Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee has been banned and/or challenged over thirty times since its publication in 1960. Effectively preventing many students from enjoying the novel and benefitting from its message. To ignore racism is no different than denying it ever existed. To Kill a Mockingbird is appropriate for mature adolescence/students and should not be banned from schools. Despite its sexual related content, or profanity, a valuable lesson remains that should be taught to students.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee has many ongoing themes such as Walking in Someone Else 's Shoes, Social Classes, Scout 's Maturity, and Boo Radley. These themes contribute to the story in many ways.

Harper Lee’s novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” is set in a small, southern town, Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression of the 1930s. The story is told through the eyes of a girl named Scout about her father, Atticus, an attorney who strives to prove the innocence of a black man named Tom Robinson, who was accused of rape and Boo Radley, an enigmatic neighbor who saves Scout and her brother Jem from being killed. Atticus does his job in proving there was no way that Tom Robinson was guilty during his trial, but despite Tom Robinson’s obvious innocence, he is convicted of rape as it is his word against a white woman’s. Believing a “black man’s word” seemed absurd as segregation was a very integrated part of life in the south. The social hierarchy must be maintained at all costs and if something in the system should testify the innocence of a black man against a white woman’s word and win then what might happen next? Along with the prejudice amongst blacks and whites, the story also showed how people could be misunderstood for who they truly are such as Boo Radley. Without ever seeing Boo, Jem and the townsfolk made wild assumptions on what Boo does or looks like. Even so, while “To Kill a Mockingbird” shows the ugliness that can come from judging others, its ultimate message is that great good can result when one defers judgement until considering things from another person’s view. Walter Cunningham, Mrs. Dubose, and Boo Radley are all examples of how looking at things

In To Kill a Mockingbird by harper Lee, The story of a southern life in Maycomb during the mid-1930s you begin an exploration of human morality. Each character has morals on how to treat some one of the other race. Atticus and Bob Ewell are two characters with contrasting morals. Tom Robertson an African American male is court between both of them and is dependent the towns social morals in a court case.

himself and went to extreme measures to show that. So, when he was accused of a repugnant thing, it should've been a shock, but it wasn’t, simply because he was a negro. All he ever wanted to do was help others and be kind, but since he was the color he was, if he was seen as being helpful, others would see it as him taking advantage. In the novel, Tom Robinson was accused of raping Mayella Ewell and Judge Taylor of Maycomb called upon Atticus Finch to defend him on this felony accusation. Although the trial lasted only a day, the same question was reoccurring; how did Tom beat up the left side of Mayella's face when his left arm was crippled? Around town, all negroes were known as bad, but not all were known as hard workers,'" I just want the whole lot of you to know one thing right now. That boys worked for me for eight years an' I ain't had a speck o' trouble outa him. Not a speck."'(Lee 195) Not only was Tom Robinson respected by his boss, Link Deas, who was white, but he

The word courage is defined as “The quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc, without fear.” In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch strongly demonstrates courage though his words and actions. He defends Tom Robinson even though doing this he puts his family at risk for discrimination due to the prejudice and racial inequity in Maycomb. In addition, Arthur ‘Boo’ Radley displays courage as he reveals himself to those who were around him such as the children after being shut away from the rumors that surround him from the people of Maycomb. Arthur displays courage as he attempts to communicate with Jem and Scout. Finally, Miss Maudie, portrays courage as she watches her house

“‘...Mockingbirds… don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us [anyone and everyone in Maycomb]. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird…’” (Lee 119). In the Pulitzer Prize winning novel of 1961 To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee tells the story of a young girl by the name of Jean Louise (Scout) Finch and her older brother Jeremy Atticus (Jem) Finch, and what their lives were like growing up in Maycomb, Alabama during 1933-35. Scout and her brother Jem are both children of the morally passionate lawyer, Atticus Finch, and both are exposed to the same experiences that shape their sense of right and wrong. Yet Scout and Jem come to dramatically different conclusions about good and evil and the essential nature of humankind.

In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee illustrates that “it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” throughout the novel by writing innocent characters that have been harmed by evil. Tom Robinson’s persecution is a symbol for the death of a mockingbird. The hunters shooting the bird would in this case be the Maycomb County folk. Lee sets the time in the story in the early 1950s, when the Great Depression was going on and there was poverty everywhere. The mindset of people back then was that black people were inferior to whites. There was still prejudice against innocent colored people, when they did no wrong. Tom Robinson was an innocent man who did nothing but help Mayella Ewell. When Atticus described the mockingbird as an animal that “don’t do one thing, but sing their hearts out for us,” it’s similar to Tom Robinson. He never accepted money from Mayella for doing her chores, but out of the kindness of his heart. Just like how a mockingbird does not sing for anyone but themselves. However, since Tom is black, the townspeople supported Mayella’s testimony over his. They thought with certainty that a black man raped a pure white woman, because it was in their nature. A mob attempted to intimidate Atticus out of the way in order to step inside Tom’s jail cell and kill him. The citizens’ symbolical “gun” was racism and criticism towards the case. After Tom was jailed, he tried to jump over the jail fence. However, the security guards shot him seventeen times before he

In the novel of To Kill a Mockingbird, we learn about the Finch family and also a few other characters that all play pivotal roles in how the story plays out. Scout, the main protagonist in the story, learns about a character named “Boo” Radley from her friend Dill. Scout, Dill, and her brother Jem set out to lure Boo Radley out of hiding and into the open. All of the rumors consisted of grotesque descriptions describing the facial features of Boo. They were trying to get the monster out of the dark. Through the time they are investigating Boo, they find that Boo has been leaving them presents in a hole in a tree on Boo Radley’s property. The children get a little out of hand when they begin to act out the story of Boo Radley. Atticus

