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.

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

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.

“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

Jem ages from 10 to 13 in the book To Kill a Mockingbird, and this aging period is a period of great change in any child's life. Jem is not an exception to this rule. Scout is one of the characters that develops a lot. He develops in many different ways. Fascinatingly, the changes he goes through are seen from the point-of-view of his younger sister, Scout Finch..

Since the story began with Jem being a ten-year-old boy, the story develops for about three years, so in the end, Jem is thirteen. Harper Lee hints that he is going through puberty when Jem begins to keep quiet to himself. Jem now sees the world in a whole other perspective, and during the Tom Robinson trail, he shows understandings of the events occurring by whispering comments about how well Atticus is doing and how sure he is that Tom Robinson will be acquitted. When Tom Robinson is sentenced, Jem is furious and he breaks into tears. His understanding of the world stands out here since he knows it was the wrong thing to do.

Harper Lee’s Novel To Kill a Mockingbird details the life of young Scout Finch and brother Jem Finch, who is growing up in a time of racial uniqueness. Jem and Scout Finch are what most would call a typical family growing up in the small Alabama town of Maycomb. They encounter many different obstacles during their childhood missions with many characters making the novel an interesting read. Throughout the book, Lee is showing Jem and Scout grow up and become mature young adults. This novel, written by Harper Lee, demonstrates the themes of growing up, Innocence and most importantly, racism.

At the beginning of the story, Jem has many misconceptions. "Jem's idea of bravery is simply touching the side of the Radley house" (Castleman.) Jem Finch starts as a ten year old boy. Taking away from the novel, this particular period in a boy’s life is very important as the long journey to manhood begins. It is enough that Jem is going through this time in

Yet, this time it is more based on his observations alone and not being taught. Jem first is visibly changed in his view of bravery. In the beginning of the novel, Jem thinks that being brave is just touching the Radley house. But as the story progresses he sees real acts of bravery; Atticus shooting a mad dog, Mrs. Dubose’s addiction battle, and even Scout standing up to the mob at the jail. After seeing Scout stand up to the crowd at the jail, Jem declares: “I ain’t going,” (154), even after his father’s threats and pleas. This shows that Jem has minded other’s courage and learned how to really show it. An addition, from part two of the book onward, Jem is going through puberty. This definitely has an effect on his attitude and his view of others. Jem is shown to talk differently, wants to be alone, and acts more professional. Scout gets tired of Jem’s poor attitude and threatening to spank her to act high and mighty, so she attempts to beat up Jem. Scout, enraged, says: “With that, I was gone. ‘You damn morphodite, I’ll kill you!’” (139). This is a natural stage of a teen’s life, but Jem picks up these attributes of trying to be a father figure from Atticus. It is clear that Jem looks up to Atticus highly, and will copy many things from him, except maybe in the wrong way. Finally, Jem’s most important experience is that Maycomb is not what it seems. Even after the astounding evidence Atticus

This is something that has touched Jem the most out of all the other characters. When Jem was younger and more naive, he believed that courage could be defined as being able to touch the side of the Radley house, only because "in all his life, [he] had never declined a dare. (pg 17)". While later on he learns through events like the encounter with Miss Dubose, that courage can be expressed in many ways. Jem learns about courage most notably when Atticus mentions that "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… According to [Mrs. Dubose's] views, she died beholden to nothing and nobody. She was the bravest person I ever knew. (pg

In Harper Lee’s, To Kill a Mockingbird, Jeremy Atticus Finch (Jem) plays the role of Scout (Jean Louise) Finch’s older brother and is the son of Atticus Finch. Jem ages from 10 to 13 throughout the story. Jem is the typical young boy who loves sports and does not back down in any situations at the beginning of the story. He demonstrates the idea of courage and bravery and that way his thoughts about bravery changes through the course of the story.

The maturation process of a person is shaped by several factors. Jem’s growing maturity from the beginning to the end of the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee shows how his character changes as he becomes more aware of his surroundings. Jem is a 10-year old boy at the beginning of the novel, showing childless behaviours and actions. The changes in his character is told through his sister’s, Scout, point of view who is 6 when the novel started. As a 10-year old boy, Jem is going through a period of great change due to his biological clock which is a difficult time itself but he is also exposed to the external influences in the adult world.

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.