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Theme Of Conflict In To Kill A Mockingbird

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In all stories there are rising actions that lead up to the climax of the story. These rising actions are caused by conflict, and that is exactly what fills the pages of Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird. The racial conflicts in the book ultimately result in the unfair death of a negro man.

The townsfolk in the county commit many sins big and small, and some of them have enormous repercussions on the characters in the story. Calpurnia once (the servant of Atticus Finch since his wife passed away), reminds Jem (Scout’s older brother) and Scout that “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy” (119), explaining why it was a sin to kill a mockingbird. This strongly relates to blacks who are servants for whites, whites still defame blacks even though they work for them.

The blacks in the story are never seen defaming their white counterparts, yet whites in the story do it all the time. During the trial of a negro man and alleged rapist named Tom Scout tells Jem and her friend dill that “Atticus says cheatin’ a colored man is ten times worse than cheatin’ a white man… Says it’s the worst thing you can do” (269), similar to the time when Atticus said “Shoot all the bluejays you want… but remember that it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” (119), Bluejays (like whites in the story), spread all sorts of false rumors about blacks, while mockingbirds (like blacks in the story) do not, instead they serve whites and fulfill their wants and needs.

The death of Tom

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