To Kill a Mockingbird

During the 1930’s depression, there was a great divide between black and white America. There were many communities and groups who had been exposed to the same treatment and persecution as the Negroes in To Kill a Mockingbird. Harper Lee has used a small town setting, such as that in To Kill a Mockingbird, to illustrate America’s views on white supremacy and the inferiority of the black race. The author has illustrated view that are expressed world-wide through her characters in Maycomb county.

Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, is a realistic story that deeply discusses issues involved with the 1930’s that still resonate today. The struggles of life are evident within the believable characters of Maycomb County which is a microcosm, reflective of universal issues. Along with the authentic characters, setting and style also helps to convey Lee’s controversial notions of racial and gender prejudice, and persecution of the innocent, discussing many other ideas within.

The book, “To Kill a Mockingbird”, written by Harper Lee, is a very impactful novel that acutely connects an intricate plot and story to American history itself, specifically the time of the Great Depression, where racial oppression was rather common, and sadly, accepted. This novel dives into the harsh times of the Great Depression and gives readers a rather sufficient understanding of what life was like back then. In this novel, there are a plethora of archetypes, those being symbols, motifs, themes, myths, and characters that have a deep impact on the story’s development.

Characterize Miss Maudie Atkinson (characterization = personality traits, actions, thoughts/feelings, other people’s points of view). How typical is she of Maycomb’s women? What do the children think of her?

I did not expect that I would like To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee as much as I do. Written from the perspective of Scout, a young girl in the 1930’s, this book takes a look at many issues, including racism and sexism, all from the innocent eyes of a child. This book reveals many of the issues and struggles faced during the Great Depression. So far, this book is excellently written.

In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird events and conflicts take place causing changes in characters. Some of the characters that are changed include Mrs. Dubose, Jem, Scout, and even Mr. Arthur Radley. Each of these events has a background to help change the characters. Mrs. Dubose is helped to change her charter in the novel by Jem reading to her, Aunt Alexandra comes to live with Atticus, Jem, and Scout changing Scout’s character, and Arthur Radley’s character is changed by the event of Jem and Scout being attacked by Bob Ewell.

After the Roaring 20s an Economic Disaster struck which is well known as the Great Depression. This made struggles for thousands of people and put them out of work , money, and at the very least food. All though the Great Depression was rarely mentioned in Harper Lee’s, To Kill a Mockingbird, there are multiple instances stating economic trouble throughout the novel. A tumultuous event such as the Great Depression exacerbated tensions in the novel much like socio economic divides influences conflicts today; this is revealed through the analysis of events in the novel as well as present-day issues.

The tiny, sleepy, worn-out, dingy, slow-moving town of Maycomb, Alabama is where the novel takes place. The novel takes place in the early 1930s, during the Great Depression.

In 'To Kill a Mockingbird' many morals about the themes in the novel are portrayed through different issues and events. The major themes are appearance vs. reality courage, maturity and prejudice. Each of these themes has an event in the novel that help the reader understand its message.

“Devastation and uncertainty” are two words that describe the feelings of thousands of Americans during the Great Depression(McCabe 12). From losing homes to jobs, many Americans were left devastated. These feelings during this time period were Harper Lee’s main inspiration to writing her novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Within the novel, there were many connections to the Jim Crows laws, mob mentality, and the Scottsboro trials.

"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view - until you climb into his skin and walk around in it" (Lee 30). Atticus Finch says these words to his daughter, Scout, after he elucidates to her why it is important to not be quick to judge a book by its cover . In Harper Lee's To Kill A Mocking Bird, the main conflicts are centered around prejudice. In the tiny town of Maycomb, everybody is set on tradition and there is no room for oddity. Atticus Finch breaks down the walls that everybody else builds up about first and lasting impressions, slowly but surely. Atticus Finch is a discreet example of practicing equality because he espouses the outcasts of Maycomb.

Atticus Finch belongs to a very, very small minority. He is one of the very few human beings who does not hate Hitler. Of course, he does not like the universally hated historical figure, but merely dislikes him. This is a major theme of Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird. One can never, without exception, hate a man. Harper Lee promotes the idea that hatred is never acceptable by creating situations with literary devices like characters, settings, and plots that demand empathy.

To Kill A Mockingbird, an award winning, bestseller, is a novel that was written by Harper Lee and was first published in the 1960s. Also, “In 1961, Harper Lee 's "To Kill a Mockingbird" won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction after being on the bestseller list for more than 40 weeks.” (tkamcreative.weebly.com) This book first follows the main character, Scout Finch, in her childhood explorations and adventures with her friends and family. It later introduces a court case taken on by her father, which shows the true prejudice and hardship of the time they are living in. As the kids attempt to adapt to the harsh events that are caused by this, they grow immensely and learn that there are hardships for everyone that spread from the economic depression to discrimination. The real source of tension in Maycomb is the ongoing rift between the country folk - poor white farmers who have been “hit the hardest” by the economic catastrophe and the city folk - merchants and professionals who are desperate to avoid slipping into absolute poverty. Caught in the middle of all this are the innocent characters - Boo Radley, Tom Robinson, and Dolphus Raymond - who are just trying to mind their own business.

The main theme of To Kill a Mockingbird are the morals good and evil of people around us. Throughout the whole book Atticus tries to show his children to be thoughtful towards others and to view

To Kill a Mockingbird is a 1962 film directed by Robert Mulligan, and is based on the novel by Harper Lee of the same name. The film stars Gregory Peck (Atticus Finch), Mary Badham (Scout Finch), Phillip Alford (Jem), John Megna (Dill), Robert Duvall (Boo Radley), and Brock Peters (Tom Robinson). To start the film a woman is narrating her childhood in Macomb, Alabama that was "a tired old town even in 1932." She (Scout) recalls that she was six years old that summer. Scout and her brother Jem are fascinated by the neighbors a few door down, particularly Boo Radley, which they share with Dill, a boy visiting town for the summer. The primary plot line for Scout, Jem, and Dill revolves around Boo Radley.