Analysis of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
In 1960, Harper Lee published her critically acclaimed book To Kill a
Mockingbird. Only a year after being published the American classic novel was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in fiction as well as the
Brotherhood Award of the National Conference of Christians and Jews.
Gregory Peck stared as Atticus in the successfully adapted 1962 motion picture of To Kill a Mockingbird that won an Academy Award. This book is based on many childhood experiences that Lee herself encountered growing up in Southern Alabama. This book is based on three children that learn about goodness and courage throughout their adolescence. In the course of their growing up the children do a great deal of
…show more content…
The majority of
Maycomb's townspeople have lost all of their money and are barely getting by. Some of the populace get paid for their services not by money but what the customer can afford to part with. The three year span that this story covers utilizes the time at which is at hand.
One form of symbolism is the actions of the children in this novel. For instance, the building of a snowman by Jem and Scout one winter is very symbolic. There was not enough snow to make a snowman entirely out of snow, so Jem made a foundation out of dirt, and then covered it with what snow they had. The creation of the snowman by Jem can be seen as being symbolic of Jem trying to cover up the black man and showing that he is the same as the white man, that all human beings are virtually the same. Also the actions of Atticus Finch are also symbolic of the prejudice
South. It may not seem so at first, but the shooting of the rabid dog by
Atticus was greatly illustrative. Here the rabid dog, Tim Johnson, represents prejudice, and how, like a rabid dog, it spreads its disease throughout the South. Atticus Finch is seen as the hero as he kills racism and prejudice, not allowing it to spread itself any further. Realistically,
Atticus was unable to kill the prejudice of Maycomb county.
The story of To Kill a mockingbird takes place in Alabama during the
Depression. It is narrated by the main character, Scout Finch. Her
The book "To Kill a Mockingbird" is a story of life in an Alabama town in the 30's. The narrator, Jean Louise Finch, or Scout, is writing of a time when she was young, and the book is in part the record of a childhood, believed to be Harper Lee’s, the author of the book..
Jem and Scout, throughout “To Kill A Mockingbird,” learn to consider things from other people’s perspectives. Atticus, Jem and Scout’s father, says “you never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view – until you climb into his skin and walk around in” (Lee 39). They learn this through experiences with their neighbor Boo Radley as they mature beyond their years. At the beginning of the novel, Jem and Scout make fun of Boo and assume that all of the rumors going around about him are true. However, later on in the story the children grow an admiration for Boo and learn to understand him. As they matured, Jem and Scout naturally learned many life lessons of appreciation, respect, and courage
Harper Lee is best known for writing the Pulitzer Prize-winning bestseller To Kill a Mockingbird. The novel takes place during the depression in Alabama with the main character, Scout, viewing her lawyer father, Atticus, defending a wrongly accused black man of rape. The reader gets to understand Scout’s childhood view of this controversial situation. Scout’s character in to Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is really the author’s own life playing out in the novel, which is most likely why this novel is thought to be one of the best American Novels of the 20th century.
As children grow up, they open their eyes to the harsh truths in the world around them that they once did not understand or question. This is experienced by the main characters of Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird. The story is of a girl called Scout and her older brother, Jem, who go through the trials of growing up in the fictional small Southern town of Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s. Racism is rampant in the mindset of the townspeople, shown when the children’s lawyer father, Atticus, takes the case of an obviously innocent African-American man and they convict him in their hearts before the trial even starts. Through this all, we can see the theme of loss of innocence in the children. Lee uses characterization to portray
During the 1930's prejudice and racism was spread through the U.S. For example in Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird, the small town of Maycomb struggles with these aspects. Each character of the novel has a strong personality. Scout Finch is tough, always has an opinion, and is a tomboy. On the other hand Boo Radley stays hidden most of the time, but we all know he is actually a friend to Jem and Scout. Then there is Tom Robinson, a hardworking, strong, and innocent man. But what do all these characters have in common? They can all be analyzed as "mockingbirds". Throughout the novel each of their innocence is destroyed in some way. In Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird several of these characters become a symbolic mockingbird including
‘ It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do. Mrs. Dubose won, all ninety-eight pounds of her. According to her views, she died beholden to nothing and nobody. She was the bravest person I ever
There are many different types of symbols in our world today; in English literature as well as all around us on a day-to-day basis. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird we follow a little girl, Scout, as she faces the truth about the world and its injustice. The central and most obvious symbol of this novel, as well as the title of the book, is the mockingbird. It represents the innocence and injustice in this story, represented by Tom Robinson and the events surrounding the trial, but also sets the theme of racial prejudice.
