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.

Both dynamically but conveniently and well-rounded would be an example that would properly capture Atticus’s essence as well as his immense self-control, “Miss Stephanie said Atticus did not even bat an eye just took out his handkerchief and wiped his face and stood there and let Mr.Ewell call him names horses could not bring her to repeat.”(Lee,217) Meaning that even when challenges arise that have the great potential to test one’s patience such as that of Mr.Ewell showing great disrespect Atticus maintained a calm conduct; he did not allow himself to succumb to Mr.Ewell's unfortunate level. Atticus Finch proves to be a wise, sophisticated parent/person in To Kill a

The novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee uses characterization to show that people should always be courageous, which is never giving up despite all hardships. First, Mr. Link Deas is courageous by yelling at Mr. Ewell multiple times and does not show fear. “if I hear one more peep outa my girl Helen about not bein’ able to walk this road I’ll have you in jail before sundown!”(334,Lee) In this quote it shows Mr. Link Deas yelling

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.

When an event goes wrong, he does not get easily angered. In the novel, Scout and Jem frequently get into trouble. When this happens, Atticus does not yell or get livid, he only tells them right from wrong. One example where his kids get in trouble is when they sneak into the courtroom to watch the trial of their dad arguing to prove Tom Robinson’s innocence. Atticus did not want his children there because he wanted them sheltered from the horrible racism they would experience. When Atticus found out they were in the courtroom, he did not snap at them or yell at them, instead, he told them calmly to go home, eat supper, then they could come back and watch the rest of the trial. Atticus thought the trial would be over by the time they were done eating, but it was not and he still let them stay because they wanted to see the outcome. Another example of the readers seeing Atticus with a cool-temper is the incident of Bob Ewell spitting on Atticus’ face. Mr. Ewell spit on his face because Atticus made a fool out of him in court. When this happened, Atticus did not yell at him or start a fight, he simply wipes the

“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

Atticus is very courageous. At first he told Scout that he had to defend Tom Robinson. Scout asked why and he responded, "For a number of reasons.. The main one is, if I didn't I couldn't hold up my head in town, I couldn't represent this county in the legislature, I couldn't even tell you or Jem not to do something again" (Lee 100). Along with that he knew he had to be courageous in addition to still defending Tom Robinson knowing that he would most likely lose the trial, because he still defended Tom knowing the odds were not in his favor. Another way he

“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,” (Lee 149). In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, many characters portray courage in the small Alabaman town of Maycomb. The town itself is constructed to be a place for courage to take place; many people follow along with the social norms of judgement and discrimination. But, people such as Jem, Atticus, and Scout all portray courage over the course of the novel by facing hardship.

During the novel Atticus had to stay calm and collected collected several times no matter how stressful of aggravating a situation may be. Once when Jem and Scout were walking past Mrs. Dubose’s house, she said “‘Your father’s no better than the niggers and trash he works for!’” (135), and she has said multiple other terrible things about the Finch family. Jem was always furious and almost lost his mind every single time he walked by her house, but Atticus would say to him, “‘Easy does it, son… She’s an old lady and she’s ill. You just hold your head high and be a gentleman. Whatever she says to you, it’s your job not to let her make you mad.’” (133). Atticus could have easily took all of his rage on her and treat her like she has treated him, but he made the decision to act like a gentleman and to treat her with respect. Tom Robinson was moved to the county jail, so Atticus stayed outside of the jail throughout the night to make sure that no one attacked him. A large group of men came to try and hurt Tom and they told Atticus to get out of the way, and instead of trying to fight them, Atticus stayed calm and told them that he suggested that they turn around.

Being a committed, loving father shows good character just like staying calm in most situations as well. When Scout fought Francis at school, Atticus stayed calm and did not over react to the situation. Aunt Alexandra does not like the idea of how Atticus reacts to what his children do but being the person Atticus is, he chooses to stay calm during situations to teach his children good character. Another way Atticus shows how he is calm is when Bob Ewell shows how angry he is with him for defending Tom Robinson by spitting in his face and cursing him. As Ms. Stephanie reported “Atticus didn’t bat an eye, just took out his handkerchief and wiped his face and stood there and let Mr. Ewell call him names wild horses could not bring me to repeat”(Lee 291).

Atticus had the courage to practice his beliefs when it came to the court trial. He chose to accept defending an African American in the trial because he believes that African Americans are no different from whites. Atticus explained to his kids why Bob Ewell was not a sincere person by saying, “Whenever a white man does that to a black man, not matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash.” (Lee 295). Defending an African American against the discriminating town of Maycomb took a lot of courage. Atticus knew what was right, and portraying his beliefs during the court trial took a lot of courage. Atticus recognized that having antagonistic beliefs towards to the town wasn’t going to be easy, but he had the courage to defy the town's “usual disease”. He had the courage to stand up during the court case. Even though Atticus was being labeled for his beliefs, he had the courage to overcome these insults. When he was confronting Jem about these insults he said, “Son, I have no doubt that you’ve been annoyed by your contemporaries about me lawing for niggers, as you say, but to do something like this to a sick old lady is inexcusable.” (Lee 138). Atticus, no matter who insulted him, wanted his kids to accept the situation they were going through and respect everyone. He is always able to recognize the struggles that his oppressors were going through, and he believed in his kids recognizing their struggles as well. Atticus believes in equal rights, as he was making his final statement for Tom Robinson, he pleaded, "Which, gentlemen, we know is in itself a lie as black as Tom Robinson's skin, a lie I do not have to point out to you. You know the truth, and the truth is this: some Negroes lie, some Negroes are immoral, some Negro men are not to be trusted around women—black or white.” (Lee 273). Atticus was

“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.

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.