To Kill A Mocking Bird Literary Analysis

To kill a mockingbird can mean many things. It’s the title of a book that has been bought 40 million times. But, it also has a definition. To kill a mockingbird means to destroy innocence. The theme of my literary analysis is mockingbirds. Mockingbirds in TKAM are innocent things tainted by the skewed society of Maycomb. Some of these mockingbirds are Boo Radley, Tom Robinson, and the children. To Kill a Mockingbird is a book set in a small Alabama town in the 1930’s. The main character and narrator is Jean Louise Finch, but is almost always called by her nickname, Scout. Scout, her brother, and her summer friend Dill get into all kinds of mischief while living in the racist society of a 1930’s Alabama town. Scout’s dad, Atticus, is a prominent lawyer in Maycomb and is appointed to a controversial case, and is defending a black man. Scout and her brother, Jem go through many troubles and learn many lessons from the days leading up to, and during the trial. The trail makes their family some friends and a lot of enemies. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a story of courage and despair. Throughout TKAM, mockingbirds are used as an example of something innocent being tainted by the skewed society of TKAM. Some great examples of these are Boo Radley, Tom Robinson, and the children.

Atticus Finch is widely regarded as one of the most influential characters in modern literature. His pivotal role in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee exemplifies this influence and demonstrates his positive effect on his children, Jem and Scout. Throughout the novel, Atticus leads by example and provides lessons and teachings for his children to follow. His wisdom proves to be an instrumental part in the maturation and development of his children, and helps them to grow, learn, and adapt to the changing world around them. Atticus Finch teaches his children important lessons by forcing Jem read to Mrs. Dubose, remaining pacifistic, and defending Tom Robinson; therefore, he is a beneficial father and role model for his children.

Atticus Finch’s teaching shows that he is a good father to Jem and Scout because he explains things that the children don’t understand. For example, when Atticus and Scout agree that they will go on reading every night, Atticus says, “I’m afraid our activities would be received with considerable disapprobation by the more learned authorities.” Scout says, “Huh,

As Stephen King once said, “The trust of the innocent is the liar’s most useful tool.” In the book "To Kill a Mockingbird", by Harper Lee, Jean Louise Finch, a young girl who also goes by Scout, experiences many things such as racism, friends, and family. Her father, Atticus Finch, is a lawyer who is sacrificing his reputation to defend a black man, Tom Robinson. Scout and her friends take it upon themselves to uncover the mystery of Boo Radley. In this book the mockingbirds represent innocence. Many characters take on the role of the “mockingbird". Exploring Lee’s title, to kill a mockingbird is to kill innocence.

"Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird" (pg. 119.) Miss Maudie spoke the previous quote with deep thought going into each and every word. She wasn't just trying to teach Scout a lesson, but she wanted there to be a powerful meaning behind it. Miss Maudie's main purpose was to stress that you shouldn't kill something that is doing no harm. Everyday "mockingbirds" are killed, broke down, and mistreated by society.

Atticus Finch is one of the first characters introduced to us in the book. He is also one of the most wises. Atticus is a lawyer who is appointed the job of defending Tom Robinson. He knows before he begins that he 's going to lose this case, but that doesn 't stop him from giving Tom the strongest defense he possibly can. And, importantly, Atticus doesn 't put so much effort into Tom 's case because he 's an African American, but

