The Theme In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

There are countless themes that are in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee, but the themes that stand out most are bravery, stereotyping, and the most essential theme courage. "I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway, and you see it through no matter what."

Prejudice is one of the world’s greatest struggles. It does not only hold society back, but is harmful to the people who do good .In Harper Lee’s book To Kill A Mockingbird, Scout and Jem live through and witness prejudice and racism in the small town of Maycomb. They see someone wrongly accused of a crime because of his race. Scout and Jem also witness and take part in prejudice against a man no one knows anything about. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird Harper Lee uses characterization to show the negative effects of prejudice and racism.

“I think there are just one type of folks. Folks”(231). Scout, an eight-year-old girl filled with curiosity, innocence, and an open mind, says this with her own perspective. Harper Lee portrays her views through Scout, who did not yet experience the world and believes that each person, regardless of their character, race, or class, has the right to be treated equally amongst all. This does not occur in the town she lives in, Maycomb, and although she thinks that everyone is equal, her journey in life makes her realize that this is not true. Without noticing, Scout with her brother Jem, and a close friend, Dill develop major modifications in the ideals, and actions of others. To Kill a Mockingbird displays the relationship between the African American and white race and how it shifts because of various incidents. Affected by racial discrimination, Maycomb’s society faces controversies after turmoil arises. Change is developed in Maycomb’s orderly society because of Dill, Jem, and Scout acting upon their thoughts, creating chaos.

The genre of the story is historical fiction and the setting is the 1930’s southern America in a town called Maycomb, in Alabama. The story is narrated by Scout Finch, a young girl whose innocent heart has been exposed to the evils of southern United States in the 1930’s. This setting is vital to the plot of the summary because during that time was the great depression and racism was especially common in the south, where lynching rose from 8 in

White or colored, superior or inferior, and important or invisible are the different categories society imposes on people. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the narrator Scout is a part of the Finch family. They are white people with good morals due to Atticus Finch, Scout’s father. He guides his children to seek equality and treat others equally regardless of their class, gender, or race. Atticus tries to enforce his beliefs by taking on the Tom Robinson case. Tom Robinson is an honest, hard working black man accused of raping a white woman known as Mayella Ewell. Although there was evidence to prove his innocence, Mayella’s dirty lies were placed above his innocence. This situation is clearly an example of the ideals society

In the story “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, the main character Scout realizes the town she lives in is full of bias and prejudice toward negros. Scout, the only daughter of lawyer Atticus Finch, is faced with the activism that follows this prejudice when her father decides to defend a negro, Tom Robinson, in the court of law. She is constantly harassed and tormented by the residence of their small town, Maycom. What Lee is trying to show through these events is that people are always going to have prejudices, and sometimes these prejudices come from the people you least expect it form. In the story, neighbors, friends, and family all show their prejudices about the defendant Tom Robinson to Scout, who finally realize the world isn’t perfect but is, in fact, full of flaws and prejudices.

In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, characters are used to demonstrate the misjudgement by others in society. Arthur “Boo” Radley is thought of in a very dimensional and untrue way by the children. Dolphus Raymond makes unnoticed compromises in order to live in the community which he does not fit in. Tom Robinson is a kind and humble African American, who is misjudged by society due to the colour of his skin. Lee uses characterisation to show readers how society judges others.

In the story Scout is a hero in many ways. Scout is not caught up in all of the racial prejudices of Maycomb County. Many children follow after their parents and hate black people for no reason but Scout thinks all people are the same. Scout said, “Now, Jem, I think there’s just one kind of folks. Folks.” Scout is telling Jem that she thinks all people are the same. Our skin color doesn’t make us different, we are all the same. Scout knows that Tom Robinson is innocent and she does not care about the color of his skin. Scout quoted, “Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men’s hearts Atticus had no

“Racism is a disease in society. We’re all equal. I don’t care what their colour is, or religion. Just as long as they’re human beings they’re my buddies.” These words said by Mandawuy Yunupingu, are saying skin color should not matter and individuals should be treated the same because people are all human beings. Putting oneself in someone else's shoes and seeing what he is seeing and feeling is the main theme, in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the main character, is a lawyer in a small town that he and his family live in. He tries to win a trial about a false rape of a different skin color that he knows he will not win; but he does not give up. He keeps trying with all his might to win. Atticus is trying to set an amazing example for his children, Scout and Jem. When Bob Ewell, the person against Atticus on the trial, spits on Atticus

Imagine a world where evil and unjust actions are based on the color of skin; a world where some don’t even realize that they are prejudicing. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, these themes are present. People and how they commit evil, hypocritical, and unjust acts. We see these themes and great issues through the point of view of a child; the vigorous, youthful, elementary-aged Scout. Through this character Harper Lee shows the innocence of children, and what they go through in our inequitable world.

The movie To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, is very short and to the point of the theme. The theme of the movie shows how people don’t get justice. It also shows the viewers the way people lived in the 1930’s but when scenes from the book are left out of the movie, it leaves out important details of the personality of certain characters and how people used to live. Two characters that show how people lived from the 1930s that are mostly or completely left out of the movie are Miss Maudie and Mrs. Dubose.

As the United States “progresses” in economic, educational and technological advancements we still are fighting for racial equality. With more than 50 years since the brown vs. board of education case there is still incidents like Ferguson, Baton Rouge, and Phiando Castile where many questions are still unanswered. However, Harper Lee dealt with these same problems in 1960 when she wrote To Kill a Mockingbird. Lee created an emotionally confronting story. Lee writes through the eyes of “Scout” a lawyer’s daughter in a small sleepy town of Maycomb in Alabama during the great depression. Throughout the book “Scout” learns coming of age lessons from Atticus and her own experiences. But when Atticus takes on a case defending a black man (Tom Robinson) convicted for rapping a white woman (Mayella Ewell) and is found guilty. “Scout” her brother Jem begin to understand the effects of the prejudices in society. Therefore, Lee applies the literary concepts of diction and tone to revel the truth that prejudices in society negatively affect the way people treat each other in To Kill a Mocking Bird.

In conclusion, the central idea of To Kill a Mockingbird is discrimination, in multiple ways discrimination is revealed, such as prejudice, hatred, and ignorance. In Scout’s childhood,

Harper Lee’s American classic, To Kill a Mockingbird, is tale of the coming-of-age of Scout Finch as she grows up in the small Alabama county of Maycomb. Through her story, Scout finds that people are not all she thought they were, and that people were not equal to each other in one another’s eyes. Maycomb was split into several social groups that did not like to mix, and who were full of preconceived notions of one another, mostly resulting from feelings of superiority and lack of understanding of one another. In this novel, Harper Lee employs details, metaphors, and imagery to support the theme that prejudice is derived from lack of understanding and feelings of superiority.

The idea of the sentence “Most people are nice, Scout, when you finally see them” in To Kill a Mockingbird is a recurring theme throughout the novel. Even though there are many themes that emerge during the book, this idea has an undeniable presence. The theme of this quote proves to be evident in Scout’s relationship with Mrs.Dubose and Boo Radley.