Themes In Harper Lee's 'To Kill A Mockingbird'

Scout stands up for Walter Cunningham and says "That Walter's as smart as he can be, he just gets held back sometimes because he has to stay out and help his daddy. Nothing's wrong with him."(p304). Scout realizes that Walter Cunningham is not the way he is by choice but because his life holds him back by seeing what it would be like to be him. When Scout goes on the Radley's porch and thinks about how things would look like through Boo's eyes she realizes "Atticus was right. One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them. Just standing on the Radley's porch was enough"(p.374). When Scout was younger she believed that Boo was this monster because of all the rumors that were spread about him but in reality Boo is this kind man who is kind to Jem and Scout. After realizing this Scout now sees hat Atticus was right and that she she shouldn't judge someone just by things she hears and people might do what they do for a

When they hear the rumors about Boo Radley they believe that he dines on “raw squirrels and any cats he could catch” and that he looks like a monster because he has, “a long jagged scar” and rotten teeth (Lee 16). The kids, having never seen him before, had many blind spots. If they had walked in his shoes and understood him they would of understood why he was always in his house and how he was not a monster. However as the story goes on they start to understand why he might be that way, Miss. Maudie tells Scout that Boo’s dad was a “foot-washing Baptist” and that “anything that’s a pleasure is a sin” (Lee 59). This helps Scout become more compassionate towards Boo and she starts to walk in his shoes. Jem also saw Mrs. Dubose as a monster. Mrs. Dubose was very mean and she was “nasty. She has fits or somethin” (Lee 143). Jem did not realize that Mrs Dubose, a morphine addict was trying to break her addiction before she died. Another blind spot Scout had was towards her teacher, Miss Caroline. Scout gave her a hard time because she did not like her, but like Atticus points out, “it was a honest mistake” and that Scout should not “hold her responsible when she knew no better” (Lee 40). In all three instances when the kids had blind spots, walking in the other person's shoes would of helped them be more

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

Jem and Scout, throughout “To Kill A Mockingbird,” learn to consider things from other people’s perspectives. Atticus, Jem and Scout’s father, says “you never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view – until you climb into his skin and walk around in” (Lee 39). They learn this through experiences with their neighbor Boo Radley as they mature beyond their years. At the beginning of the novel, Jem and Scout make fun of Boo and assume that all of the rumors going around about him are true. However, later on in the story the children grow an admiration for Boo and learn to understand him. As they matured, Jem and Scout naturally learned many life lessons of appreciation, respect, and courage

From this, one can see that Scout is still in a juvenile state of mind. Furthermore, one can see how the beliefs of the townspeople have been transferred to Scout, who had taken them as they are considered the social norm. She unknowingly accepts their racism when she thinks of Dolphus Raymond as a “sinful man” because he associates himself with black people and “…had mixed children and didn’t care who knowed it.” (201) She does not understand why he freely displays his transgression to the town when it is acknowledged as a wrong thing to do in Maycomb. However, Scout slowly starts to develop her own sense of right and wrong and create her own judgments of others. Boo was once the monster of her childhood, but after witnessing his cordial and courageous actions, she realizes that “he hadn’t done any of those things…he was real nice.” (281) In the end, Scout matures and sheds her childhood nickname to become the young lady called “Jean Louise” by family and friends. (211, 224, 229) This change in Scout is a result of her loss of innocence and is a focal point in the novel to give a thought-provoking perspective on the events of the book.

You can not truly understand a person or a group until you consider it from their point of view. Atticus introduces this idea to Scout in the beginning of the book, he says “‘ You never really understand a person until you consider things from their point of view… until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.’”(39). Atticus says this when Scout comes home with a problem from school. She tried defending the Cunningham boy because her teacher didn't know much about their town yet. Scout was upset about this because she didn't think she deserved to get in trouble, but Atticus explained that she should look at it from her teachers side and understand the teacher wasn't well informed on the people in Maycomb. Later on in the novel, Scout uses this lesson she learned from Atticus This is when she puts Boo in the darker area of the porch. In the text it says, “... I led him to the chair farthest from Atticus and Mr. Tate. It was in deep shadow. Boo would feel more comfortable in the dark.”(364). In this situation, Scout takes Boo’s needs into consideration, she thinks what would be best for him. She noticed how he hid in the dark corner and how eventually Atticus moved outside where it was darker for that reason. This is because Boo felt like an outcast and felt more comfortable where less people could see him. Also, Scout takes Boo’s point of view in a

Scout struggles, with varying degrees of success, to put Atticus’s advice into practice and to live with understanding toward others. She doesn’t turn away from Walter Cunningham Jr. just because he is poor and made her get in trouble. At the end of the book, Scout succeeds in comprehending Boo Radley’s perspective. After she drops him off at his house, Scout takes a moment to survey the rest of the world from the Radley porch. “...Atticus was right. One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them. Just standing on the Radley porch was enough.” Scout imagines many of the events of the story (Atticus shooting the mad dog, the children finding Boo’s presents in the oak tree) as they must have looked to Boo. She finally realizes the love and protection that he has silently offered her and Jem from the beginning.

Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird is a study in the way people’s view of the world changes as they grow older. To Kill a Mockingbird is from the point of view of a six year old girl, Scout, the daughter of a lawyer. She is forced to grow up quickly when Atticus defends an innocent black man in the South, much to the dismay of most of the white citizens. Lee uses similes and personification in To Kill a Mockingbird to show the challenges and discoveries that children make while transitioning from a child to an adult.

Jem like Scout realizes that Boo is not that bad of a person. Jem leaves his ripped pants laying in the Radley yard one night trying to peek into the window and get a glimpse of Boo. He runs back to get them and finds them folded neatly on the fence without a rip in them. Jem later finds out that Boo was taking care of him. “Scout, I think I am beginning to understand something. I think I am beginning to understand why Boo Radley’s stayed shut up in the house all this time..it is because he wants to stay inside.”(304) Jem then realizes Boo’s reasoning for not wanting to see the world. Tom Robinson’s trial has an effect on Jem’s ideas if empathy. He never pays attention to the actions of others from his own view, he just listens to what people such as Miss. Stephanie say assuming that it is true. When his father has to stand up for Tom on trial for “raping” Mayella Ewell and does not win, Jem can not believe that a group of men could make a decision based off of lies. He asked Atticus multiple times “How could they do that?” and Atticus simply said “they have done it before and they will do it

To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel written by Harper Lee. It is a story that tells of two children, Jem and Scout, growing up in the times of discrimination, depression, and racism. All throughout the novel, Scout tells about her father Atticus Finch, an attorney, defending a black man accused of raping a white woman. The semi-autobiographical novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee uses the characterization of Atticus to show equality and reveals that no one should judge people without knowing their story.

In Harper Lee’s historical fiction novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus shows the children that Maycomb is prejudice, teaches them courage, and the children show maturity. Scout and Jem are children of Atticus who's assigned to defend Tom Robinson is his case and throughout this case Scout’s summer neighbor and friend, Dill, Jem, Atticus, and Scout exuberate of these themes in their actions .Prejudice is when one pre-judges another based on their race, gender, age, or sexuality which one don’t understand and one hates the unknown of another. Courage is doing something without the fear of being judged or fearing the unknown. Maturity is learning lessons and applying them to oneself where one start to display adult characteristics. These

In To Kill a Mockingbird author Harper Lee uses motif to convey a deeper meaning on a repeated phrase. In this point of the story Scout, Jem, and Dill are re-enacting the life of the Radley family. As they reenact this Atticus walks by them and notices that they are playing with scissors, and begins to question if they are reenacting the Radley Family. Out of fright Jem quickly lies and say no, Atticus believes him and goes into his home. As soon as he leaves Scout turns to Jem and suggest that they stop due to the fact that Atticus stopped them, but Jem finds a loophole and says that Atticus didn’t mention them stopping, and as Scout keeps on refusing the fact that all three of them should keep playing, she angers Jem.

To kill a mockingbird written by Harper Lee. Themes are the subject of a talk, a piece of writing or a person's thoughts. There are many themes present in this great American classic such as courage, racism, prejudice, morality and of course coming of age. Lee communicates these themes with characters, events that unfold and the scenarios that Jem and Scout have to face.

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a book thick with symbolism and metaphors. It is a debatable fact that Scout, the female protagonist, is a symbol for innocence. Though the validity of her symbol is in doubt, I am certain that the symbol in this novel for injured faith, or broken innocence, is Boo Radley. That puts in question the reason why Boo continues to amble down the same road of apathy while Scout is being led down the path to unbiased maturity. I believe that Atticus, the father figure in the novel, is the subtle influence that raises Scout to be aware of the immoral actions around her but not to accept them. Prejudice corrupts a child’s progression of innocence to maturity, but Atticus keeps his children from assuming the attitudes of the townspeople.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee takes place in Maycomb, Alabama in 1903. This novel is basically a coming of age story for a young girl named Scout and her older brother named Jem. Who grows up in a time where racism is normal. They soon learn to stand up for what is right, just like their dad, Atticus.