Character Analysis: To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

“Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired old town when I knew it. In rainy weather the streets turned to red slop; grass grew on the sidewalks, the courthouse sagged in the square. Somehow, it was hotter then: a black dog suffered on a summer’s day; bony mules hitched to Hoover carts flicked flies in the sweltering shade of the live oaks on the square. Men’s stiff collars wilted by nine in the morning. Ladies bathed before noon, after their three-o’clock naps, and by nightfall were like soft teacakes with frostings of sweat and sweet talcum...There was no hurry, for there was no where to go, nothing to buy and no money to buy it with, nothing to see outside the boundaries of Maycomb.” (Lee 6) In Harper Lee’s classic story To Kill a Mockingbird,

1. (56-59) Scout admires Ms. Maudie because she’s honest and kind to them, even though they are just children. On page 59, Harper Lee writes, “She had never told on us, had never played cat-and-mouse with us, she was not at all interested in out private lives. She was our friend.”

​In Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout Finch, and her brother Jem, learn the importance of seeing things through other people's eyes. At the beginning of the story, the people living in Maycomb County, can be considered "mockingbirds" because they are innocent. Their father, Atticus, leads as a strong example while defending Tom Robinson, a black man convicted for rape. The residents of Maycomb (besides the Finches) fail to see situations through other people's eyes. For example, when the trial takes place, most people do not have empathy toward Tom Robinson, resulting in some of those "mockingbirds" becoming killed. Trying to see situations through other people's eyes can keep someone from hurting somebody who is innocent.

Harper Lee’s renowned book To Kill a Mockingbird is highly praised for the lessons it teaches, it’s persuasive humor and how it tells a story of growth. It tells the story of Scout Finch as she learns and and grows in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930’s. Scout has a brother, Jem, who leads scout on adventures and through trials as they are taught about racism, empathy and courage. Scout's perspective allows a look into how growing up in her circumstances has affected her personally. (need another sentence here to lead to thesis) Harper Lee uses the characterization of Jem to show an alternate insight to growing up through the way he strays from being moral, how he tries to be more independent, and by when he reaches his breaking point.

It is a sin to kill a mockingbird. The mocking bird only makes music. It does not poop on you or build its nests in unwanted places; it just sings. They do not do any harm to you or your well being. Therefor, a mockingbird does not deserve to be harmed.

After Mrs.Dubose died in To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus explained to Jem and Scout why he admired Mrs.Dubose’s courage even though she never showed courage physically,she showed courage morally by stopping her addiction. “I wanted you to see what real courage is instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand”(93). Atticus is trying to teach Jem and Scout that being courageous can be illustrated in other forms other than physical courage in order to be considered a hero. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses characterization to reveal heroism is not only about showing physical courage but it is also about showing moral and intellectual courage. Mrs.Dubose showed moral courage when she stopped her

In To Kill a Mockingbird Atticus’s idea of what it means to be a man and his beliefs are a large factor in Scout’s personal development. In a thesis paper by Laura Hakala at Georgia Southern University, she explains how “[Atticus] completely subverts expectations by acting stereotypically feminine, [or] only bend conventions by demonstrating features that differ from the dominant male traits in his community” (14). This refers to Atticus preferring reading over hunting, while he is not demonstrating a stereotypically feminine trait, he is demonstrating features that clash with how the town views he should act. However, despite the backlash that Atticus receives, the ideology of acting in the way that the situation requires, regardless of the

When children grow up, they learn about moral lessons through experiences. Five years old kid usually are innocent and believe that everyone is fair and kind. However, they learn to distinguish between good and evil as they continue their journey of life. This is also true for the two young protagonists, Jem and Scout, in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. In their small town called Maycomb, they learn various lessons from neighbors like Mrs. Dubose and Boo Radley, while observing through a trial where an innocent, black man named Tom Robinson gets convicted for a crime. With scenes like these, they learn the true definition of human nature and become less innocent through the wisdom of Mrs. Dubose, Boo Radley’s protection, and Tom Robinson’s fate.

