To Kill A Mockingbird Character Analysis Essay

We all have those special books that we hold close to our hearts due to the transformative affect they have upon us. Harper Lee’s, To Kill a Mockingbird (1960) is one such book. This story of discrimination may just alter the way we all view ourselves, others and the world we live in. Set in the 1930s throughout the Great Depression in South Alabama, the novel allows us all to come to the disturbing realisation that this novel remains as apt today as it did when it was first written 57 years ago.

Drama, deception, doubt, and death lace the pages of To Kill a Mockingbird, created masterfully by Harper Lee. From a rousing court case to a reclusive neighbor, challenging situations wait at every turn. How individuals handle these circumstances depends on their qualities. Lee portrays many diverse characters in this novel. While some become uncertain and crumble under the pressure of tough situations, others force themselves unfalteringly through. Some measure up, but others fall short. Although many characters presented in To Kill a Mockingbird display notable qualities, the steadiness of Atticus, Miss Maudie, and Reverend Syke shines through.

In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the reader is placed into Maycomb County, Alabama during the Great Depression when racism and inequality was the norm. During this novel, Atticus is assigned a case in which he must defend Tom Robinson, an African-American. Even though he did not win his case, he learned new things and changed as a character. In the novel, Harper Lee establishes Atticus as a teacher who is also both righteous and courageous.

He is politely displays to the people in the court how Tom Robinson is innocent. As well as, respectfully questioning the witnesses of their roles in the incident on November 21. Not to mention, the all-white jury are on Mayella Ewell’s side because she is white. And, no one believes Tom Robinson because of the fact that he is black. Clearly, Tom Robinson is innocent. During the trial, Mayella hesitates to answer questions and does not completely explain the situation. On the other hand, Tom Robinson does not hesitate to answer questions and explains everything in depth. In the novel, Atticus is fighting the community of Maycomb. For example, Mrs. Dubose's use of language towards him, Miss Stephanie Crawford's gossip, and even Walter Cunningham's threat on his life. However, Atticus is not affected by the community harassing him for defending Tom a black man, because he knows he is doing the right

Throughout the book, a number of characters can be identified as mockingbirds, innocents who have been injured or destroyed through contact with evil. One of these characters is Tom Robinson, a black man who is shot when attempting to escape jail. He was falsely accused of raping Mayella Ewell by her father, a white man, Bob Ewell. Bob was trying to give him and his family a better reputation by imprisoning a “filthy nigger.” Because of the prejudice of the court in Maycomb, Robinson was found guilty for a crime he never committed. He was sent to jail and was shot, no less than ___

Bob Ewell created the perfect lie about Tom Robinson that most people in Maycomb believed. Bob Ewell convinced many people that Tom Robinson was a bad person and this contributed to the death of Tom Robinson. “Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men’s hearts Atticus had no case. Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella opened her mouth and screamed” (Lee, 1960, Pg. 276). In the 1930’s the idea of a black man raping a white woman was absurd, the lie that was forced upon Mayella to tell was sure to get Tom Robinson killed.

In the May article, she says “Scout Finch faces the realities of southern society within the same age span that Harper Lee faced Scottsboro” (May). The events in the book are based off of the experience Harper Lee went through, making it an accurate representation of what the South used to be like. "She was white, and she tempted a Negro. She did something that in our society is unspeakable: she kissed a black man. Not an old Uncle, but a strong young Negro man. No code mattered to her before she broke it, but it came crashing down on her afterwards." (Lee 203). This shows the progression that society has made over the years, but it is still important to know where people began and how they got to where they are now. To Kill a Mockingbird should not be banned just because it tackles racism, because remembering the past can teach humans how to be better. In the book, it says “Don't fool yourselves—it's all adding up and one of these days we're going to pay the bill for it. I hope it's not in you children's time." (Lee 225). The main idea of having a young narrator is to show what it was like growing up during this time, and it was Atticus’ job as a father to teach them right from wrong. In the Murray article, it states “The novel is meant to show how In the novel’s best known sentiment, Atticus says: ‘You never really understand a person until you consider things from

How would the novel be different if it were narrated from a different character’s perspective? Jem? Atticus? Calpurnia? Boo? What benefit does a child narrator provide?

