To Kill A Mockingbird Character Analysis

The book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is often associated with a various number of themes such as racism, social inequality, the importance of family values, and much more. But one of the more hidden messages of the book centers around the idea that there is a coexistence of good and evil. This theme is really brought to life the more the reader is able to understand the book. Through sub themes such as coming of age, perspective, and intense characterization of many important characters the idea of good and evil is really brought to light.

The concept of good and evil has existed since the beginning of time, but it is not initially all black and white. In Harper Lee's bildungsroman, To Kill A Mockingbird, Jeremy Atticus Finch discovered this for himself. Jeremy or rather Jem and his younger sister, Scout, grew up in Maycomb, Alabama but unlike his sister, Jem begins to understand the adult world. As he matures over the years, Jem learns that good and evil is a complicated idea that takes on a variety of forms. Whether it be from the Radleys, Mrs. Dubose, or the trial of Tom Robinson, Jem learns what good and evil truly are.

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

Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, takes place in the 1930’s, segregated Alabama. The novel is about the main character, Scout’s, experiences and learning about her community and world around her. Scout lives in a town where prejudice is very prominent and there are a lot of differing clashing opinions. The town is also going through the Depression, which affects different families throughout the story. In the novel, an African American man, Tom Robinson, is accused of taking advantage of a white woman. Throughout the novel, Scout learns about different people and how they act in certain situations. A theme in the novel is the coexistence of good and bad in a person gives them depth and complex motives that may be hard to understand.

“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

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.

His character strongly symbolizes one of a Mockingbird. Due to the fact that he has stayed in his house for his whole adult life, the children have never seen him before, which has created stories of him being a bad person, which like Tom Robinson, is not the case. Miss Maudie explains, “ ‘... I remember Arthur Radley when he was a boy. He always spoke nicely to me, no matter what folks said he did. Spoke as nicely as he knew how.’” (61). Miss Maudie discusses her view on Boo Radley, which is that what is told to the children about Boo Radley is not the truth. In reality, he is a very nice man who would never hurt anybody. The reason why Boo Radley stays in his house is merely because he wants to. He wants to be left alone, similar to a Mockingbird, who should just be left alone. In the book, Heck Tate tries to convince Atticus that exposing Boo Radley for killing Bob Ewell is wrong. He says,“ ‘...All the ladies in Maycomb includin’ my wife’d be knocking on his door bringing angel food cakes. To my way of thinkin’, Mr. Finch, taking the one man who’s done you and this town a great service an’ draggin’ him with his shy ways into the limelightーto me, that’s a sin. It’s a sin and I’m not about to have it on my head. If it was any other man it’d be different. But not this man, Mr. Finch.” (370). Heck Tate also points out that it would be a sin to tell people that Boo was the one that killed Bob Ewell. This is a

“She did something that in our society is unspeakable: she kissed a black man” (page 272). It is easy to interpret this character as a villian in To Kill a Mockingbird, but is she honestly a victim? This girl has grown up in poverty, has been beaten, and has had to take care of an entire household. Unfortunately, there is nothing that can be done to change that. She lives a painful lifestyle, and that lifestyle has transformed her into the person she will always be. Mayella Violet Ewell’s important character attributes, mistreated, skeptical, and melodramatic, have forged her into the villain that most people see.

In real life, the hardest aspect of the battle between good and evil is determining which is which. - George R. R. Martin” The term “good and evil” comes about in To Kill a Mockingbird in such a profound way that it causes the reader to dive deep into the characteristics the character to find the truth within them. Numerous characters Harper Lee chose to develop, in the book, have multiple characteristics that are either disliked or admired, but there were a particular few, who appeared rarely but were always gossiped about. Harper Lee’s 1960 book “To Kill a Mockingbird” demonstrates how one can be perceived as good or evil. To Kill a Mockingbird addresses good and evil through characters such as Boo Radley and Tom Robinson.

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.

In the beginning of the novel, Arthur Radley, also known as Boo Radley, is a man who everyone fears of yet he becomes one of the kindest person who Jem and Scout know. After the fire at Miss. Maudie’s house, Atticus notices a blanket around Scout and says “Boo Radley. You were so busy looking at the fire you didn’t know it when he put the blanket around you”(Lee, 96). No one bothers to take care of Jem and Scout during the fire at night, but Boo Radley appears mysteriously to protect Scout from the coldness. Towards the ending of the book, Scout stands at the Radley’s porch and reminisce a piece of advice from Atticus which is “... You never know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them”(Lee, 374). This shows that Boo Radley isn’t a cruel man who everyone thinks he is. Even though he doesn’t show many actions, he is still there to save them at the important moment which is at the end of the book. Jem and Scout gain an imperative lesson which is to never underestimate a person just based on

Courage is an essential human quality. Facing fears against all odds is a feature in many novels. Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is no exception. Many characters depicts the quality. Some in normal situations others, take on terrifying tasks in a unique and original way. Scout, Jem, Atticus, and Ms. Dubose show bravery in many areas of their lives, one character risks their careers, others have a situation that lacks massive consequences.

The novel wants the readers to come to a conclusion by the end of it; that being whether people are primarily good or bad. “One thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience” (pg. 140). There are a couple of examples of this exact thought. Arthur “Boo” Radley was never one that abided by social standards or fit into them for that part. First, Boo took the risk of being seen when he went to make sure the kids were safe from the fire. He did this knowing that he is not allowed outdoors. Then, later in the novel, he saved the children from Mr. Robert E. Lee “Bob” Ewell. Ewell attempted to kill Jem and Scout, so once more, Boo came out and did something that could have changed his life forever; this being the first time coming in contact with a person outside of his home: Arthur Radley murdered Bob Ewell.

‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ is a story that revolves around a small family of three; Atticus Finch, a lawyer, and his two children, Scout and Jem. It tells a dramatic story of racism, wisdom and values. The book shows this by exaggerating Scout and Jem’s transition from a perception of a childlike innocence, in which they assume that all people are good because they have never come across real evil. Real evil in the book is prejudiced, racist and cruel to both Tom Robinson and Arthur Radley, which