Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

“Human beings are poor examiners, subject to superstition, bias, prejudice, and a profound tendency to see what they want to see rather than what is really there” ~ Scott Peck. Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird abounds with the injustice produced by social, gender, and racial prejudice. The setting of the book takes place in the 1930s, where racism is a big deal in society. In the novel Harper Lee uses a mockingbird as an analogy to the characters. The Mockingbird is a symbol for Three Characters in the book, Atticus Finch, Tom Robinson, and Boo Radley. The people of Maycomb only know Boo Radley and Tom Robinson by what others say about them. These Characters are then characterized by other people 's viewpoints. In the novel there are many themes that are adjacent to our lives, the one that is found in To Kill A Mockingbird is Human Conflict comes from the inability for one to understand another. “ You never understand a person until you consider things from his point of view- until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” (39)

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.

Furthermore, Atticus displayed integrity while defending Tom Robinson. Atticus made decisions based on his own conscience and not that of others. Lee writes, “Before I can live with other folks I’ve got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience. (105) Atticus is a man with morals, and therefore defends Tom Robinson in front of a racist jury to give him his right to a fair trial. Even though he knows he has a slim chance of winning the case, Atticus continues to do his best. Atticus asks the white jurors to consider the case on its merits and not take into consideration the race of the defendant, Tom Robinson. Atticus’s neighbor Miss Maudie, further describes his integrity by stating, “Atticus Finch is the same in his house as he is on the public streets.” (46) Miss Maudie is saying that Atticus does not have anything to hide and does not try

Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, is the story of two children coming of age and learning about their hometown and the whole world. The two children in the story are Jem and Scout Finch. Jem and Scout live with their father, Atticus, in Maycomb County. Throughout the story, many problems arise which teach both children about bravery. The three bravest characters in the novel include their neighbor Mrs. Dubose, a convicted black man named Tom Robinson, and their father Atticus.

Throughout “To Kill a Mockingbird,” Atticus displayed his compassionate nature by explaining his sympathy through life lessons given to both Scout and Jem that they can easily apply to their everyday lives. During the second half of the novel, Atticus is chosen to defend an innocent black man accused of rape. Considering the Finches live in Maycomb, Alabama, much of their town is made up of prejudice people who believe that all African Americans are guilty and are to be blamed for any mishaps that occur in the small town; however, Atticus has a much different point of view. Instead of choosing to give up on the case, he believes that, “simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win”(Lee 101). By Atticus taking the case, proves his concern for others, even when everyone around him believes that the innocent man, Tom Robinson, is guilty. Instead of taking this case as a curse, he turned it into a lesson to Scout explaining to never give up and to always do

Imagine a hole that radiates gifts every time you visit it. Now picture that being stuffed with such force, that your gifts seem like they don’t exist anymore. In the late Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, a child named Jem Finch always peeked his head inside a tree on the street right across him. He found the tree always being filled with goodies, filling his heart with pleasure, but later filled with cement, ultimately filling Jem’s open heart with pain. Scout Finch, Jem’s sister grew up feeling both the pain and the pleasure through violence. She always fought her classmates, out of rage, but later changed to a more stable being, to her pleasure. Dill, a friend of the Finch family ran away from his home in Meridian because of

Regardless of one?s race or colour, Atticus has a fair attitude towards all people. Early in the novel, a black man named Tom Robinson was accused of raping a white woman. Atticus took on the case to defend Tom without another thought simply because he treats everyone

The same cool air that flows through the sky, is the same as the rotten prejudiced air, in which, the people of Maycomb breathe every day. It’s an unnecessary sickness that spreads throughout the whole town. In Harper Lee’s novel of To Kill a Mockingbird, it symbolizes the many divisions and classifications used in Maycomb to differentiate different groups of people. Although, each individual is in fact different, the people of Maycomb are blinded to the fact that, “’there’s just one kind of folks. Folks’” (Lee 304). Scout understood the fact that people shouldn’t be judged based on divisions and classifications, and rather focused on people’s similarities. Scout’s mature way of understanding, le her see something, that most people in

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee takes place in Maycomb County, Alabama in the late 30s early 40s , after the great depression when poverty and unemployment were widespread throughout the United States. Why is the preconception of racism, discrimination, and antagonism so highly related to some of the characters in this book? People often have a preconceived idea or are biased about one’s decision to live, dress, or talk. Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee examines the preconception of Scouts teacher saying Atticus is teaching her wrong, Aunt Alexandra having views that are discriminating, and Tom Robinson not having a fair trial because of his race. Scouts teacher gets upset with her after Miss Caroline figures out she’s literate and Scout makes it worse by antagonising Miss Caroline by trying to explain things to her. “Teach me?” I said in surprise. “He hasn 't taught me anything, Miss Caroline. Atticus ain 't got time to teach me anything”… “If he didn 't teach you, who did?” Miss Caroline asked good-naturedly. “Somebody did. You weren 't born reading The Mobile Register”… Miss Caroline apparently though I was lying. “Lets not let our imaginations run away with us, dear,” she said. “Now tell your father not to teach you any more. Its best to begin reading with a fresh mind. You tell him i 'll take over from here and try to undo the damage.” “ma’am?” “Your father does not know how to teach. you can have a seat now.” (Lee 22) Scout 's teacher Miss Caroline

People, especially children, often make mistakes that will either lead to great or undesirable outcomes. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, the children make several mistakes that help them mature. Firstly, the children learn how courage is more than just physical strength. Likewise, they learn that if you judge someone by their race, you will never understand their true inner character. Finally, they learn that in order to understand someone, you must understand what experiences they have been through and what they are currently experiencing. Therefore, the children’s early mistakes in judgement teach them valuable lessons, which help them make more mature decisions later on.

The power of childhood innocence reveals the true incompetence of the world around us in a brutal yet fanciful way. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee creates the unjust rape trial of Tom Robinson to shed light upon how the power of childhood innocence reveals the true racially-based corruption of the time period. Through the eyes of a child named Scout and the focus on two other child protagonists, Dill and Jean, Lee highlights the way a child views the world versus those jaded by the depravity of humanity. Harper Lee focuses upon the characterization of Scout, Dill, and Jean to present the idea that childhood innocence is blinded from the true evils of society.

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

In the novel titled “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee set in Alabama, in a southern county in the era of the Great Depression, between 1933 and 1936 illustrates that to understand and empathize with others, all you need is imagination. Perhaps that is the reason why Harper Lee let it be an innocent girl of almost 6 years to tells the story, because children can use their imagination. However, Jem and Scout met too many people along the story and from each person the children learned something such as don’t prejudge others, be strong in the most difficult times, to never give up and most important to defend innocent people.

In nineteen forty-nine, a twenty-three year old Harper Lee arrived in New York City where she worked for the British Overseas Air

The novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Taught me many lessons that I apply to my life each day. To Kill a Mockingbird has made an incredible impact on my life and has made me realize many things. As I have gotten older I have begun to realize how things are not always as they appear to be. Whether it is people, situations or even opportunities. You may think you know or understand someone when in reality you may not even understand anything about the person at all. Today, society is often quick to judge and make assumptions about individuals without even knowing their story and sometimes even half of their story. Being a teenager and a young adult in the world today can be difficult. We are told how to act and how to dress according to the world’s standards. Harper Lee taught me the importance of being myself through her story about Scout. I now know how important it is to stand up for myself and never let anyone belittle my values.