The sun still rose in the east and set in the west. Birds still flew and fish still swam. The citizens of Maycomb proceeded with their lives as normal, but Scout felt as though everything was different. Scout developed and matured enormously throughout Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Prolonged summers, during The Great Depression, consisted of acting out characters, spying on the mysterious Arthur (Boo) Radley, and running around wild and free. These jaunty summers frequently overshadowed the realities of Scout’s world. As her life continued, experiences and encounters provided her the opportunity to step out of the picture frame and see the entire picture. Scout’s perspective is continually altered and progressed through challenging situations with Miss Caroline, experiences of goodness and solidarity in the black community with Calpurnia, and situations when her once fictional neighbor, Boo Radley, became a reality.

In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, she writes about what it’s like to live in a small town around the 1930s. Lee tells the story of life in the town of Maycomb through the eyes of an innocent girl named Scout. Scout and her brother, Jem, go through many events together over the three years that the book takes place such as meeting Dill, getting presents from Boo Radley, learning about the people in their neighborhood, and going to school, just to name a few. By using a child as the narrator, Lee is able to introduce the many characters with details that only an innocent kid could think of. Harper Lee uses characterization to show that people are both good and bad.

In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, one of the main themes is not to judge others if you do not actually know them. In the book there are several times that an individual or many people will judge someone based on what they have heard from others. The main character Scout and her brother Jem are taught from an early age by their father Atticus not to conclude your thoughts of a person without getting to understand them.

To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, is a book that takes place in Maycomb, Alabama. It is about a young girl, Scout, and her brother, Jem, learn about the racial and social ranks in society at the time of the Great Depression through struggle and events that occur throughout the book. To convey this theme, the book focuses on the trial of a black man accused of and mistreated due to the white supremacy at that time. The book also focuses on the story of a misunderstood man named Boo Radley. To exemplify these points, Harper Lee writes about characters such as Scout, Atticus, and even Boo Radley who fight for their beliefs which cause them to display their courage on many levels. These acts of courage showed how differences could

In the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird”, the author Harper Lee portrays multiple characters as mockingbirds. This includes three completely different men in Maycomb County; Tom Robinson, Atticus Finch, and Arthur “Boo” Radley. The topic of the mockingbird first appears when Scout and Jem are playing with their new air rifles. Even though Atticus doesn’t teach his kids how to use one, he tells his children “Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (119) Confused at this, Scout and Jem visit their fellow neighbor Miss Maudie who then further explains “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” (119) Therefore, we learn that killing a mockingbird

Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird details the life of a typical white American family during the era of the Great Depression. Although each of the family members is portrayed in a detailed manner throughout the novel, Jean Louise Finch is the main character, as well as the narrator for the majority of the novel. The narration of “Scout” works through two points of view: The view of an independent six year old girl, and simultaneously, the view of a mature woman who is recapping some moments of her earlier childhood. Lee does a superior job in combining the two very unique voices, and forming what came to be a well known novel throughout the United States. The mature adult voice narrating the story To Kill A Mockingbird not only informs readers of the views of the young Scout, but also gives the mature outlook on the events in which the child could not see.

old through the eyes of the young, curious Scout Finch, you learn about her father Atticus Finch who is an attorney who takes on an almost impossible case to defend a colored man who is unjustly accused of rape. “Throughout the novel many of the characters (Jem, Tom Robinson, Dill, Boo Radley) can be described as mockingbirds” (Gradesaver). To become a mockingbird means to be a innocent that have been injured or destroyed by contact with evil. A well known belief is that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird. Harper Lee had a very similar childhood to the main character, Scout, and she expresses her childhood through her. Scout (Jean Louise) Finch undergoes many different changes. As she grows up throughout the novel you learn more of scout’s traits, “Scout's strongest traits are her intelligence, compassion, and courage”(Enotes). Scout’s brother Jem is four years older than her and is trying to guide Scout in the right direction at all times. Jem is the leader out of the three in the group, “ Jem represents the idea of bravery in the novel...Jem's idea of bravery is simply touching the side of the Radley house and then only because’ In all his life, Jem had never declined a dare”. His character was always brave,but never to daring in the novel. He always wanted Dill and Scout to think things through, and would never hesitate to protect one or the other. Dill is a character with many different traits. He is described as a “An adventurous, humorous, and diverse character. When