The United States has been dealing with the issue of racism ever since Columbus landed on Plymouth Rock. The Indians were the first to endure harsh racism in this country. Pilgrims moving west ran them off their land wiping out many tribes and destroying many resources in their path. However, when many think of racism today, the issue of blacks and whites is the first to come to mind. African Americans have come a long way in today’s society as compared to the society their ancestors had to overcome. But just as far as we have come, there is still a long way we must go. Harper Lee, author of To Kill A Mockingbird, clearly depicts racism and what it was like in the nineteen-thirties through the
The novella 'To Kill a Mockingbird' by Harper Lee, is a very well known book which uses symbolism to further push the issue of racism. The way the ideas of racism and further issues are shown through smaller parts of the book such as the Mad Dog Atticus is forced to shoot and other things are represented by the Mockingbird itself, this essay will explain how some of these important symbols may be interpreted. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses the mad dog to represent Prejudice and the Mockingbird to represent racism.
Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mocking Bird addresses the themes of racial prejudice and social justice. Atticus represents the ethical and liberal perspective diverging from the prejudice ignorance of Maycomb’s community. His main value he lives “You never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them.” Shows his justice perspective on life He’s convinced that humus teach his children these values to his two children, Jem and Scout.
Throughout human history, the transformation from naïve children to mature adults has been of profound importance. The various customs to prove maturation in different cultures shows the widespread significance of this transition. Within literature, the variety of passages to maturation spanning from peaceful and blissful to depressing and unbearable activities exhibits the embodiment of this tedious process. Bildungsromans embody all of these different paths from the common starting point of birth. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is one such Bildungsroman about a girl’s maturation contrasted with the children around her. Through the utilization of different economic and familial backgrounds during the Great Depression allows Lee to
Social Inequality is an issue that the American society has been struggling to solve for generations. Though we would like to say that this problem has been solved throughout time, it sadly has not gotten much better. In the classic novel To Kill A Mockingbird, author Harper Lee takes us back in time to when this issue was more commonly known, the 1930’s. The Finch family had lived in the town of Maycomb for generations and throughout the book it was clearly shown and stated how both women and blacks were seen differently because of their race or gender. After taking a closer look at Lee’s symbolism, characterization and foreshadowing used to describe the rough times that both women and African Americans had to go through.
The issues presented were Jean Lousie’s grandmother has passed and to make things worse. Her family sold the estate to a local hunting club and nobody has told her anything. Thus, Jean Louise is ever more upset because her world is changing without anyone telling her. But what upsets her more might be the fact that her world hasn't changed; it never was what she thought it was. Her foundation is shaken, when she finds a racist pamphlet in her father's office, and hears her Aunt defending racist beliefs. This opens up Atticus and Henry eyes as they both attend the Maycomb Citizens' Council meeting. Moreover, these issues of not knowing what is going on is happen right now. Our public is blinded by social media, and because of that shows our
Courage is the quality of mind that enables one to face danger with confidence, resolution, and gain a firm control of oneself. Many of the characters in To Kill a Mockingbird showed courage in their own way. Courage can come in many different forms: physical, mental, emotional and moral. Courage is not the only main theme displayed in To Kill a Mockingbird; prejudice and education are also very important themes exhibited throughout the progression of the novel. Through the eyes of Scout Finch, a bright, sensitive and intelligent little girl, these themes of the novel are explored in great depth.
Critical Review of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird To Kill a Mockingbird is set during the 1930's in a small, isolated