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To Kill A Mockingbird Themes

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Harold Bloom states that To Kill a Mockingbird returns people to an optimism about possibilities human nature and in societal concern that many of them no longer share (Bloom 1). Serving as one of the most influential pieces of fiction produced in the United States, To Kill a Mockingbird still draws almost a million readers annually, more than forty years after its publication. Even, it ranked second only to the Bible “as making a difference in people’s lives” (Shields 1). The novel portrays a young girl’s love for her father and brother and the experience of childhood in a town called Maycomb. A 9 years old narrator, Scout does not only reveals the primary theme, racism, but also other important themes including many valuable aspects. Shackelford …show more content…

Boo asks her to take him home. She agrees and her thoughts reveal a radically changed perception of this man that she once regarded as a mysterious. “Dill had stood there hugging the fat pole, watching, waiting, hoping…He gently released my hand, opened the door, went inside, and shut the door behind him…Boo was our neighbor. He gave us two soap dolls, a broken watch and chain, a pair of good-luck pennies, and our lives. But neighbors give in return. We never put back into the tree what we took out of it: we had given him nothing, and it made me sad” (Lee 531). Scout begins to see Boo Radley as a human being. The children learn how citizens of their community, which is made up of different races, classes, and temperaments, interact in times of crisis. Her newfound ability to see things from his perspective ensures that she will not become disillusioned as she grows into a young adult (Kasper 7). The children observe one man’s heroism in the face of community prejudice. In addition, they regard both Boo and Tom as demonic and witchlike, but in the process of maturing, they come to embrace the outsiders among them. They acknowledge that the mark of virtue involves having the insight and courage to value human differences and people that are unlike the others. The children grow up, learn civilizing truths, and rise above the narrowness of the place in the private codes and legal practices contradict the idealistic …show more content…

In addition, the children seem to be opposed to the adults, the African-American characters at odds with the white characters, and the lower-class Old Sarum characters set apart from the townspeople. At the same time, boundaries between these categories are often broken down momentarily, as when the children feel a kinship with the once-feared adult, Boo Radley, and when the adult Dolphus Raymond sympathizes with the children’s disgust at the trail (Johnson 7). Moreover, the children gradually acknowledge the prejudice and social inequality. Impacting the children with honest heart, Atticus contributes to the children’s change in thoughts and maturity. Bloom says that the novel came out of the last “Age of Innocence”, and long before the current crises of race relations, economic dislocation, and the failure of faith in government, indeed in all authority (Bloom 1). However, as mentioned in the introduction, To Kill a Mockingbird offers people with some optimism about possibilities in human nature and in societal concern that many people do not share anymore. Being studied in a numerous number of schools, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird definitely contributed to a part of American culture and idealism with magnificent

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