To Kill A Mockingbird Theme Essay

Harper Lee's 'To Kill a Mockingbird' is recounted by Scout, who at the time was six years old. This book follows her journey in growing up and eventually losing her innocence through realising the evil in the world, mostly portrayed by the racism and prejudice surrounding her. A mockingbird is a metaphor for the destruction of innocence. There are three mockingbirds in the text: Boo Radley, Scout Finch and Tom Robinson. Boo has done nothing wrong except sit in his house and 'mind his own business', and has done nothing to hurt anyone else. All that has happened is he has been accused once again of crimes he did not commit. Scout is a mockingbird because she is thrust in the middle of all of the adults and their prejudices. Tom has done

Radley fills the hole. He says the tree is dying, maybe also because of the fear of Boo. Scout and Jem are both in deep sorrow. Although themselves have not realized, the emotional link between them and Boo has been strongly

Boo just wants to prove himself to the kids that he really is not that bad of a guy, and he is someone that they can trust. And Boo gave Scout the blanket when Miss Maudie’s house was on fire. When the kids were looking threw the window Boo could have actually seen them, so then he got a message that they wanted to meet him. And then he wanted to start leaving nice gifts for the kids to make sure that they liked him, when he was ready to actually come outside. The other people I think that it could be is Mr. Avery, the kids themselves think it could be Mr. Avery. They use the examples that he carves wood, so why wouldn’t he do that with soap. They say, “he averaged one stick of stove wood per week” (Lee 68). In the book it says that Mr. Avery sits on his porch and watches the Radley house, but he could possibly be watching the knothole in the tree. And Mr. Avery lives in the neighborhood so it is not like he does not know these kids; he just lives down the street. So both of the two guys have their reason for possibly leaving the surprises in the tree. But theses are the reasons why I think it is Boo Radley or Mr.

When Jem sits down to write the Boo Radley a latter, he says “ We appreciate everything which you have to put into the tree for us” ( Lee, 69 ). This shows that the Jem and scout may not guess who’s doing it, Jem and scouts knows and finds that someone who is kind and innocent is showing friendship to Jem and scout. After writing a letter down to the Boo, Boo feels really good and happy about the letter he receives because he got a present from someone in the maycomb where he is known as a monstrous creature in the town. Most importantly, Boo is brave, but Jem and Scout will be more brave from getting the letter, because someone is appreciating the gifts he have gave for

Boo radley is a symbol for the misconceptions and stereotyping of people, Scout gains new perspective, and Boo is a metaphor for killing a mockingbird. Scout was told false claims about Boo's sanity, character, and

Boo Radley created the two carved dolls in Scout and Jem’s image as an act of friendship, an olive branch of sorts. Being a reclusive figure who rarely ventures outside of his home, Boo employed these dolls to reach out and befriend the Finch siblings from the safety of his manor. Unfortunately, Jem’s preconceived notion of Boo caused him to misinterpret Boo’s kind gesture and assume that Boo gifted these dolls out of ill intent. Instead of treasuring the doll and playing with it for hours on end, as Boo Radley intended, Jem discarded him immediately. However, Scout kept hers and stored it away in her room because she was always intrigued by the Radley’s.

Matt Berman from Common Sense Media commented, “This richly textured novel, woven from the strands of small-town life, lets readers walk in the shoes of one fully realized character after another.” To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, one of the major messages is identity. Harper Lee lets the people look into the perspectives and identity of some of the characters that make it seem very life-like. In the novel, many characters possess both admirable and dislikable qualities which are shown through their actions. With the nurturing of her father, Scout contains the charming qualities of being courage and mature for her age. The father that instilled these characteristics in Scout, is Atticus Finch. While dealing with the stressful case of Tom Robinson, Atticus maintains to keep the likable aspects of sympathy and strong will. The antagonist in this novel fighting against Tom Robinson is Bob Ewell. Bob Ewell has instilled, in him, the terrible qualities of cruelty and racism. These life-like characters that Harper Lee illustrates gives people a clear vision of who the characters portray.

“He was carrying Jem. Jem’s arm was dangling crazily in front of him. By the time I reached to corner the man was crossing our front yard. Light from our front door framed Atticus for a instant; he ran down the steps, and together, he and the man took Jem inside” (352). This is the pivotal moment, when Boo Radley saves Jem and Scout from Bob Ewell’s. When Bob was in the process of hurting a “mockingbird”, a face that very few have seen saves the kids. By the end of the book Scout makes a good connection with Boo but there will always be fear, ignorance, and

Rather than being the monster that the town seems to portray him as. Boo Radley testify to be a affable character. Boo Radley exhibits his various acts of secret compassion by leaving gifts under the tree for Scout and Jem. “He gave us two soap dolls, a broken watch and chain, a pair of good-luck pennies, and our lives” (Lee 373). “Having been so accustomed to his absence, I found it incredible that he had been sitting beside me all this time, present.

