To Kill A Mockingbird Analysis

Author uses Atticus teach these lessons through his wise words. Atticus teaches these lessons to not only the audience, but Jem and Scout too. Some of the main things he teaches his kids about are understanding people, using the mind instead of the body, the cruel reality of stereotypes, and true

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.

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

"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.

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.

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.

Boo Radley never harmed anyone, but was judged by the rumors spreading across the community. Although he was not actually introduced until the end of the novel, Boo Radley is set up to be the last discovered symbolic character for the image of the mockingbird. During the last chapter of the novel, Scout comes to the realization that blaming Boo for Bob Ewell's death would be "sort of like shooting' a mockingbird." (chapter 30). Getting Boo sent to jail or killed would be like killing a mockingbird. Boo is truly a good person. He left gifts for Jem and Scout in the trunk of a tree, he wrapped a blanket around them when Miss Maudie's house caught on fire, and he saved them from Bob Ewell when he tried to murder them. Boo Radley is a victim of Maycomb's social prejudice and a perfect representation of Harper Lee's description of the mockingbird.

Despite his acts of kindness to the children, including gifts of a “broken old pocket watch” and the reparation of Jem’s pants, he goes unacknowledged by the children. Boo, a man forced into solitude. Symbolises a mockingbird who was abused at the hand of his own father. Like boo, tom struggles with the power mishap of cruelty from someone in a higher social standing. The children’s growth is full recognised when boo’s act of protection at the end of the novel epitomises not only his strong moral nature. But finally the children realise that boo radley is not the gothic themed “six and a half” feet tall, squirrel-eating monster their innocence portrayed him to be, and instead is a kind man who ultimately save the lives of both kids. This epidemic leads scout to the conclusion that punishing boo for him chivalry acts “would be like shootin’ a mockingbird wouldn’t it?”

“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

His character strongly symbolizes one of a Mockingbird. Due to the fact that he has stayed in his house for his whole adult life, the children have never seen him before, which has created stories of him being a bad person, which like Tom Robinson, is not the case. Miss Maudie explains, “ ‘... I remember Arthur Radley when he was a boy. He always spoke nicely to me, no matter what folks said he did. Spoke as nicely as he knew how.’” (61). Miss Maudie discusses her view on Boo Radley, which is that what is told to the children about Boo Radley is not the truth. In reality, he is a very nice man who would never hurt anybody. The reason why Boo Radley stays in his house is merely because he wants to. He wants to be left alone, similar to a Mockingbird, who should just be left alone. In the book, Heck Tate tries to convince Atticus that exposing Boo Radley for killing Bob Ewell is wrong. He says,“ ‘...All the ladies in Maycomb includin’ my wife’d be knocking on his door bringing angel food cakes. To my way of thinkin’, Mr. Finch, taking the one man who’s done you and this town a great service an’ draggin’ him with his shy ways into the limelightーto me, that’s a sin. It’s a sin and I’m not about to have it on my head. If it was any other man it’d be different. But not this man, Mr. Finch.” (370). Heck Tate also points out that it would be a sin to tell people that Boo was the one that killed Bob Ewell. This is a

“Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy… but sing their heart out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” Harper Lee. The book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is about how black people and white people in the South didn’t really get along all that well. The main characters: Scout, Jem, and Dill grow throughout the story and learn important life lessons about how to get along with others that are both black and white. A metaphor that Atticus Finch tells his children is that “...it is a sin to kill a mockingbird.” This is very important throughout the book because it pretty much is the recurring theme that you shouldn’t judge someone until you have walked in their shoes. In this book, there are some characters

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.