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.

Jem changes his attitude as he gets older, and he starts to feel like Scout should act a certain way, telling her ““Scout, I'm tellin' you for the last time, shut your trap or go home—I declare to the Lord you're gettin' more like a girl every day!" With that, I had no option but to join them.” (Lee 58). At that time, being girly means that you are a coward and that’s why Scout couldn’t take it and had to defend herself. Through To Kill a Mockingbird, The role of men and women during that time, were very traditional and stereotyped.

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.

“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”...

“Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird. (Lee In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee the mockingbird is used as a symbol of innocence, and it is shown in the book. To Kill a Mockingbird is told through Scout Finch’s point of view and follows the her family, with her father, Atticus, and her brother, Jem. The Finch’s have a neighbor named Boo Radley, whose reputation is not good, but it turns out that he didn’t do anything that the rumors said. Atticus is a lawyer in this trial representing Tom Robinson, a black man, accused of raping a white woman who happens to be the daughter of Bob Ewell. Tom Robinson didn’t do anything to hurt Mayella, but was still convicted, and was shot and killed soon after. Because of the trial Bob Ewell attacked Jem Finch, and broke his arm. Jem would’ve died if it wasn’t for Boo Radley. Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird it tells us that you shouldn’t hurt or change anything that is innocent. This is shown through interactions with Boo Radley, Tom Robinson, and Jem Finch.

To Kill A Mockingbird takes place during the 1930’s, a time of intense racial inequity and prejudice. Harper Lee intends for the novel to display the harsh reality to the real world, and exhibit how life and society were really like during this period in history. Humanity’s views and morals have shown little sign of ever being able to accept change or difference as seen in particular issues such as racism, discrimination, sexism, prejudice etc. Whilst reading the novel, readers can identify these well-known problems and maybe even relate to some of the ideas that Lee is portraying.  Lee uses symbols to effectively communicate and express her thoughts and opinions on the various themes of the book. Moreover, these symbols are able to tap into the subconscious mind to implement ideas that can be analyzed in order to understand their relevance to not only the plot line and major theme topics of the novel: appearance versus reality, conscience and integrity, and loss of innocence, but also to modern society.

All humans crave love and attention. Throughout history, and even today, people fight for freedom, for justice, and for equality. One thing these have in common is that they are all another name for acceptance. To simplify terms, humans want to be accepted. Even the award winning classic novel, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee conveys the message of the presence of prejudice and the unaccepting ways of society. From the oppression of colored people, to the mockery and exile of a white man who has resorted to locking himself up, to a basic white family fighting for what's right, racism, prejudice, and craving acceptance is a prominent theme of To Kill A Mockingbird.

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.

Have you ever wondered what is what like to be living in the time period of the early 1900’s? Well in this book you learn the reality of this tough time. Harper Lee, used her real life experiences to write a reality novel of To Kill a Mockingbird. Jim Crow laws, mob mentality, and the Scottsboro trials are all connections to the inspiration of the book.

Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, takes place in Monroeville Alabama in the 1930s during the time of the Great Depression, when racial discrimination was very prominent in the American South. It is narrated by the main character Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, a six year old girl who is the daughter of local attorney Atticus Finch. She tells the story from an adult perspective about her own childhood experiences. Through Scout’s eyes, Lee is able to present the story objectively by having an innocent girl make observations about the town she lives in. She presents the theme of racial discrimination and injustice to make the reader think, using powerful description, strong characterisation and colloquial language to make the story come alive to the reader.

During the time To Kill a Mockingbird was written there were many historical troubles and injustices. Just a few of them include the expectations and roles of women, the Great Depression, and racism. Women were expected to talk proper, act proper, and dress accordingly. If they weren't they were judge by other women in the society; as seen in To Kill a Mockingbird Scout's aunt tells her that she needs to wear dresses and talk differently. The Great Depression is known as the most economic downturn in industrialized history. We can see in Lee's book the many consequences and effects it has on the characters' lives especially Walter Cunningham. As most know during the time of the 18 and 19 hundreds there were major problems with racism. Although some believed that white and black people were being fair and that they were equal they defiantly weren't. Harper Lee was inspired by these things she saw around her and in her own life that she wrote the inspiring and heartfelt novel that we now have and cherish today.

In the news, you can find many stories about schools that have stopped requiring their students to read To Kill A Mockingbird. But, stopping them from reading about the 1930’s in a book like To Kill A Mockingbird would mean that they would have to throw away the school systems American History books as well. The novel is entirely written based on true events that occured in the 1930’s. This book is about the individual and institutional racism and sexism that happened in the early to mid 20th century. The historical time period is deeply rooted in Harper Lee’s novel, especially in regards to the following characters: Tom Robinson, Dolphus Raymond, and Scout (Jean Louise) Finch. Hiding the knowledge that To Kill A Mockingbird spreads about racism and sexism would mean hiding the past of our nation.

Many people look down upon the different, whether if it's in the way they look or on what they enjoy. People seem to dislike anything out of the norm. People should learn to stop making assumptions of the person if they don't know them first. Society should be able to accept others even if they don’t agree with their lifestyle or who they are as a person. In the novel by Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird teaches the importance of accepting people. The book teaches to respect people’s differences, treat everyone equally, and don’t judge based on their outside.

In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, Scout takes on the world with her brother, together they uncover the truth about outcasted individuals of society. These socially unaccepted people's lives are tainted with demeaning bias. People have been taught a certain way they're whole lives, ultimately altering the true perception of the real world. Giving in to bias alters the way one views another preventing them from understanding that person, and ensues a life change for the person. In Maycomb County, Alabama, bias distorts the reality that is true for the socially outcasted people.

“A study by Psychologist Susan Segerstrom found that ten years after graduating, law students who were optimistic earned an average of $32,667 more than their glass-half-empty peers.” (Warrell) According to Margie Warrell, in her article, “Why Optimists Are Happier, Healthier and Wealthier!”, people who are optimistic about life have more opportunities and pessimistic people fall behind. This article connects to the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, by stating that looking for the positive side of life will only give positive results. The story of To Kill a Mockingbird is about Atticus Finch, a white lawyer who attempts to defend an innocent black man, and is told through the eyes of his intelligent and innocent young daughter, Scout. As Scout grows up, she encounters many people who make her angry, but instead of letting these people bring her down, she uses them to learn how to find the good in people. When children grow up facing difficult problems with the people in their lives, they learn to look for the positive aspects of people and treat them with respect.