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.

From her front porch, Jem just sees her as a bitter old lady however, once he gets close up to her he realizes what bad condition she is in and how frail she is. The fact that Jem does not know about Mrs. Dubose’s illness also shows her courage because she is fighting her horrible illness without the support of her community. After Mrs. Dubose dies, Atticus reveals that Mrs. Dubose wanted to die free and that she is the bravest person he has ever known. During a conversation between Atticus and Jem, Atticus says “I wanted you to see what real courage is... It’s when you know you’re licked but you begin anyway...

Growing up is a difficult task, especially when the town around you doesn’t offer to help you understand what’s going on around you. Using many examples of the loss of childhood innocence, Harper Lee shows us that a corrupted society leads to growing up faster and one’s childhood is stripped away. Through Jem, the eldest of the Finch children, and Scout, the youngest, the readers see how a trial in 1930 Alabama takes a toll of young minds. In Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, she implies that growing up leads to loss of innocence, especially in troubling times.

In order to survive in this world, one must have enough courage to clarify things in life and make them appear easier. Courage is what makes us individuals different from others. It shows in what we believe and the power of belief over will. There is no courage without risk but courage can be fearful. With courage we can stand up for what we believe is right or wrong. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch , Link Deas and Mrs. Dubose show courage in different ways. Atticus shows his courage by taking Tom Robinson's case and defending him. Link Deas shows his courageously and bravely by standing up for Tom Robinson. Also Mrs.Dubose shows her courage by trying to stop being addicted to Morphine before dieing. Each individual that

In To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, Scout and Jem learn many things about courage, from many different people, throughout the story. I believe that courage is when someone does something, that they might be scared to do, for the well being of themselves or someone else. There are many people that show courage in this novel, but there are three people that show courage that really stick out to me; Atticus, Mrs. Dubose, and Boo Radley. I feel like Scout and Jem really learned a lot about courage from all three of them.

“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

In To Kill a Mockingbird courage does not concern winning or losing, but instead is revealed through fighting for what is right, no matter the consequences. Atticus explains this well when he says, “when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and see through no matter what” (Chapter ). The novel contains many acts of courage such as Jem protecting his family, Atticus and his determination for justice and Ms Dubose's fight against her morphine

Courage is universally recognized by all men in every single culture, yet what it truly means is usually mixed up with physical strength or using an advantage no one else had to win. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, True courage is defined as fighting as hard as you can in a fight that may not be in your favor, or facing a situation you are terrified of. Through her character's, Lee shows this definition of courage. Atticus, Mrs. Dubose, and Arthur (Boo) Radley all show tremendous courage throughout the book by defending a dead man, beating an addiction, and preventing a murderer from stealing the lives of two innocent children.

Atticus explains to Scout that the only conclusion doesn’t always have to be informed physically. In this novel, the most important act of courage that occurs through Atticus is his fearlessness towards the case. Atticus speaks of the Tom Robinson trial. He must face a court case that will have a serious personal effect upon himself and his family. Atticus recognizes the need for justice and that it is his duty to achieve this to make this town realize the discrimination and racism that lies between it.

In Part One, Atticus Finch defines courage as “when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what.” These words describe the actions of many characters in the book "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee. Two characters who display courage in the mindset of Atticus are Mrs. Doboes and Atticus himself. Both individuals were certain of the negative outcome of their struggles, however, both persevered anyway.

In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird there is a theme of courage throughout the story. Harper Lee’s message about courage is that adults and children can be equally courageous. Harper Lee wants her readers to know that courage can be shown in many different ways. Some of the courageous acts in this story are when Atticus takes the case for Tom Robinson, and when Scout stands up for Walter Cunningham. Other examples include, when Boo saves Scout’s life from Bob Ewell and when Mrs. Dubose overcomes her addiction. All of these actions display Harper Lee’s message of courage.

Courage is strength. Courage is honesty. Courage is standing one’s ground no matter what. Courage is standing up for others. In Harper Lee’s classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout and Jem Finch, along with their father Atticus, live in Maycomb County, a small, mainly racist town in Alabama during the Great Depression. The Finch family’s neighbor, Mrs. Dubose, and Atticus display acts of personal courage in the story. Specifically, Mrs. Dubose displays courage in her honesty and strength, and Atticus displays courage in his responses to racism based threats and keeping others safe.

Atticus views her struggles with her morphine addiction as admirable enough, but Atticus and Lee made a point of showing that Mrs. Dubose wanted to die as free “as the mountain air” (148), unlimited by the medications in her blood. As Mrs. Dubose embarks on her dramatic fight to have her body back under her control, Atticus recognises two things about the intense older woman, both regarding the bravery it took to attempt what she did. Firstly, he becomes aware that Mrs. Dubose is sick and was already doomed to meet her death in the near future. In spite of this, she decides that she had had enough of her addiction and wants to become just herself again, not just an ill woman who relies on a substance to numb the pain she is feeling. Secondly, Atticus realizes that Mrs. Dubose is not only fighting the withdrawal of the drug itself, but also against her own body’s pain that the morphine was meant to numb. She takes the medication to escape the hurt of living, yet wants nothing more than to bring herself back to a world where she is in control of her own fate and fortune. Lee’s writing Mrs. Dubose into the story presents courage as facing the demons you know will eventually cause your downfall, all while holding your head high. To Atticus, Mrs. Dubose’s actions and choices define her as a brave and honourable person, even if she never agrees with his views. After her death, Atticus continues to have respect for her and the personal

Sophie Turner, a famous actress, once said: “To me, bravery is to stand up for what you believe in”. This quote reveals that true courage is when you keep on trying even when you are fighting a losing battle. This relates to the message of the story, To Kill A Mockingbird, because during the time the story took place, it wasn’t easy to treat a person by their actions instead of their appearance or race without being considered a disgrace to their kind. An examination of Atticus, Mrs. Dubose, and Tom Robinson reveals that they are brave because they keep persevering to achieve their goals even when it’s much easier just to give up.

Scout, as a nine year old girl, still believes that justice and fairness exist, even though she dosen’t know exactly what it means. To Scout, the ideas of justice and fairness do not matter to her until Atticus was appointed to defend Tom Robinson and children began to call her names she did not understand. Scout then asked Atticus what they meant, and Atticus replied, “I’m simply defending a Negro—his name’s Tom Robinson. He lives in that little settlement beyond the town dump...Scout, you aren’t old enough to understand some things yet, but there’s been some high talk around town to the effect that I shouldn’t do much about defending this man” (75). This conversation with Atticus shows that Scout is too young to truly understand justice and why they are so vital to society; however she does show signs