To Kill A Mocking Bird Setting Analysis

During the 1930’s depression, there was a great divide between black and white America. There were many communities and groups who had been exposed to the same treatment and persecution as the Negroes in To Kill a Mockingbird. Harper Lee has used a small town setting, such as that in To Kill a Mockingbird, to illustrate America’s views on white supremacy and the inferiority of the black race. The author has illustrated view that are expressed world-wide through her characters in Maycomb county.

The intriguing novel, To Kill A Mockingbird is written by the prestigious author Harper Lee. Lee has utilised the lifestyle and attitudes towards ‘African-Americans" in the 1930's to create a novel which presents the reader with Lee's attitudes and values. The dominant reading of the novel is focused on the issues of racial prejudice, but there are also a number of other alternative and oppositional readings. Examples of this are the Marxist and feminist readings which can be applied to the text.

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

As the famous American author, Nerburn, says,“It is much easier to become a father than to be one”(http://www.wiseoldsayings.com/fathers-quotes). Nerburn writes about how hard it is to be an eligible father .He proposes the question, “Do people think their father is the person who is able to provide them a lot of guidance or help? In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Jem and Scout live with their father, Atticus, who is a lawyer, and regard him as an excellent example. However, Scout and Jem don’t value Atticus as a father with full diligence because he is elder than most of other students’ father and he is not able to do any sports. Due to the accident with the mad dog, atticus’s educations and the case of Tom Robinson, Jem and Scout come to understand, respect, and finally admire their father.

The ambition of oneself to pursue justice and righteousness may result in prosecution. In the novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, and movie "A Time to Kill" by Joel Schumacher, each demonstrate one’s open-mindedness and forward thinking leads to penalization through protagonists Atticus Finch and Jake Brigance. Both egalitarians take the position as an attorney for an African American and are prosecuted in the process.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee set in Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s tells the story about a family coping with racism and prejudice in the south as Jim Crow laws are enforced. Also, the children of the Finch family have a constant theme of growing up because of morals and knowledge obtained from influencers such as Atticus, their father. Another key character is Boo Radley although he is in only a few chapters he is in the background of most chapters silently influencing the characters. Arthur ¨Boo¨ Radley’s role in To Kill a Mockingbird is to serve as a symbol of a Mockingbird, introduce mystery into the novel, and set up a theme of heroism. He proves these to be true by being innocent the entire novel, being rumored to be an ominous

To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel that revolves around Harper Lee’s perspective on innocence and ignorance. Harper Lee utilizes this ideology to demonstrate how children are influenced by individuals that surround them. The novel is centered around the trial of Tom Robinson and the aura of suspicion surrounding Boo Radley. Lee uses Scout’s interactions with various individuals throughout the novel to convey that fear is created from ignorance and innocence.

“It was Jem’s turn to cry. His face was streaked with angry tears as we made our way through the cheerful crowd. ‘It ain’t right,’ he muttered”...

To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel by Harper Lee, and it is historical fiction set in Maycomb, Alabama in 1933 during the Great Depression. Judging someone on false information or rumor is a common problem throughout many societies. Assumptions can lead to a large amount of damage to the person being judged. The character Boo Radley is locked away in a house where outside that house, he is constantly referred as the loon of the town. No one has ever met him, but everyone in the town of Maycomb, especially the Finch children, Jem and Scout, think they know all about him. The way the citizens view Boo Radley reflects how people can seriously misjudge someone and make assumptions about the person, even though they know nothing about him.

Maycomb County was a sleepy town in Southern Alabama; everyone knew one another, there was hardly any violence, and each resident knew their place in the town’s social system. This would easily entitle Maycomb as “the perfect town,” wouldn’t it? Unfortunately, there is always a flaw in the system. Under the kindness and welcoming environment of this county and its people lies a hidden layer of judgement, uncivilization, and discrimination. Although these traits are hidden, Maycomb County isn’t your ideal, small Southern town.

In the book, To Kill A Mockingbird written by Harper Lee, there are many different themes expressed in many different ways. For example, one of the of the most important themes throughout the story is courage. Courage shows up many times throughout the story in its six main forms, physical, emotional, intellectual, social, spiritual and moral courage. These forms of courage help create a better understanding of the characters as well as change the characters as time passes.

“I think there’s just one kind of folks. Folks”(Lee 304). This concept that Scout brings up goes against what others Maycomb believe in as Maycomb County from To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee has lots of prejudice. Two reasons why the setting is very significant are, Maycomb County is a small town the significance of that is that everyone knows each other and often have the same views as each other this in turn causes prejudice. Also, Maycomb community finds their history to be very important this changes how people act which shows how the setting could have major effects. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, setting is very significant.

In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, by harper lee, the setting is based on a little town, Maycomb, as scout grows up she sees the changes in her society, role of women, and courage. Scout learns more about the world as she grows up and she starts to see the discrimination between the blacks and the whites. Scout hears a lot about Boo Radley but never sees him. She knows how her society is bad from the day Tom Robinson’s trial and from all the rumours that were made of Boo Radley.

In both the text “To Kill a Mockingbird” written by Harper Lee and the film “A Time to Kill” directed by Joel Schumacher, similar ideas are presented using language devices and stylistic features in differing ways to appeal to their target audience. Each have very similar storylines in which a white lawyer defends a an African-American in a prejudiced court case. Racism is a key idea presented strongly in each due to the eras they are set in. The era and country set in each story provide a strong base for the prominent issue. With the unpleasant happenings in each text and through the racist acts the idea of compassion shines through. As well as compassion being a significant idea, forgiveness is also presented through the racists acts.

The story, in the eyes of two innocent children Scout and her brother Jem, of the discrimination and hypocrisy throughout the town. Maycomb County, Alabama, faces an African American’s injustice while the children learn valuable lessons from their father, Atticus and their housemaid Calpurnia, during the Great Depression. All the while, we are learning from it. To Kill a Mockingbird teaches us the lessons of morale, justice and equality.