“...remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” (90). Although, it’s not a crime to shoot one in the back seventeen times or send it to prison first for unjust reasons. It’s events like these that make people lose their innocents; in To Kill a Mockingbird, by Nelle Harper Lee, losing one’s innocents is just a pocket-sized trouble he or she has to worry about in Maycomb, Alabama. For Jean Louise, “Scout”, and Jeremy, “Jem”, Finch, growing up in the times of great economic depression and towering racial tension, losing innocents is a sure thing. Which is what sparks this page-turning, coming-off-age, classic; like all great literature of this caliber. Lee delves into a fundamental storyline nourished with interlocking themes of perspective, innocence, law-bending, and even bravery; all come across in a symbolic and profound way, deep in between the lines of Lee’s literary treasure.
To begin, Lee’s concept of perspective, as explored in this novel, is that if a person can change their view it can cause a more authentic and truthful portrayal of the situation or person that is being viewed. For instance, Mrs.Dubose, the hostile neighbor who lives down the street from the Finches, is a thought to be women vile of heart and Jem ultimately mutilates all her flowers landscaped in her front yard in return for her ignorant comments.Consequently, Atticus formulates the punishment of reading to her for a specific time period every day, also associating with that a lesson of changing
“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)
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
Throughout the book To Kill A Mockingbird Lee discusses the effects of ignorance and the toll it takes on people such as Tom Robinson, Boo Radley, Scout herself, and many more. Through her examples of sexism, prejudice, and racism, from the populist of poverty stricken Southerners, she shows the readers the injustice of many. The victims of ignorance are the ‘mockingbirds’ of the story. A good example of this injustice is the trial of Tom Robinson, who is falsely accused of raping a white girl and is found guilty. The book is from the point of view Scout, a child, who has an advantage over most kids due to her having a lawyer as a dad, to see the other side of the story. Her father tells her in the story, “you never really know a man until
The novel To Kill a Mockingbird is a timeless American classic that has been appreciated and loved by readers for decades. Harper Lee explores the story of a lawyer and his family in the deep parts of the South who is given the task of defending a black man accused with the rape of an adolescent white girl. Atticus Finch, the father of the protagonist and narrator Scout Finch, represents an elite group of minds that see beyond the invisible lines of race and wish to treat everyone with respect and equality. Atticus faces a series of external and internal struggles that brings meaning to the novel and reveals the overarching themes of the novel. Through several
Imagine a place where the verdict of a rape trial stems from racial prejudice rather than the proper evaluation of proven evidence. This is Maycomb, Alabama, the strange, Southern town where Scout and Jem Finch grow up during the 1930s in the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. In short, the novel travels a thin line between a light-hearted narrative of the siblings’ childhood with their single father, a defense attorney named Atticus Finch, and the injustices that arise within their close-knit community. The complexities include extreme racism, a peculiar social hierarchy, and general misunderstandings of certain people within the small town. These are all seen as “Maycomb ways”, almost as if they are considered facts. Through her writing, Lee conveys an important message that an essential part of a child’s education often takes place in a home or community rather than a classroom by utilizing the characters, Atticus Finch and Tom Robinson, a black man accused of rape whom Atticus is defending.
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.
During an individual’s childhood, culture and morals have a dramatic effect on the outcome of the person as an adult. In Harper Lee’s classic To Kill A Mockingbird, she writes the novel based on a young girl’s point of view to exemplify the racial prejudice that occurred throughout Maycomb, Alabama. Scout Finch, the narrator, goes through situations with multiple characters during the novel that show Lee’s perspective on The Great Depression time period. In To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee stresses the theme of innocence destroyed by evil using several characters symbolized as mockingbirds, analyzing the characters’ morals, and detailing the Tom Robinson court case.