Jem finally connects the dot and realizes that it was Boo Radley that gave them the objects. Jem is confused and seems to be conflicted with his realization. Scout narrates, “Jem was holding his ears, shaking his head from side to side. ‘I don’t get it, I just don’t get it—I don’t know why, Scout…’” (69). He has two views in his mind, a child’s one and an adult one. With the realization that Boo Radley, the childhood monster of his, has been giving him nice gifts, he has also realize that Boo Radley isn’t actually a monster. His previous beliefs of Boo is conflicting with his newfound realization. However, Scout, a child, doesn’t understand and can’t make the same connection as Jem. She asks Jem, “How do you know it’s a man? I bet it’s Miss Maudie—been bettin‘ that for a long time,” when Jem writes, “Dear Mister,” on the thank you card (69). Scout can’t connect it to Boo Radley like Jem can because in her mind Boo is still the monster of the neighborhood, and to her, it’s impossible for the monster to have done nice deeds. Then, later in the chapter, the only connection to Boo Radley the children had is blocked as the tree hole is cemented by Nathan Radley. When Jem asks Mr. Radley why he blocked it, he simply says that it’s because the tee is sick; however when Jem ask his father whether the tree was sick,

“But they also heard rumors that Boo Radley only comes out at night not during the day.” Scout and Jem start thinking that Boo Radley is a scary man or he is evil. The first time that Scout and Jem saw Boo Radley face, was when he saved them from Bob Ewell. Ever since Boo Radley saved them Jem and Scout stop believing all the rumors they heard about Boo Radley. Boo Radley can be compared to a mocking bird because mockingbirds are calm and don’t hurt others. That’s why Boo Radley is considered a mockingbird because he never hurt any known or bothered any known. The sad part was that Boo Radley was killed by couple of town’s people because he never came out because he was shy. (http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081010185527AAZEssX)

Scout, Jem, and Dill work many summers to try to get Boo to come out of the Radley house for the first time in many years. Jem had been told many things about Boo in his short years in Maycomb, and he tells his sister Scout about the ‘monster’, saying, “Boo was about six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that’s why his hands were bloodstained—if you ate an animal raw, you could never wash the blood off. There was 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” (chap. 1). Jem’s ideas about Boo are very biased toward rumors that can be heard around Maycomb. This shows how Maycomb’s people often judge before they know, seeing as no one has seen Boo Radley in over twenty years and people are prejudiced to believing the unknown is always bad. Prejudice and rumors can often not be trusted and Boo Radley is no exception. After Miss Maudie’s house catches fire and half the town rushes outside to watch it burn, Atticus tells Scout, “someday you should thank him for covering you up” then Scout asks, “Thank Who?” And gets a response from Atticus, “Boo Radley. You were too busy looking at the fire, you didn’t even notice when he put the blanket around you” (chap. 8). Boo Radley is not really a bad person, he

The presents that Jem and Scout find in the knothole of a tree are from Boo - gum, pennies, and soap bar sculptures. This is a positive form of communication of giving presents between the children and Boo, and it shows that he is not as violent as what everyone believes. From this, it is implied that Boo Radley's impression is created only by rumours because he was never seen like the concept of a ghost. He suffers from those, although he is like a mockingbird that sings for people. The title 'To kill a mockingbird' links to the situation of Boo, where he is avoided by everyone despite his act of

At the start of the novel Scout and Jem are both terrified of “Boo” Radley. To them, he is a malicious phantom, scarcely even human, the source of all evil and crimes in Maycomb County. Little do they know, Boo will, one day, save their lives. The children’s relationship with Boo Radley changes drastically over time. At first being one of fear and tormenting on the children’s part, it slowly changes to curiosity and finally into one of kindness and friendship. At first Boo, to the children, is nothing

In addition, another quote is when Jem is peeking into a tree he says, “Tin-foil was sticking out of a knothole just above my eye level…I reached into the hole and withdrew two pieces of chewing gum” (Lee 33). The quote is explaining how Boo Radley knew Jem would go to the tree so he left him