To Kill A Mockingbird Analysis

'To Kill a Mockingbird' is a novel that was written in the 1960s, but Harper Lee decided to set the novel in the Depression era of the 1930s in a small town in Alabama. Lee provided her readers with a historical background for the affairs of that time and in doing so she exposed the deeply entrenched history of the civil rights in South America. Like the main characters in this novel, Lee grew up in Alabama; this made it easier for her to relate to the characters in the novel as she would have understood what they would have experienced during the period when racism, discrimination and inequality was on the increase within the American 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.

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.

Decades ago, in the 1930s, people of color were not treated fairly. Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird took place in the 1930s in the fictional place of Macomb County, Alabama. It was narrated through a young girl named Scout Finch. Throughout the novel, Scout, her older brother, Jem, and their good friend Dill discover realities of society. Scout and Jem’s father, Atticus, was appointed to be the attorney of a black man. Because of the time period, the case was almost hopeless, but Atticus fought anyway. Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird displays universal themes such as racial intolerance and innocence of youth.

“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”...

In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, author Harper Lee shows many subjects that took place during this difficult time. The Jim Crow Laws, Mob Mentality and the Scottsboro trials influenced her to write the book and inform the readers of To Kill A Mockingbird.

“Morals, Manners, Customs, and Public Perception” by Judge Paul Heath Till uses the theme of Southern Civility to express the change and influence our fast-changing society plays in the reconstruction of the Southern culture. Judge Till’s explanation of the Southern Civility can also be reflected in Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird”, who uses the culture of the South to emphasize the conflicts and the expectations that the family must live up to be accepted into the community. The Southern civility is presented in both texts through the understanding and importance of family and the basic concept of values and mannerism.

To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in an era where Jim Crow laws were used to enforce racism against black people. Jim Crow laws are often referred to as “separate but equal”, with blacks having separate facilities from whites. This can been seen in the separate churches for whites and blacks, and separate

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee has become a mainstay in American high-schools. This is a classic novel that has inspired many people of all ages. It had a big impact on how people viewed and treated each other. This is a story that teaches everyone about the value of honesty, love, friendship and trust. Every word written in this book has a truly deep meaning to it. The time period that the book was written in was during the Great Depression in the 1930’s. This setting was in a small town in Maycomb, Alabama with people who did not get along. During this time there was a lot of segregation within America and different races. To Kill a Mockingbird is about a family who believes in doing the right thing and being honest. There was a

Evil is found all around the world. In Maycomb County, the town consumes evil like a disease. Multiple characters in Harper Lee’s, To Kill A Mockingbird, are often robbed after they stumble across the atrocious sickness passed on from generation to generation. This sickness is identified as the evil in people and events because they all took some innocence from another person. Biased opinions impact many aspects of daily life essentially determining one's future. It left some characters in the novel without a significant other or even took parts of others childhood. Harper Lee suggests that the loss of innocence is caused by the exposure to evil changing one's mindset and life.

Many critics will argue whether or not Harper Lee was successful in connecting two very different storylines in To Kill A Mockingbird. The novel is split into two separate parts, both touching on separate topics. Harper Lee carefully created the different storylines so they were able to connect in numerous subtle ways. Despite the many differences in the two parts of To Kill A Mockingbird, Lee does an appropriate job in joining them together. Harper Lee was successful in connecting the two different storylines by touching on the power of trust in both, incorporating a main issue of inequality into both stories, and overlapping the two storylines at the end of the book.

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.

Placing yourself in another's shoes is one of the most impactful sayings in the book To Kill A Mockingbird, and is brought up very often, however it appears that hardly any of the citizens in Maycomb think about anyone but themselves. Through life everybody will notice that it is common for people to only think of themselves, especially in the era this book took place in, because if whites just put themselves in the shoes of the african-american people they are being racist towards, and pondered about their feelings, certainly they would not be so cruel. Atticus Finch often enforces the idea of considering things from another person's point of view onto his kids, Scout and Jem so that they can grow up with the thoughtfulness that Atticus has. As his children age in this book you can tell they definitely begin to adopt this idea, and show it through their everyday lives.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee has been banned by some school districts since its publication in 1960, but it is also loved and treasured as a classic “full of wisdom” (Greitens) by millions. It is a story of learning to accept others, learning to compromise, learning to be uncomfortable in certain situations. Governor Greitens of Missouri writes to his sons about To Kill a Mockingbird: “Part of the wisdom of the book is how the characters respond to… troubling words. But you can't appreciate their actions without feeling the discomfort. The author wanted you to wince. That kind of discomfort is how you grow…. Discomfort is the warm-up act to growth.” Lee helps Scout, Jem, Dill, and all readers grow through the themes of racism, stereotypes, and integrity.

Do not judge a book by its cover, or a person by their appearance, gossip, or social status. Throughout "To Kill a Mocking Bird", the people of Maycomb, Alabama make many assumptions of others based on town gossip and their appearances. Scout's perception of Arthur Radley evolves from a monster to a kind and neighborly man as the novel progresses.