Summary Of ' Kill A Mockingbird ' By Harper Lee

Over the course of the novel, the reader watches Jem mature from age 10 to age 13, growing up from a brave and playful boy, to a calm, collected young man similar to the likes of his father Atticus. One of the most important life lessons that Atticus teaches Jem is to always do the right thing even if it’s the hardest thing to do. Atticus Finch is known as a man who is “the same in his house as he is on the public streets.” (Lee, pg. 61) He lived by morals, and always abade by them. After Atticus took up the court case of Tom Robinson, a coloured man, he had many people insult him and make fun of him. Atticus knew that he couldn’t refuse the case, as he stated “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.”(Lee, pg.140) Atticus took the job that no person wanted, especially knowing that he was going to lose the case before it even began. In doing so, Atticus shows Jem that you should always be a man of your morals, that you should always do the right thing even if it is the hardest thing to do. Although he has a hard time understanding Atticus’ actions at first, Jem begins to comprehend his father’s values in the world around him, with more mature eyes.

The book "To Kill a Mockingbird" is a story of life in an Alabama town in the 30's. The narrator, Jean Louise Finch, or Scout, is writing of a time when she was young, and the book is in part the record of a childhood, believed to be Harper Lee’s, the author of the book..

Harper Lee is best known for writing the Pulitzer Prize-winning bestseller To Kill a Mockingbird. The novel takes place during the depression in Alabama with the main character, Scout, viewing her lawyer father, Atticus, defending a wrongly accused black man of rape. The reader gets to understand Scout’s childhood view of this controversial situation. Scout’s character in to Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is really the author’s own life playing out in the novel, which is most likely why this novel is thought to be one of the best American Novels of the 20th century.

What it Means to Kill a Mocking Bird: an in depth analysis of the morals in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird

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

In 'To Kill a Mockingbird' many morals about the themes in the novel are portrayed through different issues and events. The major themes are appearance vs. reality courage, maturity and prejudice. Each of these themes has an event in the novel that help the reader understand its message.

Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” is set in a small Southern United States community called Maycomb during the Great Depression era. The whole book primarily revolves around segregation and racism and how it relates to Maycomb’s history. It eventually leads to the trial of Tom Robinson where he is accused of beating up and raping Mayella Ewell. Even though it was clear that Tom Robinson did not do anything wrong he was convicted by an all white jury simply because he was black. The trial of Tom Robinson and its verdict shows an example of how segregation in the court system prevents fair trials from occurring.

Although Jem desperately wants to follow in Atticus’ footsteps, his innocence prevents him from being aware

On Sunday, when Atticus has to leave town, Cal takes Jem and Scout to church. They enter the church, sit down, and listen to the Reverend Skyes speak. He talks about how they will all pray for Tom Robinson and his family while he is at court. Scout asks where the hymn books are, and Cal hushes her. When they sing the hymns Zeebo, Cal’s oldest son, goes up to the front of the church. Since the church doesn’t have any hymn books Zeebo has to memorize them and sing a verse to the crowd, which they repeat back to him. Near the end of church the Reverend says that they do not have enough money to give to Tom Robinson’s family. So he closes the church doors and makes the crowd give up ten more dollars to help.

Through the eyes of an innocent child, the story of To Kill a Mockingbird introduces a world of corruption. In the disordered town of Maycomb, certain character traits are developed and displayed in a specific local family. The opposition against their beliefs brings daunting situations to their door. Yet, this one family perseveres through the continuous corruption of Maycomb. Therefore, this recurring motif of character development really plays into the characters and, consequently, the story. This evident pattern of courage composes the Finch family: Jem, Scout, and Atticus.

Chapter 1 begins as a flashback told by the main character and narrator, a young girl named Scout. This retelling of the story continues through the entire book. the author of this novel, Harper Lee, characterizes scout the narrator as an intelligent tomboy who is not so sure she wants to deal with the Radleys. Scout always hung around her older brother Jem and Dill, a boy who visited Maycomb every summer. She was always up for whatever they did and really did not like it when they called her girly. Dill became fascinated with the Radleys and their mysteriously hidden son Boo. Scout urged Dill to let the Radleys keep to themselves, but her harassing of Dill did nothing. Even though Scout is a clever girl, Lee makes it obvious that Scout still

Jem's definition of valor changes as he matures; he gains insight in the world. At the beginning of the novel, he only thinks of bravery as simply touching the Radley’s house, because "in all his life, [he] had never declined a dare”(Lee 13). Jem is quite intrigued and curious about Boo’s life throughout the novel and often finds himself risking everything just to get a better understanding of the complex character. At first, like any young boy, Jem tends to judge a book by its cover, but after months of growing into an understanding young man, he comes to the realization that Boo is not the monster everyone thinks he is. Jem comes to the conclusion that maybe Boo is just as scared of what's outside as the kids are of whats inside the Radley house; “Scout, I think I'm beginning to understand something. I think I'm beginning to understand why Boo Radley's stayed shut up in the house all this time. It's because he wants to stay inside”( Lee 227). Also throughout the trial, Jem shows his interest in the Tom Robinson case. He feels sympathy for the Robinson family and grows to truly understand the extent of how wrong it was for Tom to be found guilty. He shows a lot of emotion when he cries after the verdict was revealed, "It was Jem's turn to cry. His face was streaked with angry tears as we made our way through the cheerful crowd. ‘It ain't right,' he muttered… ‘It ain't right, Atticus,' said Jem. ‘No son, it's

On a chilly winter morning, Atticus rushed a tired Jem and Scout into clothing and out of their beds. He told them there was a fire in Miss Maudie’s house and they should stand in front of the Radley house where it was safe. They saw the flames engulfing Miss Maudie’s house and ran down the street to the Radley’s house. Watching the events unfold, Scout said to herself, “…I saw Atticus carrying Miss Maudie’s heavy oak rocking chair, and thought it sensible of him to save what she valued most” (71). She was proud that Atticus thought to save Miss Maudie most prized possession. As members of the community we're pulling furniture out of the house, Dick went to the top and threw furniture out on a mattress. As the flames rose and tore down the stairs,

First, the instance where Jem’s understanding of standing up for what is right is exemplified in the following quotation, “Then he rose and broke the remaining code of our childhood” (Lee.151). At this point in the novel, Dill had run away from home without his parents knowing, leaving both Scout and Jem with a dilemma. This dilemma was easily resolved by the action Jem took to tell Atticus of this incident. This showed how Jem stood up for what was right and insisted on notifying Atticus of Dill’s presence as Jem understands that it is wrong to not tell on Dill, because morally, it is not right to have his mother worry like

In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the difference in motif, theme, writing style, and character development is apparent in part 1 and 2. The theme in part one is highlighted towards racism and inequality. In part two, Harper Lee exemplifies the theme to make racism and inequality deeper in meaning. Although the theme in part two and part one are the same, the theme in part two has a stronger message than in part one. Harper Lee uses Jem to represent the change. In part one, the nullified mind of Jeremy Finch makes malicious decisions. But, in part two, Jem matures into an intelligent and obedient person. He begins to understand and listen to his father when he’s told to do something by him. Scout, on the other hand, remains the same; she