape. A similar case which Scout's father defends in the book. Other similarities such as family, friends, upbringing and the resemblance of scout’s personality to her own helped develop the characters as well as a storyline for her book. I felt the purpose of writing this novel was to highlight the injustice due to racial discrimination that existed in the late 1930’s.

Harper Lee’s mother’s name was Frances Cunningham Finch, and was born on August 14th, 1888 to be successful. She was a talented pianist and had a remarkable school year at a private school, for girls. Sadly, when she grew older she suffered from a nervous disorder, which led her to depression. By the time Harper Lee was born, Frances was unavailable to be there for her due to her mental illness. Frances passed away on June 2nd, 1951 in Selma,

In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses the the role of family to demonstrate how parents influence their children through their actions in the community and their parenting of their children. Atticus is patient, and supports his children in their choices. Scout and Jem are lucky to have Atticus, as they will be exceptionally prepared for life. On the opposite side of the spectrum is Mr. Ewell, who demonstrates how inadequate he is with the way that he responds to adversity, as well as how he “parents,” his children. Being selfish rather than thinking of others, as well as not taking responsibility for your actions can lead to one’s downfall, whether in the local community or in life.

Throughout novel To Kill a Mockingbird, author Harper Lee takes over the persona of a young girl named Jean Louise Finch (Scout); and through this character the narrator is able to describe various events that occur through her lifetime in Maycomb, Alabama. Whether they be significant or insignificant these events that occur change the character's temperament over the course of the story. Now the novel doesn't just base itself upon the life of one girl, but that of her whole family and upon so her community. However, someone other than Scout sticks out when generalizing on the character development that is displayed in the book and that is Jeremy (Jem) Finch, Scout's older brother. As the reader learns more about Jem and focuses on the events that he faces they realize that his entire personality and overall attitude are altered when he is visited by Charles Baker "Dill" Harris constantly throughout the summer, and later when he experiences racism first hand in the courtroom .

Before I started researching other resources dealing with the impact of this relationship between Atticus and Jean Louise Finch, I decided to do further research on Harper Lee herself. Surprisingly, this concluded because she was an author this allowed for Lee to use her outlet career her own personal autobiography. The examples that stood out the most was the similarities between Harper Lee and Jean Louise Finch, and between Harper Lee’s father, Amasa Coleman Lee and Atticus Finch. After reading Scout, Atticus & Boo: A Celebration of Fifty Years of To Kill a Mockingbird by Mary McDonagh Murphy we are given the opportunity to understand the makings of Ms. Nelle Harper Lee whose life would be the foundation of Jean Louise ‘Scout’ Finch we meet