To Kill A Mockingbird Character Analysis

To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee is a well known, touching novel that examines stereotyping and its consequences. The novel follows Atticus Finch, a small-town lawyer, as he raises his two children Jem and Scout to avoid the common disease of racism in the town of Maycomb, Alabama. Going against the guidance of the community, Atticus decides to defend Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white woman. After he accepts to defend Tom Robinson, people throughout Maycomb begin to question him as a father. Some people that criticize his parenting skills are Mrs. Dubose and Aunt Alexander.

To Kill a Mockingbird, author Harper Lee uses unhypocritical, more experienced characters like Atticus to expose Jem and Scout to adult knowledge. Their adult influence is what brings about the empathetic growth and maturity of Jem and Scout.

“To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee is an exceedingly powerful novel. It includes many significant minor themes such as racism and hatred which leave the reader to have grown more attentive to the past once they complete the book. The book takes place in Maycomb County Alabama during the great depression. During this period there was a great deal of hate and prejudice towards people of color, in addition to a great regard to social class. The novels protagonists, Atticus Finch a well-respected lawyer and his children Jeremy “Jem” Finch and Jean Louise “Scout” Finch are a few of the towns occupants who respect others regardless of social class or race. For this reason, Atticus has no objections

Dubose is a cranky, mean, prejudiced old woman. Once again, Atticus shares another life lesson with his kids when he reveals Mrs. Dubose’s secret to her insanity. Mrs. Dubose wants to die “beholden to nothing and nobody” (149) and she does. The pain, which Jem and Scout see as insanity, Mrs. Dubose endures in her final days free of morphine teaches Jem and Scout “what real courage is” (149). Overlooked by the explicit lesson, Harper Lee imbeds a more important lesson regarding society.

Suzy Kassem,a philosopher, once said, “ Stand up for what is right even if it means standing alone.” To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a fiction novel about racism and prejudice that took a position in Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression. Atticus Finch, who is a single parent of Jem and Scout teaches his kids about morality. As an attorney, he is designated to be the public defender for Tom Robinson. Tom Robinson, an African American is accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a white woman.

After Mrs. Dubose, the Finches’ irritable neighbor, insults Atticus, Jem destroys all of her camellia bushes. However, Atticus discovers the ruined flowers and coaxes Jem into apologizing to Mrs. Dubose; he even convinces Jem to read to Mrs. Dubose every day. When Mrs. Dubose dies, Atticus reveals to his children, “[Mrs. Dubose] was a morphine addict.... She meant to break herself of it before she died, and that’s what she did.... You know, she was a great lady....

To Kill a Mockingbird is a heart-wrenching novel about the loss of childhood innocence written by Harper Lee. To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in a fictional town called Maycomb County, Alabama, in the 1930’s. A woman named Jean Louise “Scout” Finch narrates her younger years. Her family was put in situations making them question their morals and the morals of those around them; strengthening their bond, trust, and respect for one another. Harper Lee uses conflicts in chapters 9 and 11 to show the struggles of characters and further develop the theme of not making assumptions without knowing one’s issues, or situation.

While he is reading to her. Scout and Jem realize that Mrs. Dubose asks a bit strange and that the time slots that he is reading to her in continue to get longer and longer. Closer to the end of the book, Mrs. Dubose dies and Atticus explains to Jem that she was a morphine addict, and that the reason that she was being so mean was because she was going through withdraw. Jem and SCout did not realize that Mrs. Dubose was going through withdraw, they judged her before they knew her and when they found out what she was going through the immediately changed their mind about

People judge him for marrying a black woman, having mixed children and choosing the company of coloured folks. Despite the rude comments and hardships Mr. Raymond has to face, he still manages to live up to his standards in his everyday life. Since he has many coloured friends, and children, it is obvious that Dolphus believes that everyone is equal, and is not one to care about what society thinks. Atticus represents social courage by defending the black man falsely accused of rape. Dolphus Raymond represents social courage by being around coloured people, and marrying a black

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?

Maycomb County, Alabama during the Great Depression a young lady, Mayella Ewell blamed a black man, Tom Robinson of something incredibly despicable that turned Maycomb upside down. Mayella took advantage of the laws back then so that she could end the aggression her father gave her. Mayella is powerful due to the fact that she is white, her family is the poorest family out there, but because of her color she will always be preferred over African-Americans. In “To Kill A Mockingbird,” Harper Lee uses class, race, and gender to determine if Mayella has power after all.

Strength doesn’t come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn’t.”

In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, many themes are conveyed throughout the book, including the lessons of childhood. As Scout and Jem grow up, Atticus attempts to teach them proper morals and values. They become very aware of their surroundings and try their best to do the right thing.

Although he only remains in Maycomb for a season at a time, Dill Harris experiences first hand the inequalities that certain groups of people face, acting like no other child would. After Dill runs away from his home to Scout’s dwelling, he talks to Scout about Boo Radley in bed when Dill declares, “Maybe he doesn’t have anywhere to run off to…” (Lee 192). Although he is merely a child, Dill possesses the ability to relate to Arthur “Boo” Radley, the man who is constantly being made fun of by children of the same age group. While the standard children in Maycomb fear and ridicule Boo, just as Dill once did before, now he severs the stereotype. Dill feels empathy towards Boo. Unlike Dill escaping to Scout’s abode, Boo cannot escape anywhere. Moreover, when Dill hears how differently Mr. Gilmer, the prosecutor, speaks to Tom then how Atticus speaks to Mayella, he becomes furious. He separates himself from everyone else in the courtroom in that moment and creates a sense of chaos: “I don’t care one speck. It ain’t right, somehow it ain’t right to do ‘em that way. Hasn’t anybody got any business talkin’ like that—it just makes me sick” (266). When nobody else seems to notice how Tom Robinson is being treated, only because he is an African American, Dill notices how wrong this treatment is. In addition to figuratively creating chaos, Dill begins to cry, creating a scene at the balcony of the courtroom. Whereas Dill recognizes the issues in Maycomb after only a few visits, another boy, who resides in the limited town permanently, recognizes the social issues more rapidly.

Although the people of Maycomb view Dolphus Raymond as a disgraceful man, Scout learns that his true personality does not match what others think of him. Once she discovers that Mr. Raymond actually drinks coke, she asks why he still pretends to be intoxicated, and he replies by saying, “it’s mighty helpful to folks. Secretly, [...] I’m not much of a drinker, but [..] they could never, never understand that I live like I do because that’s the way I want to live” (268). Through fathoming the reality of Dolphus Raymond, Scout learns that there is more to a person than what meets the eye. She is enlightened of the fact that Maycomb’s citizens are not like Atticus. They “could never, never understand that” Mr. Raymond wants to live among the coloured people. Due to their inability to “really understand a person”, a man who is “not much of a drinker” must allow “folks” to think that his behaviour is due to being intoxicated. Scout’s conversation with Dolphus Raymond furthers her comprehension of empathy and leads her to learn that it is important to understand everyone, even those who are seen as sinful by society. Scout is also capable of instructing others to be empathetic, such as Uncle Jack. After being punished by Jack for fighting with Francis, Scout says, “you don’t understand children [...] you never stopped to gimme a chance