To Kill A Mockingbird: A Narrative 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.

“It takes a village to raise a child”, is an African Proverb. In other words, it can take more than just a child’s nuclear family to make her grow into who she will be as an adult. This lens is true because even though parents and siblings have a major effect on a child, and how they turn out later on in life, society and a child’s surrounding are what really shapes, and makes them who they are. What a child sees when he or she is new to the world, and doesn’t know everything, effects their behavior, and outlook on their life ahead. This lens is illustrated in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by

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.

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.

Yet Perry’s childhood bliss was taken from him, somehow creating his current disposition, the true purpose is the falling of unity from inside the people of Holcomb, therefore; pinning every person against another. A dark curtain that falls over the children, parents, farmhands, hunting regulars, and police officials. A curtain that keeps them apart from one another because they are lost in the infinite blackness that surrounds them, an evil they let seep into their minds and imaginations.

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.

Mockingbirds will only sing their hearts, not cause any damage or give their lives to pleasing others. Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird great examples are shown of different types of mockingbirds. Atticus Finch, Tom Robinson, and Arthur (Boo) Radley are great examples of representing a mockingbird.

Imagine you are a lawyer tasked with an impossible case, and everybody in your community is against you, but still there is a shred of hope you cling to. What might that be you ask? That to which you cling are your morals. In To Kill a Mockingbird Atticus Finch had been given the Tom Robinson case, where a black man was convicted of raping a white woman. As a single father of two children, he continues to reinforce his values throughout the trial and during his daunting task of raising his children. In To Kill A Mockingbird what Harper Lee suggests about the nature of morals is that you should try to stand up for what you believe in even if people oppose or reject your ideals. Even when faced with an insurmountable opposition you should stand up for your morals because in the end if your don't follow your beliefs you are just contributing to the problem. We should try to create a voice for what we believe in and impress that upon the next generation so they can continue to exercise their beliefs to make the world a better place.

On August 9, 2014,a young man by the name of Michael Brown was shot and killed by a police officer. It is little known why the shooting occurred, but the boy was unarmed.This could be one of many cases of modern day racism and segregation. In 1930, “even after the abolishment of slavery in 1865, blacks were still almost powerless(BBC 2)”.Blacks were heavily segregated and had almost no rights.Many cases of segregation in the 1930s caused a lot of current day racial tension in the united states.

Coming-of-age does not just involve cakes, parties, and grandparents, it is something much more exciting than that. Coming-of-age is the time when children gain new perspectives that will forever change their life. These perspectives may come from a great teacher, a mission trip, or even a disease. Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is an excellent example of gaining perspectives. To Kill a Mockingbird is not only an intense book about a young girl’s adventure, but it also has a deeply philosophical meaning. David Dobb’s “Beautiful Brains” is also a good example of how coming-of-age involves gaining new perspectives. “Beautiful Brains” explains the science behind why coming-of-age involves gaining new perspectives. To Kill a Mockingbird’s

The Start of Change People will be impacted by others around them or other life events, that will change them into a different version of themselves. In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Scout is just your everyday girl until a life-changing discussion happens with her father, causing her to change. Lee characterizes Scout as childish at the beginning of the novel, but by the end of the novel, Scout has developed into a compassionate young woman. In chapter 9 of To Kill A Mockingbird, Scout gots into a fight with her cousin, Francis, in the front yard.

What Makes To Kill A Mockingbird a Classic? What qualifications are needed in a book to consider it a classic? Some factors that take part in making a book a classic are; addressing universal concerns, shifts a person’s point of view on life, test of time, universal appeal, makes connections, etc.. To Kill A Mockingbird is a classic book because it stands the test of time, addresses universal concerns, makes connections and shifts a person’s point of view on life.

When I had gotten to go get my pants when I snuck in the Radley house, I was really shocked to see my pants mended together and was neatly hanging over the fence. I thought this over for the past week. Staying silent and a little moody I guess trying figure out how that was possible. I later decided to tell Scout about it. She had reassured me a little bit.

The pounding of footsteps rang through the clearing. I could hear my heart thumping. The footsteps grew louder and louder. Harsh shouts erupted from behind me. They were coming. So, I ran. Time slowed as I darted in and out of the dark trees. I eyed the woods around me. Surely, there had to be a someone there, but I could see no one. All seemed calm, aside from hunting cry of a bird. Dimly, I sensed a presence behind me. I spun to meet my hunter a second too late. And all at once, I realized with a shock, I was hit.

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.