To Kill A Mockingbird Analysis

Ms.Dubose was an old lady down the block from Jem and Scout, that would shout out malicious things to them about themselves and their family. One example of Jem being childish and acting immature is, that when Ms.Dubose said Atticus was “lawing for a n******” he teared up her precious camellias. This shows how he was immature and couldn't control his actions and made a rash decision when faced with rude comments. Following this destruction, Jem’s punishment is to read every day, including Saturdays, for two hours at Mrs. Dubose’s house. Which he loathes doing because she is a senile old women, who makes rude remarks every time he comes over. At the end of the chapter, Atticus reveals to Jem that she was addicted to morphine and that the reading was part of her effort to wean off of her addiction. Jem receives a gift from Ms.Dubose which is a single camellia. This revels Jem feels surprised, guilty, and saddened when he sees her gift. The camellia was a reminder for the reasons he spent time with Mrs. Dubose, but it was also was a sign for him to remember her by. Atticus teaches Jem a very important lesson that not all heroes use guns and weapons, but have the real courage and strength to fight for what they want to get. “I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what. We finally see when Jem starts to grow up and give things thought when “He picked up the camellia…I saw him fingering the white petals” This shows how Jem has empathy for Ms.Dubose and realizes that she was fighting and had admiration for her. Jem matures and shows how he can be understanding about

To have courage is to be brave in the face of adversity. After the death of Mrs Dubose, Atticus uses the fact to show Jem how she had influenced him in her lifetime. When Jem returns from tearing up Mrs Dubose’s camellias in a fit of rage, Atticus sends him straight back over to apologize to the old lady for his actions. In return to her for his mistakes, Jem was to make it up to her, by coming over and reading to her everyday for a month. As Jem makes his way through the long days, he finds it very hard to cope.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

Jem's definition of valor changes as he matures; he gains insight in the world. At the beginning of the novel, he only thinks of bravery as simply touching the Radley’s house, because "in all his life, [he] had never declined a dare”(Lee 13). Jem is quite intrigued and curious about Boo’s life throughout the novel and often finds himself risking everything just to get a better understanding of the complex character. At first, like any young boy, Jem tends to judge a book by its cover, but after months of growing into an understanding young man, he comes to the realization that Boo is not the monster everyone thinks he is. Jem comes to the conclusion that maybe Boo is just as scared of what's outside as the kids are of whats inside the Radley house; “Scout, I think I'm beginning to understand something. I think I'm beginning to understand why Boo Radley's stayed shut up in the house all this time. It's because he wants to stay inside”( Lee 227). Also throughout the trial, Jem shows his interest in the Tom Robinson case. He feels sympathy for the Robinson family and grows to truly understand the extent of how wrong it was for Tom to be found guilty. He shows a lot of emotion when he cries after the verdict was revealed, "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… ‘It ain't right, Atticus,' said Jem. ‘No son, it's

He starts off as an immature boy who considers himself courageous, and often commits mischievous acts to prove his fearlessness. An example of this is when Dill dares him to go and touch the Radleys’ house. Insead of giving up, he “wanted Dill to know once and for all that he wasn't scared of anything” (Lee 14). He believes that being afraid was a weakness, while never declining a dare was the definition of being courageous. His definition of courage changes as he matures. After destroying Mrs.Dubose’s camellias due to his anger and his hate for her, Jem is forced to read to her as a punishment. She has fits during the reading sessions and soon dies. Atticus explains to the children that she fought with a morphine addiction and he claims, “I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway… and you see it through no matter what... According to [Mrs. Dubose's] views, she died beholden to nothing and nobody. She was the bravest person I ever knew” (Lee 112). She didn’t give in to her morphine addiction and dies clean. From this Jem learns a different form of courage. He realizes that courage is not only having the ability to do something frightening, but it is also going through with something that is destined to

“Shoot all the Bluejays you want, if you can hit’em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (Lee pg. 90). The bird, mentioned nearly twice, seems to show little importance to the story. Nonetheless, it resembles the perception of some characters. The one time Scout had ever heard Atticus say it was a sin to do anything was when referring to the mockingbird. He advised his children when hunting to never shoot a mockingbird. Miss Maudie followed with further detail by explaining that “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” (Lee pg.90).

Secondly, In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird many different issues are addressed. One of these is the maturing of Jem Finch. Although Jem is still a child at the beginning of the novel being immature and unaware of the society and issues that surround him, he matures a great deal mentally to the point where he sees the evil in society and understands political, social and emotional issues as an adult would. Three main points that come across at the start to show that Jem is still a child are that he is young, plays with his little sister, and has childhood monsters. However, as the novel progresses he deals

According to Cameron Diaz, “I don’t care how smart a kid you are. The only way you learn what’s not right is from experience.” The only way that people learn is from experience. A person either makes the right decision or the wrong. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, there were many instances when the main character, Scout, learned something. The book being focused on black against white. There was a black man accused of rape, when really he was innocent. The facts were there, but in the end the people went with the white over black. Scout, the main character, learned multiple life lessons throughout the book. Three main life lessons Scout learned are that life isn’t fair, to use her head, and not to judge people.

Jem had been exposed to the horrors of the real world. His lose of innocence was reflected in his recognition that he hadn’t known of the awful struggle Mrs. Dubose faced with drug addiction. Jem had learned a powerful lesson that grown ups have their own flaws. He did not like that she had insulted his father, yet he realized he should have been kinder to her. While people don’t always make their struggles known, it doesn’t mean the struggles are non-existent, as such, he is forced into adulthood through his compassion for someone who had also insulted his father.

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.