One should not be judged by their physical appearance but should be judged by their work ethic and response to problems that occur in their life. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird the main character's father Atticus, is a very respectable man with a very good work ethic. Due to this he is a very well known man throughout the town. In the novel Atticus has many obstacles he must overcome and problems he must resolve. Through all the of these times Atticus uses perseverance to get through them, including raising Jem and Scout, his two kids, by himself. Also Atticus used perseverance to overcome the persecution for representing a colored man in court. When characters persevere they are able to create positive changes for others.

People who do nothing but good are often tainted with rumors and harmed by other people. Harper Lee explores this idea in her novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. To Kill a Mockingbird is a story about a seven-year-old girl named Scout growing up in the nineteen-thirties, her ten-year-old brother Jem and her friend named Dill who is the same age as she is. She lives in a very tight knit county called Maycomb in Alabama where everybody knows and hangs out with each other. However, there is one house where the inhabitants never come out of, the Radley house, where an old couple lives with their two adult sons.

In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee addresses many important and sensitive issues. Some of the issues include racism, discrimination and social class. In the early 1900's most of the people were racist and discriminatory, therefore the author trying to show the look and feel of that time.

While ideals that pertain to salient values such as insight and understanding are believed important by many, these same ideals are unexpected from some people because of different backgrounds and lifestyles. However, people who are younger, come from an underprivileged place, and people who come from a lower social status can still have the same insight and understanding regardless of their age and background. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses many of her characters to show that despite their differences, they still can have the same ideals that other people have. As the main character, Scout is a principal example of this. She illustrates these points through her actions in the story, even though she is only six years old at the beginning of the novel.

In Harper Lee’s “To Kill A Mockingbird,” Mayella Ewell, a young woman as well as the daughter of Bob Ewell, lives a life of insolence and isolation in the town of Maycomb. As a Ewell, which they are familiarized as being vulgar, uneducated, and indigent, Mayella is disrespected by the people of Maycomb as well as by her father. During the court case, Atticus shows courtesy towards Mayella by addressing her as a miss and a ma’am, which is not surprising for his values of equality. Mistaking his manners with sarcasm, she replies with, “Won’t answer a word you say as long as you keep mockin’ me” (pg.181). Harper Lee is demonstrating the amount of disregard Mayella faces in her life, so much that courtesy can’t be identified as just that. Mayella finds that Atticus is ridiculing her for what she doesn’t have, respect from others. With a reputation such as Mayella’s, people treat her like an outcast. Her lonely life can be a reason to explain why she always asked for Tom Robinson’s company, she wanted to experience friendship and perhaps love for the first time. Her loneliness was so clear to see, even Scout, who still has their childhood-innocent mind, can see through it. Scout compares Mr.Dolphus Raymond’s “mixed children” to Mayella because they both don’t know where to stand in their social class, “white people wouldn’t have anything to do with her because she lived among pigs; Negroes wouldn’t have anything to do with her

“Do not give up the beginning is always the hardest... keep moving forward !!!” - Riza Budiman. I want to inspire people. I want people to look at me and say, “Because of YOU, I didn't give up.” So no. I am not giving up, not for anything. It is not okay to give up even though you're going to lose.

Imagine you are a lawyer tasked with an impossible case, and everybody in your community is against you, but still there is a shred of hope you cling to. What might that be you ask? That to which you cling are your morals. In To Kill a Mockingbird Atticus Finch had been given the Tom Robinson case, where a black man was convicted of raping a white woman. As a single father of two children, he continues to reinforce his values throughout the trial and during his daunting task of raising his children. In To Kill A Mockingbird what Harper Lee suggests about the nature of morals is that you should try to stand up for what you believe in even if people oppose or reject your ideals. Even when faced with an insurmountable opposition you should stand up for your morals because in the end if your don't follow your beliefs you are just contributing to the problem. We should try to create a voice for what we believe in and impress that upon the next generation so they can continue to exercise their beliefs to make the world a better place.