To Kill A Mockingbird Analysis

Decent Essays

“Fallen” adults raising “Fallen” children: The Broken Adult World in To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee shows us how broken or “fallen” the adult world really is in her novel To Kill a Mockingbird. The adults in the novel are responsible for their children and how they grow up, so they have to change to make a better future for them. Unfortunately, most of the adults in Lee’s novel continue on with their discriminatory and unruly behaviour and proceed to teach their children the same unjust and immoral ways of life they were taught. Lee feels that if adults continue to be closed-minded to new, better ways of life, to keep demonstrating racism and unfairness, and to keep teaching their children to have certain views for certain people such as women or “negroes”, then nothing is going to change and the new generation will be just as broken as the adults. Lee feels that the adults from this particular culture (that still exists today) continue to be short sighted and closed minded that nothing will change and the new generation will be just as closed minded. We really see this come into play with the jury at Tom Robinson's trial: even though all the evidence says that Tom innocent, Judge Taylor still doesn't think Tom will be pronounced not guilty, as he's “[never] seen any jury decide in favor of a colored man over a white man[...]” (190). It’s not uncommon for events like this to happen, because the adults in Maycomb are not open to a change in their harrowing way of life. Atticus makes it clear to the children that “they've done it before and they did it tonight and they’ll do it again” . It can be seen that Atticus points out that “when they do it [convict someone unjustly] -- it seems that only children weep”. Atticus says this to communicate that as children adapt to the ways of their parents, they lose this humanity. Ms. Maudie makes it clear that Atticus “can’t win” (196) Most of the adults in Lee’s novel teach their children their faulty morals, such as unfair views toward people, and racism, we can see that Atticus is trying to change these morals by educating his children: As you grow older, you’ll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don’t you

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To Kill A Mockingbird Analysis