To Kill A Mockingbird Analysis

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.

"Mockingbirds don’t do one thing except make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corn cribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”-To Kill A mocking Bird. Although rarely mentioned in the book, the idea of killing a mocking bird appears very significant in Harper lee's To Kill A Mockingbird, hence the title. Lee uses this idea of the literal killing an innocent bird as a representation for the major underlying theme of racism. To Lee, the mockingbird represented the innocent inhabitants of Maycomb Alabama who, through racism, suffered hate, persecution, and murder.

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.

He is referred to as a mockingbird because he suffers he is stuck and constantly talked negatively by the town.It's the only form of contact he has with the outside world. Boo (Arthur Radley) is actually a very shy character who is often misjudged by society including scout and jem. As the story goes on, we find Scout beginning to realize Boo radelys true intentions and the situation when she tells Atticus that exposing Boo would be "sort of like shootin' a mockingbird, wouldn't it?” Throughout the novel, Scout, Jem, and Dill are curious about the "mysterious" Boo Radley because he never comes outside from his house or associates with anyone in the neighborhood.

“It's right hard to say," she said. "Suppose you and Scout talked colored-folks' talk at home it'd be out of place, wouldn't it? Now what if I talked white-folks' talk at church, and with my neighbors? They'd think I was puttin' on airs to beat Moses, "But Cal, you know better," I said. “It's not necessary to tell all you know. It's not ladylike—in the second place, folks don't like to have somebody around knowing more than they do. It aggravates 'em. You're not gonna change

“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”...

Boo Radley is one of the hermit residents of the Radley house. Boo leaves gifts for Jem and Scout and is one of the good people mistaken for creepy and

When Atticus is questioned by Scout about his new case, Atticus replies,”I’m simply defending a Negro—his name’s Tom Robinson.” (Lee 100). To begin with, Atticus simply tells Scout that defending an African American is not a big deal despite how the town chooses to react. He is trying to show Scout that he does not care if the people of Maycomb are slandering him, but he believes that taking a huge risk such as defending Tom Robinson is worth taking if its to save someone. Furthermore, as the two children plan to practice shooting, Atticus advises them, “Shoot all the Bluejays you want, if you can hit’em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a Mockingbird.” (Lee 119). It is metaphorically symbolized that Tom Robinson is a Mockingbird. His sentence was death, even though Tom never did anything to harm anyone. The fact that he was black made sure he was convicted of a crime. Tom Robinson was a symbol of innocence who was falsely accused. Atticus’ decision clearly confirms that he is standing up for his

Despite all the dangers they knew or thought they knew about Boo they still went into his yard and disrupted him and his family. Atticus said “…someday, maybe, scout can thank him for covering her up…Boo Radley. You were so busy looking at the fire you didn’t know it when he put the blanket around you.” Boo Radley is a good guy that no one gives a chance because even though Scout and Jem never left him alone for a couple of years he still nice to them, he was almost like their guardian angel because he made sure they were warm at the fire and protected them when Bob Edwell attacked them.

At the beginning of the book when Scout and Jem get their new air rifles Atticus says-“I’d rather you shot at tin cans in the back yard, but I know you'll go after birds. Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird." Later on when Scout and Jem are at Mrs. Maudie’s house she explains to them that it is a sin to kill mockingbirds because they are songbirds that do nothing but give pleasure to people. The mockingbirds are the innocent people in the novel who are killed or injured. The title TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD foreshadows that the mockingbirds in the story are killed or injured by the malignant behavior of mankind.

He is thought to devour cats, spy on residents, and is most well known for stabbing his father. What almost no one recognizes is the delightful, kind hearted side to him. Though the main character, Scout, and her brother, Jem, antagonize and treat him as an oddity, he still hides treats for them in the tree outside his house. Boo is shy and clearly and introvert, but even after being interpreted as a monster he still treats everyone well much like in chapter four "Tinfoil was sticking out of a knot-hole just above my eye level, winking at me in the afternoon sun. I stood on my tiptoe, hastily looked around once more, reached into the hole, and withdrew two pieces of chewing gum minus their outer

The author writes, “‘Remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.’” That was the only time I ever heard Atticus say it was a sin to do something, and I asked Miss Maudie about it. ‘Your father’s right,’ she said. ‘Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy . . . but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.’” This is when the idea of the mockingbird being a symbol throughout the novel comes into play. Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee paints a picture of certain characters being mockingbirds. Many can be identified, such as Boo Radley, Tom Robinson, and even Atticus Finch. All three were innocents that were attacked by evil, thus being mockingbirds.

Mayella Ewell is an abused young woman in Maycomb, Alabama who accused an African American man Tom Robinson of rape during the Great Depression in the early 1930’s. Mayella took advantage of the Jim Crow laws so she could end the mental and physical abuse her father caused. Since Mayella is white and female, she has power. Although she lives behind a dumpster this still provides a significant amount of power for her. In the book “To Kill A Mockingbird” Harper Lee shows Mayella’s power for class during the trial.

“Courage doesn’t mean you don’t get afraid. Courage means you don’t let fear stop you,” stated Bethany Hamilton, an American professional surfer, who survived a shark attack, when she was only 13 years of age. This quote relates to the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, on account that plenty of people in the book had fear, but did not let it stop them from doing what they needed to do. A few of these courageous people were Mrs. Dubose, Atticus, and Boo Radley.