In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird the idea of caring for your fellow man is explored. The first half of the novel focuses on siblings Jem and Scout and later friend Dill as their childhood curiosity towards Boo Radley a man described as “dining on squirrels and any cats he can catch” leads them to many complicated situations. The second half of the book deals with their father, Atticus and the backlash of the town when defending Tom Robinson a black man accused of raping a white woman. As the story progresses, the children's perception of their world shifts and their actions with it. Through the use of the novel, Harper Lee conveys a message that Justice, Courage, and Empathy should be preserved and this shows in the real world.
The beauty of empathy and compassion for others can often aid in the restoration of ones faith in humanity. Throughout Harper Lee's novel To Kill a Mockingbird, sympathy is shown through many actions of characters such as Scout, Jem, Atticus, Miss Maudie, and Boo Radley as you follow each of their respective plights through the small town of Maycomb. The viewpoint of their home changes shape as Jem and Scout are put through the horrible ideals and racism of southern society during the 1930s. Their journey to adulthood is riddled with evil, but even so, their ability to put themselves into others' shoes and find the good in them only grows stronger. Through the teachings of Atticus/Miss Maudie, growing compassion for Boo Radley, and the trial
Harper Lee presents the idea that as children grow up, they learn and experience the harsh truths about the world they once did not understand or question. The novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, encompasses the story of a girl named Scout along with her older brother, Jem, who go through the trials of growing up in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama. Racism is rampant in the mindset of the townspeople, shown when Atticus, both a father and lawyer, takes on the case of an innocent African-American man. Through this, we can see young character development in where main characters Scout, Jem, and Dill undergo the theme of innocence and experience. Lee uses characterization to portray Scout as the embodiment of innocence, and soon after shows the
Alternatively, To Kill A Mockingbird confronts the fundamental issue of corrupt actions dominating over justice, demonstrated in the 1930s and the novel’s community of Maycomb. Lee expresses her views through the narrative voice and characterization of Atticus exhibiting that the corrupt behaviors and prejudice of society, produces the disfigurement of acquiring justice. Scout reflecting on her time as a child presents,
Throughout Harper Lee’s novel of To Kill a Mockingbird, one significant theme makes its presence known to the audience in order to explore a topic that has been the center of controversy for many years. From the very beginning, it is clear to see the message of integrity and justice that Lee so brilliantly contrived; which she conveys through setting, conflict, symbolism, and characterization. These cohesive factors work together in order to help the reader comprehend the author’s ideals and the moral dilemma she wished to shed light on at the time.
In her coming-of-age novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee explores how the precocious protagonist, Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, struggles to fit into her role as a lady and has a difficult time coming to terms of the cruelty as well as the injustice her Southern town displays through discrimination. Scout resides with her family in Maycomb County, Alabama in the 1930s--a town severely divided by color. She goes through a breathtaking metamorphosis throughout the novel when her father Atticus defends a Negro man accused of rape, exposing her to the true roots of human behavior. Through the use of settings, characterization, and ironies, Lee implies that hypocrisy is a tragic act to be involved in; it can
Being an 9 year girl living in the year of 1930 along with being said that your father is a “Nigger lover” How would that make a child feel? In Harper Lee’s Novel,To Kill a Mockingbird, Two young children from Maycomb county in the late 1930’s experience trail which in involves their father defending an African American in an injustice court.Throughout theses events the children interact with society.Society displays these universal themes.Harper Lee’s Novel explores the 3 most important themes to kill a MockingBird: Evils of racism, females roles and growing up-pain or pleasures.
Presented with the issues of a complex social, ethical, and moral values of individuals and society, To Kill a Mockingbird continues to captivate those who are exposed to its enthralling story. Written by Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird revolves around the time of prejudice and discrimination in the South. In a small town in Alabama, a women named Jean-Louise, recalls her days as a young child back at her house with her father Atticus, her brother Jem, and Nanny Calpurnia. In the beginning, the women is the narrator, but is also the voice of Scout in her head as a child. Through the eyes of Scout’s character, Harper Lee evolves the story with the different situations Scout encounters with.