To Kill A Mockingbird Literary Analysis

To kill a mockingbird can mean many things. It’s the title of a book that has been bought 40 million times. But, it also has a definition. To kill a mockingbird means to destroy innocence. The theme of my literary analysis is mockingbirds. Mockingbirds in TKAM are innocent things tainted by the skewed society of Maycomb. Some of these mockingbirds are Boo Radley, Tom Robinson, and the children. To Kill a Mockingbird is a book set in a small Alabama town in the 1930’s. The main character and narrator is Jean Louise Finch, but is almost always called by her nickname, Scout. Scout, her brother, and her summer friend Dill get into all kinds of mischief while living in the racist society of a 1930’s Alabama town. Scout’s dad, Atticus, is a prominent lawyer in Maycomb and is appointed to a controversial case, and is defending a black man. Scout and her brother, Jem go through many troubles and learn many lessons from the days leading up to, and during the trial. The trail makes their family some friends and a lot of enemies. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a story of courage and despair. Throughout TKAM, mockingbirds are used as an example of something innocent being tainted by the skewed society of TKAM. Some great examples of these are Boo Radley, Tom Robinson, and the children.

The intriguing novel, To Kill A Mockingbird is written by the prestigious author Harper Lee. Lee has utilised the lifestyle and attitudes towards ‘African-Americans" in the 1930's to create a novel which presents the reader with Lee's attitudes and values. The dominant reading of the novel is focused on the issues of racial prejudice, but there are also a number of other alternative and oppositional readings. Examples of this are the Marxist and feminist readings which can be applied to the text.

As Stephen King once said, “The trust of the innocent is the liar’s most useful tool.” In the book "To Kill a Mockingbird", by Harper Lee, Jean Louise Finch, a young girl who also goes by Scout, experiences many things such as racism, friends, and family. Her father, Atticus Finch, is a lawyer who is sacrificing his reputation to defend a black man, Tom Robinson. Scout and her friends take it upon themselves to uncover the mystery of Boo Radley. In this book the mockingbirds represent innocence. Many characters take on the role of the “mockingbird". Exploring Lee’s title, to kill a mockingbird is to kill innocence.

"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" (pg. 119.) Miss Maudie spoke the previous quote with deep thought going into each and every word. She wasn't just trying to teach Scout a lesson, but she wanted there to be a powerful meaning behind it. Miss Maudie's main purpose was to stress that you shouldn't kill something that is doing no harm. Everyday "mockingbirds" are killed, broke down, and mistreated by society.

Lee implies that people learn lessons through life experiences that school can ever teach. Throughout this novel, Atticus taught his kids many lessons that was hard for them to hear at times, but it later on helped them in the story. Or it helped them grow up and mature. On page 40 of To Kill A Mockingbird, Atticus was explaining to Scout that Miss.Caroline was new and didn’t know anyone, and she especially didn’t know the Cunningham’s story, Atticus states, “Atticus said… but if Walter and I had put ourselves in her shoes we’d have seen it was an honest mistake on her part” (40). This quote by Atticus is meant to explain to Scout that Miss. Caroline just made an honest human mistake. He tried to get Scout to realize that if he put herself in Miss.Caroline’s shoes then she might better understand the confusion. Obviously you can’t really be in her shoes, but he said it figuratively to show her why it was important to give her another chance, or at least try to be nice and listen. Atticus taught this to Scout at home later on that night. At her school after that she tried to just get by in her class. Lee also shows mainly throughout that the school system doesn’t help when it comes to teaching children life lessons. As shown in the earlier quote Atticus, had told Scout to jump in Walter’s shoes, and walk around in it. This other quote shows how Scout actually takes into consideration of Atticus’ words, and chooses to not bother Jem because she tried to imagine what it had

The ambition of oneself to pursue justice and righteousness may result in prosecution. In the novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, and movie "A Time to Kill" by Joel Schumacher, each demonstrate one’s open-mindedness and forward thinking leads to penalization through protagonists Atticus Finch and Jake Brigance. Both egalitarians take the position as an attorney for an African American and are prosecuted in the process.

