To Kill A Mocking Bird

I did not expect that I would like To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee as much as I do. Written from the perspective of Scout, a young girl in the 1930’s, this book takes a look at many issues, including racism and sexism, all from the innocent eyes of a child. This book reveals many of the issues and struggles faced during the Great Depression. So far, this book is excellently written.

"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 it" (Lee 30). Atticus Finch says these words to his daughter, Scout, after he elucidates to her why it is important to not be quick to judge a book by its cover . In Harper Lee's To Kill A Mocking Bird, the main conflicts are centered around prejudice. In the tiny town of Maycomb, everybody is set on tradition and there is no room for oddity. Atticus Finch breaks down the walls that everybody else builds up about first and lasting impressions, slowly but surely. Atticus Finch is a discreet example of practicing equality because he espouses the outcasts of Maycomb.

It has been over fifty years since Harper Lee wrote her classic book, To Kill a Mockingbird (TKM). “Harper Lee’s work is so powerful and popular that it has never been out of print,” (Price). Since then, the outside world has changed with significance. People wear jeans instead of slacks, pocket calculators have more computing power than the rocket that put humans on the moon, and culture is advancing faster than the rocket’s return. Through all these changes that have taken place since 1960, TKM remains ever present in the today’s competitive world and it “represents the best and the worst parts of American society” (TKM: Still Relevant). The symbolism and underlying messages of the book, specifically the illustration of the mockingbird in society, is extremely relevant in today’s world.

During the 1960s there was a very strict caste system in the South United States. This caste system was based on race and social inequality. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee the main character and narrator is Scout Finch, a naïve but insightful young child. Through the help of her father, Atticus Finch and her brother Jem Finch she learns about human nature and starts to mature to see the world differently while Lee delivers a brutal and thorough social critique on the existence of social inequality, the coexistence of good and evil, the importance of Moral Education, Innocence and Experience and Fear and Courage through the eyes of an innocent child.

8. Why won’t Walter Cunningham, Jr. take Miss Caroline’s quarter? Because he doesn’t want everyone to know that he can’t afford lunch

In this book, Scout's maturity follows the concept of Bloom's Taxonomy, a multi-tiered model of conceptual thinking according to six levels of complexity (Forehand). Scout starts out using only the two bottom layers of this method, knowledge and observation, and comprehension, both which she has had since a very young age. Scout moves up a level in this system when she applies pre-known knowledge and analyzes situations. For instance, when Walter Cunningham would not take Miss Caroline's money, Scout realizes that Walter wouldn't take the money because he didn't want it, but instead, he wouldn't take it because he could never pay it back. Scout reaches the last two levels, synthesis and

Even though some people aren’t treated equally, many are seen as equal and are treated equally. Some people are seen as unequal because of race, job description, or even age or gender. We are all humans, and are born with many of the same qualities. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Tom Robinson, is treated unequally throughout the book during the case because of his race, but after his trial and death, people such as Aunt Alexandra start to see Tom and others like him as equal. Even though Aunt Alexandra is initially a racist against blacks, she begins to see them as equals once she hears about what the officials did to Tom and how they excessively shot him.

Atticus Finch belongs to a very, very small minority. He is one of the very few human beings who does not hate Hitler. Of course, he does not like the universally hated historical figure, but merely dislikes him. This is a major theme of Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird. One can never, without exception, hate a man. Harper Lee promotes the idea that hatred is never acceptable by creating situations with literary devices like characters, settings, and plots that demand empathy.

In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Jem and Scout grow up learning how people in Maycomb treat one another. In a large portion of the novel, characters of the rich and the poor are involved in Tom Robinson’s case. Some characters are mockingbirds (someone or something that only does good), but nobody was able to see how they could be. Maycomb is infected with racism and prejudice affecting how people view one another including the mockingbirds and the innocent: Mr. Dolphus Raymond, Mayella Ewell, and Walter Cunningham.

With over 30 million copies sold in 40 different languages, To Kill a Mockingbird remains at the top of bestselling novels. Furthermore, it is taught in over three-fourths of American high schools for good reason. In order for any novel to be considered a “timeless classic,” it must contain characters relatable to the audience through the purposeful use of their morally ambiguous actions and address a significant theme relatable to people of any time period. Because it contains morally ambiguous characters relatable to the audience and addresses the enduring ideas of courage, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird should definitely be considered as a “timeless classic.”

“What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you” (Ralph Waldo Emerson). To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a novel about people in the 30’s who show a number of different themes. Firstly, maturity is shown a lot near the end of the novel and during Tom Robinson’s trial. Secondly, racism is a huge part of this novel because a lot of people were judgemental and didn’t approve other races. Lastly, loyalty appears throughout the novel, especially during the trial. Many people in have really grown to be much better people as a result in these challenging times.

The character from “To Kill a Mockingbird” that I can relate the most to is Scout for several different reasons. The first being that Scout doesn’t do what is expected of her which is to act like a stereotypical girl, especially when she only wears her overalls in the beginning of the story. I can relate to this because I don’t always do what is expected of me from others, and just like Scout, I don’t pay attention to their opinions if the situation doesn’t directly affect them. Another way I can relate to Scout is because in the beginning of the story she used to get in many fights with Calpurnia over things that didn’t matter in the long term. Similarly to this, when I was younger and had babysitters, I used to get in fights with them over

"Never make someone else suffer for the mistakes which you make. Be responsible and account for what you do." The Ewell family does exactly this to Tom Robinson, blaming him for a crime he does not commit, and getting away with it. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, is a story about the lives of people in the county of Maycomb in the 1930 's. Lee uses mockingbirds to symbolize innocence and purity, she explains that mockingbirds should not be killed, unlike other birds, because they do not cause destruction, they only sing for others ' enjoyment. Tom Robinson is an African-American man who gets accused of raping Mayella Ewell, by her and her father, Bob Ewell, who is a drunk. In court, the jury rules Tom guilty, only based on the fact that he is black, and the Ewells are white, however, Tom is, in fact, innocent and has done nothing wrong. Tom Robinson best represents the mockingbird in the text, because he symbolizes innocence by only wanting to help people, with no bad intentions.

Highly regarded as one of the best books ever written, To Kill a Mockingbird has proven to be a book of high importance. Involving themes of racism, gender, and equal prejudice, its height noted why this book is read by thousands of students in America. Written by the recently deceased Harper Lee, it was published in 1960 and went to be a Pulitzer Prize winning book in 1961. The novel takes place during the Great Depression in Maycomb County, It's narrated by Jean Louise “Scout” Finch as she goes through the events of the trial of Tom Robinson. The symbolism of the book’s title is related to the loss of innocence. Scout’s brother Jem and Tom Robinson loose their innocence throughout the novel.

To Kill a Mockingbird is a 1962 film directed by Robert Mulligan, and is based on the novel by Harper Lee of the same name. The film stars Gregory Peck (Atticus Finch), Mary Badham (Scout Finch), Phillip Alford (Jem), John Megna (Dill), Robert Duvall (Boo Radley), and Brock Peters (Tom Robinson). To start the film a woman is narrating her childhood in Macomb, Alabama that was "a tired old town even in 1932." She (Scout) recalls that she was six years old that summer. Scout and her brother Jem are fascinated by the neighbors a few door down, particularly Boo Radley, which they share with Dill, a boy visiting town for the summer. The primary plot line for Scout, Jem, and Dill revolves around Boo Radley.