How Does Harper Lee Present Her Ideas About Childhood in the Novel 'to Kill a Mockingbird'?

In the 1930s Southern Gothic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses the child and adult perspectives of the narrator to tell the story from the perspective of an innocent child, then adding on to it using the adult perspective, which allows the readers to have a better understanding of events in the story. It allows the narrator to tell the story as they experienced it as a child, which gives the perspective of how they feel about the events. The child’s point of view also makes the novel fit for an older audience, because they most likely understand mature topics that the child narrator does not. Using the two perspectives of the main character, Lee allows the readers to relate to and comprehend the novel better.

In ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ written by Harper Lee, the author has used numerous different methods to portray the themes of innocence, maturity and growing up. These themes were put in so that the audience could become more empathetic towards the characters, especially the protagonists. She depicts these themes through characters, events, using symbolism, imagery and contrast located throughout the book.

'To Kill a Mockingbird' is a novel that was written in the 1960s, but Harper Lee decided to set the novel in the Depression era of the 1930s in a small town in Alabama. Lee provided her readers with a historical background for the affairs of that time and in doing so she exposed the deeply entrenched history of the civil rights in South America. Like the main characters in this novel, Lee grew up in Alabama; this made it easier for her to relate to the characters in the novel as she would have understood what they would have experienced during the period when racism, discrimination and inequality was on the increase within the American society.

To KIll a Mockingbird, a novel written by Harper Lee, is set in a small fictional town of Maycomb Alabama in the 1930’s. The story emphasizes the horrors of prejudiced and its impact on a small southern community. In this novel, Harper Lee introduces the reader to many themes, one of them being that courage is doing what’s right even when the odds of succeeding are poor.

Maycomb was a slow poor town. Harper Lee made it seem like this was a town full of nothing, people move slow and just mumbled around everywhere. At this time everyone was struggling with the great depression and racism colored people were referred to as niggers because people didn't know better they thought it was weird that they weren't the same as everyone else and i think that scared them. Maycomb county had nothing to fear but itself (pg7). Kids didn't go to school back then they had to stay home and help their families survive the long summer days on the farm. Most kids went to school the first day so the sheriff wouldn't come to the front door of their homes. But that is the setting of Maycomb county. My name is Dawson Creasey and im currently reading To Kill A Mockingbird. I think it’s a wonderful adventure book and you can learn many things from

From this, one can see that Scout is still in a juvenile state of mind. Furthermore, one can see how the beliefs of the townspeople have been transferred to Scout, who had taken them as they are considered the social norm. She unknowingly accepts their racism when she thinks of Dolphus Raymond as a “sinful man” because he associates himself with black people and “…had mixed children and didn’t care who knowed it.” (201) She does not understand why he freely displays his transgression to the town when it is acknowledged as a wrong thing to do in Maycomb. However, Scout slowly starts to develop her own sense of right and wrong and create her own judgments of others. Boo was once the monster of her childhood, but after witnessing his cordial and courageous actions, she realizes that “he hadn’t done any of those things…he was real nice.” (281) In the end, Scout matures and sheds her childhood nickname to become the young lady called “Jean Louise” by family and friends. (211, 224, 229) This change in Scout is a result of her loss of innocence and is a focal point in the novel to give a thought-provoking perspective on the events of the book.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a multi-faceted novel which explores the principles and morals of people in the South during the 1930s. Mockingbirds are symbolic of the people that society abuse. Lee narrates the events of the novel using Scout’s voice and uses this technique to add emotional context and develop themes. Themes of racial and classist prejudice are developed by Lee to challenge the reader. These techniques are all powerful ways to alter the views of the reader.

In the novel, to kill a mockingbird, Harper Lee presents three very distinct types of innocence that are portrayed by different characters throughout the novel. A good part in this story’s brilliance is that Harper Lee has managed to use the innocence of a young girl to her advantage. She does this by telling the whole story from a child’s point-of-view. By having an innocent little girl make racial remarks and regard people of color in a way consistent with the community, Lee provides the reader with an objective view of the situation. As a child, Scout can make observations that an adult would often avoid. In addition, readers are also likely to be forgiving of a child’s perception, whereas they would find an adult who makes these

Despite his acts of kindness to the children, including gifts of a “broken old pocket watch” and the reparation of Jem’s pants, he goes unacknowledged by the children. Boo, a man forced into solitude. Symbolises a mockingbird who was abused at the hand of his own father. Like boo, tom struggles with the power mishap of cruelty from someone in a higher social standing. The children’s growth is full recognised when boo’s act of protection at the end of the novel epitomises not only his strong moral nature. But finally the children realise that boo radley is not the gothic themed “six and a half” feet tall, squirrel-eating monster their innocence portrayed him to be, and instead is a kind man who ultimately save the lives of both kids. This epidemic leads scout to the conclusion that punishing boo for him chivalry acts “would be like shootin’ a mockingbird wouldn’t it?”

In the beginning of the book, the children are afraid of Boo Radley and believe that he does many terrible

To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee is a Pulitzer Prize winning novel, that offers a view of life through a young girl’s eyes. The novel is focused on two main themes which are racism and discrimination.

To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee is a beautiful story depicting a family living in the South of the 1930’s, and their struggle against the prejudice which was common to that time. The book centers on Atticus Finch, the father of the family as well as a lawyer, and his fight against prejudice. We see the story unfold through the innocent eyes of his young daughter, Scout, who is free from prejudice and not yet jaded. By viewing events as Scout sees them, the author shows us how to overcome prejudices, and gain tolerance.

When you write about a family with two young children obviously you can expect ‘coming of age’ themes to be prevalent in the text. Scout Finch is not your average 10 year old girl, she is not afraid to voice her opinions with her actual voice and her fists. Atticus tells her that this trait is not very proper and she should consider other peoples views before concluding her own.

Therefore the author implies that Scout can only grow from this point. This also allows Scout to move with the plot, because the fire is the turning point of the novel. It separates the childish games of Scout, Jem, and Dill, and their Boo Radley phase from the very adult world of racism and the Tom Robinson trial. By showing Scout at her climax, and connecting it to the turning point of the novel, Lee can show the reader a more noticeable change in her character. She also stresses Scout’s moments of bluntness, because it is the contrast between her mature and immature instances that make her mature moments more notable. For example, when Scout sees Boo Radley for the first time, she shows maturity beyond her years. The ordeal was explained by Scout as, “Our neighbor’s image blurred with my sudden tears. ‘Hey Boo’ I said” (Lee 362). The way Scout first reacts by saying hi so calmly shows her maturity. She handles the situation so profoundly by instantly treating him like an equal, something that is difficult even for the adults in Maycomb. This helps out the moral of gradual maturity from innocence because it was her original immaturity that got her so involved with Boo Radley in the first place. Had she not been so obsessed with him, the direct understanding with him would not be possible. Therefore, this proves that Scout’s childhood habits ironically push her closer to growing up. As childhood innocence

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee has become a mainstay in American high-schools. This is a classic novel that has inspired many people of all ages. It had a big impact on how people viewed and treated each other. This is a story that teaches everyone about the value of honesty, love, friendship and trust. Every word written in this book has a truly deep meaning to it. The time period that the book was written in was during the Great Depression in the 1930’s. This setting was in a small town in Maycomb, Alabama with people who did not get along. During this time there was a lot of segregation within America and different races. To Kill a Mockingbird is about a family who believes in doing the right thing and being honest. There was a