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a novel that shows what racism was like before all people were considered equal. The main characters are Scout Finch, an indomitable six year old tomboy who was smarter than what many people thought, and Atticus Finch, the father of Scout and Jem, who is an extraordinary lawyer. The primary conflict in the story is that Tom Robinson, an innocent black man who is accused of raping a white woman. Atticus was assigned to defend Robinson, but it would be almost impossible to win, because a white man’s word is always taken over a black man’s. Atticus is trying to show the jury what the truth is, and that the court is made to find out the truth, not judge someone by what color skin they have. By the end of the story, the characters have all learned that the world is not always fair to some because of the way they look or talk. To Kill A Mockingbird is a book showing that the justice done by a jury isn’t always the right way.

Gaze at the timeline of history and one will stumble across selfish acts that have dominated our era – acts that have defined people’s true character and make a firm line for where their morals stand. It is rare to find a person that will put their needs before any others in the moment simply due to it being their first instinct – people whose morals are designated to helping others at all cost before their own. Morality is not defined by skin color, race, or social class; it is defined by the good intentions people have for others solely for who they are, despite what race they may be. Within To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper lee, a plethora of characters such as Mr. Underwood, Calpurnia, and Link Deas radiate true morality with the actions they portray. Whether it be by giving the respect to someone they deserve despite what race they might be, or not sitting back and watching an innocent person suffer despite what troubles may lead down the road, these characters put aside the racial quota within Maycomb. They don’t let the label of “blacks” let them see who the person really is, they define the person by their character and who they are on the inside and not what’s seen on the out.

“If there 's just one kind of folks, why can 't they get along with each other? If they 're all alike, why do they go out of their way to despise each other?”. That was a pivotal question asked by Jem Finch. The novel To Kill A Mockingbird perfectly interprets the America as it was in the 30’s and even how it is today. People are so busy talking about how they want equality but they never treat people equally. Its a contradictory thing were dealing with in this country. People essentially not free in the “Land Of The Free”. We’ll only achieve this freedom by changing our mindsets to what is right as a whole country. In this novel Atticus Finch is tying to do whats right by trying to get justice for Tom Robinson.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is based on a time in the south during the 1930 's. This is a time during the Civil Rights Movement and slavery. The story is looked through the eyes of a girl name Scout Finch. She lives with her brother, Jem; her family housekeeper and cook, Calpurnia and father, Atticus. Atticus is a attorney that tries to get a black man freed of being accused of a unfair rape that he is charged with. Boo Radley is one of the "mockingbirds" the book talks about, and he ends up saving Scout and Jem 's lives. There are several way 's the author used Atticus Finch to represent a good person and father. His character shows, you don’t always have to follow the crowd. For instance, he is always a man of his word, and he 's a great father to his two children. Atticus always treats everyone equally. He doesn’t look for color and teaches his children they should not either. Finally, he does what he believes is right, and not always what people expect him to do.

The text type of To Kill a Mockingbird is a fiction novel which deals with the racism the author observed as a child in her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama. To Kill a Mockingbird was written by Harper Lee, who wrote her novel in a retrospective point of view. There were numerous aspects of historical, personal, cultural and social context in To Kill a Mockingbird. Harper Lee was born on the 28th of April, 1926, in Monroeville Alabama. Monroeville was a close-knit community that has many similarities with Maycomb, which is the setting of To Kill a Mockingbird. Harper Lee’s father was a prominent lawyer, whom she drew inspiration for the protagonists father, Atticus Finch. Among Lee’s childhood friends was Truman Capote, from whom she drew inspiration to the character Dill. These personal details help portray Harper Lee’s own childhood home, where racism and segregation was highly evident. Another example of context which helped shape To Kill a Mockingbird were the events that occurred during Harper Lee’s childhood. In 1931, when Harper Lee was five years old, nine African-American men were accused of raping two white women near Scottsboro, Alabama. After a series of lengthy, highly publicised, and often bitter trials, five of the nine men were sentenced to long term imprisonment. Many prominent lawyers and various members of the general public saw the sentences as spurious and believed that it was motivated by racial prejudice.

I’ll not have you around him, picking up his habits and learning lord-knows-what…” (Lee 301). These thoughts provided by Aunt Alexandra are negative and children like Jem and Scout for instance could think this is the right way to think and grow up the same way; stereotyping. In “To Kill a Mockingbird” Scout becomes more mature through the story while watching Jem grow-up as he realizes how cruel people can be. It takes an adult-like event, like the Tom Robinson trial to make a child realize how harsh life really can be. Scout looks up to Jem and every time he becomes upset, it gets Scout a little upset too. While the Tom Robinson case is occurring, Jem gets upset because he realizes that Tom is not being treated equally, knowing Tom should not have even been accused of raping Mayella Ewell. At the end of the trial Scout is being very observant well listening to the verdict “Guilty Guilty...I peeked at Jem his hands were white from gripping the balcony rail, and his shoulders jerked as if each guilty was a separate stab between them” (Lee 282). This quote represents how aggravated and upset Jem was and Scout responded to this observation by trying to mature like Jem. After the Tom Robinson trial, Jem realizes that the people in Maycomb are unfair, and more importantly racist. Once Jem begins acting more mature, Scout takes