To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee Essay

It’s interesting to see the ways different authors depict how a character matures. In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mocking Bird we can easily see how she chose to do it. The novel is set in Alabama in the 1930’s, while black vs. white racism was a big issue and problem for many. Atticus is the father of Scout and Jem, young children who witness the discrimination first hand when their father, a white man, defends a black man in court. Lee does a great job developing the characters; especially the narrator, Jean Louise Finch (Scout). Scout’s thoughts, conversations, and actions, illustrate that she’s emotionally maturing from the innocent child that she was.

The first influence on Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is the Jim Crow laws. The Jim Crow laws were a set of rules that perpetuated racism and segregation. These rules were sickening and appalling. The Jim Crow laws were made to keep Blacks from interacting with Whites. For example, if a white woman were to fall a black man could not offer her, his hand to help her up because it was considered rape (Pilgrim 2). Many scientists and religious leaders justified these laws. One reason was that scientist thought that black peoples brains were inferior to those of white people. Also, many religious leaders believed that Whites were the chosen people and Blacks were just there to serve them (Pilgrim 2). If you were not following these laws, there were sever consequences. People believed these punishments were necessary to “keep Blacks in their place”. One example is mass lynching. This punishment is when a mob of people would take a black person, accused of breaking a rule, and beat them, torture them, and kill them. The police didn’t just not stop these rampages, often they would participate. The Jim Crow laws can be seen in To Kill a Mockingbird in many ways. One of the laws was that a black person could not say that a white person was lying (Pilgrim). This is shown in the book when Tom is accused of calling Mayella a liar, by Mr. Gilmer (Lee 224).

The book "To Kill a Mockingbird" is a story of life in an Alabama town in the 30's. The narrator, Jean Louise Finch, or Scout, is writing of a time when she was young, and the book is in part the record of a childhood, believed to be Harper Lee’s, the author of the book..

Tom Robinson had been accused to raping Bob Ewell’s daughter, Mayella. Although Atticus provided all the evidence that proved he was innocent, the jury declared him guilty and he was sent to a prison. There, he was shot dead by the guards after allegedly trying to escape. But this is all suspicious since Tom knew that he might still have a good chance of being released. It is also skeptical because the guards shot him seventeen times, an unnecessary amount, Atticus said “seventeen bullet holes in him. They didn’t have to shoot him that much” (Lee 268). Atticus realizesDill dares Jem to run up to the Radley’s door and touch it, which is a big deal to them. Scout’s comments and reactions aided in triggering her older brother to accept Dill’s dare. Scout teases and mocks him about being scared. She says that “in all his life, Jem had never declined a dare”, and he wasn’t about to now (Lee 14).When he hesitates, she laughs at him. He can’t admit that he’s scared, especially not to his little sister who would never let him live it down.

What it Means to Kill a Mocking Bird: an in depth analysis of the morals in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird

As children grow up, they open their eyes to the harsh truths in the world around them that they once did not understand or question. This is experienced by the main characters of Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird. The story is of a girl called Scout and her older brother, Jem, who go through the trials of growing up in the fictional small Southern town of Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s. Racism is rampant in the mindset of the townspeople, shown when the children’s lawyer father, Atticus, takes the case of an obviously innocent African-American man and they convict him in their hearts before the trial even starts. Through this all, we can see the theme of loss of innocence in the children. Lee uses characterization to portray

To Kill a Mockingbird was written and published in 1960, “in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement” (Carolyn Jones). This time was just a few years after events like the murder of Emmett Till, a fourteen year old boy accused of whistling at a white woman, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and the ruling in Alabama that segregation on buses is unconstitutional happened (PBS African American World). This goes to show that the time period had some effect on Harper Lee at the time.

     In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, through a child's eyes Haper Lee develops a character named Arthur Radley. Arthur is know to the children simply as Boo . The name they have given him, depicts the way the children views him. Throughout the town of Maycomb, people twisted Boo’s personality and character into a terrible person. As the novel unfolds, the children finally discover the true character of Boo. But, because Arthur Radley lived in the shadows of society, the creation of the myth of the monster Boo Radley thrived.

“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view . . . until you climb into his skin and walk around in it”. Discuss this quote from Atticus in relation to 3 characters from the novel.

The valuable lessons that Atticus teaches and demonstrates to his children (Jem and Scout) in the novel To Kill a Mocking Bird are very crucial. Atticus teaches Jem and Scout to put themselves into other people’s skin before they pre-judge a person. Atticus also teaches the two children compassion and forgiveness. The children learn an important lesson not to kill a mocking bird during the novel from Atticus. Throughout the novel several incidents happen where Atticus teaches Scout and Jem these very valuable lessons.

In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird a major theme is the loss of innocence. Whether from emotional abuse, racial prejudice or learning, Boo, Tom, and Scout all lose their innocence in one sense or another. The prejudice that each character endures leads to their loss. Through the responses of Boo, Tom, and Scout, Harper Lee shows how each character responded differently to their loss of innocence.

Atticus’ Role in To Kill A Mockingbird Atticus represents justice and morality. He plays a very important role in his children’s lives, teaching them reason, and raising them much different than those around them. He brings the lessons that he teaches his children to the courtroom, making sure people see both sides of the story, and keeping things fair. Atticus treated people fairly, even if it they didn’t deserve it. He was very conscious of what was morally right, and attempted to keep things as moral as possible.

The cruel nature and intentions of people can either hurt or harm individuals or it can bring about resilience and determination. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee revealed that humans often have other motives in life; some are born to be evil in nature, some are naturally innocent and then there are some that are born to protect the innocent. Lee utilized a variety of symbols and themes that correlated with each other and thus had the ability to create questions in the minds of the readers. Are humans calculatedly cruel or is there some moral good in each of us? The impiety of a few can create a movement, imprison the innocent or reveal the sincerity of others.

To kill a mockingbird written by Harper Lee. Themes are the subject of a talk, a piece of writing or a person's thoughts. There are many themes present in this great American classic such as courage, racism, prejudice, morality and of course coming of age. Lee communicates these themes with characters, events that unfold and the scenarios that Jem and Scout have to face.

Critical Review of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird To Kill a Mockingbird is set during the 1930's in a small, isolated