On March 4, 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt stated in his first inauguration speech, “So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself, nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance," (Baughman). This quote translates to a confusing concept at first, but once discussed is practical: the fear of an individual should not be the concern, yet it should be the damage fear itself has on one. Little did we know at the time that this quote, "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself” would turn into “the very symbol” of Roosevelt’s Presidency (Baughman).

On July 11, 1960 , Harper Lee made history by publishing To Kill a Mockingbird. The novel depicts a society filled with racial prejudice and inequality in the 1960s. More specifically, the novel revolves around a court case involving a black man who is wrongly accused of raping a 19 year old white girl. The defense attorney for the black man states that the case has an “inevitable verdict” (253). How could a verdict be inevitable? In fictional Maycomb County, Alabama, cases involving a white victim and a black defendant are solely based on prejudice against blacks; a prejudice founded in fear and sustained by segregation. While some might believe these racial divisions to be a thing of the past, recent events in Ferguson, Missouri suggest otherwise. Both Maycomb County and Ferguson, Missouri suffer not only from deep racial divides, but also from a police force that drives the wedge deeper.

    Throughout time authors have used symbolism to express a greater meaning in simple words because it allows readers to connect the real world to what they are reading in an abstract way, like philosophers using the dove to represent peace and fire to represent ferocity; in To Kill A Mockingbird  , Harper Lee uses symbolism to make a point about maturity in particular when Miss Maudie gives Jem cake, when scout tries to learn innocence and when scout tries to learn how to observe a situation from someone else's perspective.

In To Kill a Mockingbird, a black man, Tom Robinson, is accused of raping a young white woman, Mayella Ewell. Tom Robinson’s lawyer, Atticus Finch, wants to defend Tom, who he can see is not a bad person. The town takes this the wrong way, and shuns Atticus for supporting and defending Tom Robinson. Eventually, even after Atticus makes strong points that should turn the case around, the jury finds Tom guilty and sentences him to prison, where he is eventually shot 17 times by guards during an attempted escape. Tom’s unjust trial and conviction caused by negative race relations is relatable to the trials of The Scottsboro Boys, Emmett Till, and George Zimmerman in some major and obvious ways. All the trials relied heavily on the argument of negative race relations (typically from white jury members and judges) and racism, while largely ignoring some large pieces of evidence. Race relations in general have played a large role in society in primarily negative ways, causing race wars and even changing the course of history. Between the nineteenth century and the twenty-first century, race relations have taken a terrible turn and are slowly getting worse. Not only between caucasians and blacks, but

Harper Lee wrote in To Kill A Mockingbird, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view.” His words explain how you can not judge or make a conclusion about a person until you look at a situation from their point of view, or perspective. This can lead to striking opinions, creating conflict and tension between two people. Similarly, in The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, the narrator, Ponyboy has never felt much of a connection with his oldest brother Darry, as S.E. Hinton portrays their relationship as strain. After their parents died, Darry was left to raise his two brothers by himself. Since he had to play the roles of a mother, father, and big brother; he had a lot on his

Racial segregation is one of the biggest problem and form of prejudice in Maycomb County. People of Maycomb blamed Tom Robinson for raping Mayella Ewell because “she was white and she tempted a Negro. She did something that in [Maycomb’s] society [was] unspeakable: she kissed a black man” (Lee 204) Society has shaped people’s minds a certain way and it controls their actions. It makes people not think and treat others differently just because of their skin color. Even though people knew the truth, Tom Robinson was still convicted and found guilty because “when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always win”. (Lee 220) To end racial inequality, people need to understand the other person and view things in their perspective. Society needs to stop

Lee was one of the most important and one of the most mysterious figures in American literary history. “To Kill a Mockingbird,” which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1960, became, for many readers, one of the key novels about race in America. (Rothman). What is also shown is how Lee's genius is evident in the effect her book had on both sides of America's racial divide. (Getlen).

The Influence of Setting on Themes and Events in To Kill A Mockingbird Vs. A Time to Kill

The story, in the eyes of two innocent children Scout and her brother Jem, of the discrimination and hypocrisy throughout the town. Maycomb County, Alabama, faces an African American’s injustice while the children learn valuable lessons from their father, Atticus and their housemaid Calpurnia, during the Great Depression. All the while, we are learning from it. To Kill a Mockingbird teaches us the lessons of morale, justice and equality.