Lee implies that people learn lessons through life experiences that school can ever teach. Throughout this novel, Atticus taught his kids many lessons that was hard for them to hear at times, but it later on helped them in the story. Or it helped them grow up and mature. On page 40 of To Kill A Mockingbird, Atticus was explaining to Scout that Miss.Caroline was new and didn’t know anyone, and she especially didn’t know the Cunningham’s story, Atticus states, “Atticus said… but if Walter and I had put ourselves in her shoes we’d have seen it was an honest mistake on her part” (40). This quote by Atticus is meant to explain to Scout that Miss. Caroline just made an honest human mistake. He tried to get Scout to realize that if he put herself in Miss.Caroline’s shoes then she might better understand the confusion. Obviously you can’t really be in her shoes, but he said it figuratively to show her why it was important to give her another chance, or at least try to be nice and listen. Atticus taught this to Scout at home later on that night. At her school after that she tried to just get by in her class. Lee also shows mainly throughout that the school system doesn’t help when it comes to teaching children life lessons. As shown in the earlier quote Atticus, had told Scout to jump in Walter’s shoes, and walk around in it. This other quote shows how Scout actually takes into consideration of Atticus’ words, and chooses to not bother Jem because she tried to imagine what it had

Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird tells of a town in Alabama, called Maycomb. In this deeply-rooted racist town, there is a trial against an African American man, accused of raping a white woman. One man, however, Atticus Finch, has the opportunity to help the the man on trial. Although he knows he will lose the trial, he takes the case anyway. Atticus is respected in Maycomb, and known for his wisdom and experience. He is a good-hearted, egalitarian man who is always there and willing to provide guidance to his children and to the town of Maycomb, with his years of practice and experience.

Finally, Atticus is a good role model because he fights for equality. While some might believe that Atticus does not fight for equality because he could take on more cases, he does fight for equality because he is the only lawyer to put his all into defending a black man. Every lawyer that was assigned a black man who was falsely accused of charges in Maycomb simply let the man be convicted. They did not offer the basic right of a lawyer in court that they deserved. However, when Atticus was assigned the role to defend Tom Robinson, he saw that the man was innocent and decided to put all of his effort into defending Tom. Atticus went

Atticus, however, was a brave Christian man with moral values. He was polite and humble, and saw everyone as equals. Scout said of her father, “It was times like these when I thought my father, who hated guns and had never been to any wars, was the bravest man who ever lived.”Atticus shows that he is above the people of Maycomb when he took Tom Robinson’s case, rather than sharing their racist feelings. However, he still respected their choice; “They're certainly entitled to think that, and they're entitled to full respect for their opinions... but 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.” Even when he and his family were deemed as outcasts, he didn’t drop his case. He discouraged his

In the book, Atticus, is one of the biggest influential people in the story who always believed in doing the right thing. He was a selfless man, who loved his family and cared for the people of his town. Atticus always saw the good in people over the bad. During the trial, he was hoping the people would support

To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, is a fictional novel that was published in the 1960’s. It tells the tale of a young girl named Scout, and her family who live in Alabama in the 1930’s where blacks still do not have equal rights. A black man is on trial for the supposed rape of a young lady, Mayella Ewell, and one courageous lawyer, Atticus Finch, the father of Scout, decides to prove his innocence even though the odds are stacked against him. In the novel courage is defined by a quote that states, “It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyways and you see it through no matter what…” (Lee, 149).

Although Atticus in Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird, may seem like a person with good character, he truly isn’t. Atticus does do some things in the novel that portrays good character but in the big picture, he isn’t that good of a person as readers might think he is.

Atticus Finch is an honest, humble, and fair man. He is one of the most important characters of the book, and he sets an example for everyone else in Maycomb. His actions are motivated by his struggle for justice and his dedication to his family, friends, and the innocent or weak, which connects to the second theme of the Individual in Society. Atticus portrays these traits a lot throughout the book, when educating and correcting his kids on their actions and their behavior, or when helping others in Maycomb as a lawyer. Atticus is a stern but fair father, harsh when he needs to be but forgiving and attentive, ready to listen when his kids have something to say.

It becomes clear why Atticus thinks education is so important. Although Miss Caroline disapproved of Atticus reading to Scout, he promised Scout to read to her before bed each night. This is because Atticus believes that learning is the key to prevent prejudice. Also part of Atticus? role as a father is teacher. Most of Scout and Jem?s knowledge came from Atticus. He taught them important life lessons that cannot learned from books or blackboards. ?You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view...until you climb into his