To Kill A Mockingbird Character Analysis

“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

Can you recollect a person that you hate all the time? Is this person rude, not sociable, emotionally abusive, or just plain racist? In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the novel digs deep into the roots of Social Classes. One of these classes, in particular, is “White Trash.” “White Trash” is a class that has the poor white people that don’t contribute much to society and sometimes even make the society worse. There is one character that everyone loathes in Maycomb, and he is Mr. Ewell. Harper Lee portrays Mr. Ewell and his kids as uneducated, racist, murderous pigs because of three reasons. This family disrespects other members of the community in cruel ways, abuses their power by accusing a black man of rape, and tries to kill two

“The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience,” (Lee 120). This quote from To Kill a Mockingbird is a good representation of the book. The book is set in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression. Jean Louise (Scout) Finch, narrates the story of herself and her family facing the racial prejudices of the time. When her father Atticus, defends an innocent black man in a rape trial, Maycomb turns on Scout's family. Atticus, Scout, and her brother Jem stand up for what they believe in even if their neighbors disagree. By analyzing Harper Lee’s use of symbolism and tone, the reader can learn that courage isn’t physical strength, you gain morals as you grow, and prejudice kills innocence.

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.

“Feed your child ideas of peace, harmony and compassion but at the same time give them courage to defend their identity and dignity.” A quote written by Abhijit Naskar in a study of child psychology. Children are molded by the milieu they are raised in, as apparent throughout the story of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Countless times we are exposed to children who are raised in different environments, from the Finchs to Ewells to even the Cunninghams. While we follow Scout, a 6 year old girl, and Jem, a 10 year old boy, through the story, we get to see their characters’ personalities evolve and change due to when and where they grew up at. We also get to experience how they interact and compare with each other as we progress. {}{}{}

"'Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy...That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.'" (119) Reading the beginning of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, one would assume there is no connection with the title to the storyline. After delving deeper into the novel the connection becomes evident. The concept of the mockingbird is introduced when Scout is given a gun for Christmas, she is then told by her father that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird. Scout dismisses this fact until it becomes relevant again, when someone in her life is compared to mockingbird after a life altering experience.

Morals (n.) Principles or habits with respect to right or wrong conduct, the moral teaching or practical lesson contained in a fable, tale, experience, etc. Jem and Scout, in the book To Kill A Mockingbird, are two siblings who befriend a young boy named Dill. Throughout the book, these three learn valuable lessons from Jem and Scout’s father, Atticus, and many other characters. Mrs. Dubose, an important character, is rude and does not agree with Atticus’s views. She tells Jem this and Jem gets very angry and tears up her beautiful camellia, Snow-on-the-Mountain. As a result, Atticus makes him read to Mrs. Dubose as a distraction from the pain of being severally sick. Mrs. Dubose later dies, and Atticus tells Jem that she was a morphine

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.

In the story To Kill a Mockingbird it follows the life of Jem and Scout as they grow up in a time of inequality and injustice. In the beginning of the story Scout does not understand Atticus’ life lessons, but as she matures she will. The author tells the story from an older and more mature Scout’s perspective. Harper Lee also uses the voice of Jem to portray the internal and external conflicts in the book. Using Jem’s voice, Lee reveals how a young man can rise above ignorance in their community. This story portrays literary elements such as character, setting, and conflict, this affects the theme that you can not judge people by rumors but by getting to know them.

The classic novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” is a thrilling bildungsroman following the timeline of a young girl named Jean-Louise (Scout) Finch, written by Harper Lee. As a young girl, Scout lacked a biological mother, the result of a sudden health tragedy. Mothers play a very important role in the life of a young girl. A Mother's goal is to guide their children down a healthy path of life while providing the necessary components needed to thrive. Although Scout's mother died years ago, her mother figure was superseded by Calpurnia because she is trusted by Atticus to care for the children, she enforces rules and disciplinary actions towards Scout, and she teaches Scout important lessons throughout the progression of the storyline.

As people grow up, their views change immensely, and reality overtakes their fantasies. In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, she uses her character Scout’s changing attitudes towards other characters to demonstrate this. Throughout the story, Boo Radley, a mysterious neighbor of Scout’s, is constantly being misjudged by the people of the town. As a consequence of this and Scout’s young age, she believes the rumors about him that are spread, and even puts her own twist on some of them; albeit with the help of Jem and Dill. However, as the story progresses and her character changes, Lee substantiates this with Scout’s changing opinion on Boo Radley. By the end of the story, Scout matures, and so does her view of Boo.

As punishment he is forced to read to her daily. Unbeknownst to them at the time, this was also a way for Mrs.Dubose to break her morphine addiction. Mrs. Dubose was no longer a horrible woman who constantly scolded the children, she now revealed to be an incredibly brave woman. Atticus and Mrs. Dubose’s personalities and attitudes often mask the reality of their situations.

(a life in Maycomb) To Kill a Mockingbird is a story about shells — distinctions of a person based on character, actions, circumstances, or race that society uses to define him. A few characters in this novel, though, can see through these shells, into the person beneath. Unfortunately, the rest of the world is quite different…

My favorite character in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird is Jean Louise because I can relate to her the most out of all the other characters. When I was younger, I grew up living with my male cousins and became to be more of a tomboy like Scout. Jem is Scout’s older brother. Throughout the book I could tell as he was getting older, he became more mature and grown up. He got into football and wanted to be alone more often but stayed by Scout through thick and thin. Atticus is Jem and Scout’s father. I think that Atticus is the perfect dad and role model because he does good things and knows when and how his kids should be punished. He also agrees to defend Tom Robinson after he has been charged for raping a white woman. Calpurnia is the Finches’

To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee features the main characters of the Finch family, (Scout, Jem, and Atticus) the Radley family, (Boo and Nathan) Calpurnia, and Dill. Atticus is the father to brother sister duo Jem and Scout. The names Scout and Jem are nicknames, Scout’s full name is Jean Louise Finch and Jem’s full name is Jeremy Atticus Finch. Calpurnia is the family’s cook and helps to watch Scout and Jem. Calpurnia also mentors the children for she taught Scout how to write. Scout, being 5 years old, is very intelligent, curious, and empathetic for her age and this historic novel is told from her point of view. Jem who is 4 years older than Scout looks out for her and gets along well with his sister. Atticus is their father and he has raised the children for most of their life by himself with Calpurnia. Atticus’ wife died when Scout was two. Atticus is a lawyer which effects Scout and Jem causing them to better understand what goes on in their town . The Radley family is a very strange and closed off family that differentiates from the rest of the town. Boo and Nathan Radley are brothers who live at home with their mother. Nathan came back to live with Boo and Mrs. Radley after Mr. Radley had passed. Boo Radley was described by Jem as a man with “a long jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten; his eyes popped, and he drooled most of the time.” Boo has a scary image and never seems to come outside of his house and takes a particular interest in the Finch children. Dill is a bit older than Scout and comes to visit every summer and stays with his aunt. Jem and Scout befriend him and they hang out often. The setting of the story is in a made up town called Maycomb located in Alabama during the time of The Great Depression. This book is essentially about a loss of innocence, as represented by the Mockingbird. A Mockingbird doesn’t bother anyone or thing, nevertheless being innocent. Killing a Mockingbird is then essentially killing or losing that innocence.