Rishita Sontenam English B1
Theme analysis essay December 10, 2017
“Through the Window”
” Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird " (Lee 78) . One of Harper Lee's strongest themes throughout To Kill a Mockingbird is that the characters are being judged by their appearances rather than who they really are. This misjudgement is shown through damages not only society's eyes, but also their thoughts and actions. In To Kill a Mockingbird , Harper Lee develops the theme that prejudice and misjudgement can be compared to a foggy window where society fails to see past the fog and therefore, also fails to see past the character's appearances. Throughout the novel, Maycomb's community knows to believe that one's appearance plays a much larger role in a person's judgement rather than their reality. This false accusation creates a barrier between the truth and peoples assumptions. As a result, not only does Maycomb fail to understand why others like Mr. Raymond and Boo Radley live the way they do but in the process, also decrease any chance to relate to characters such as Tom Robinson. When Maycomb's society buried their memories of Boo Radley by sending an innocent man to his death sentence and forced another to live in a world of lies where they grew to judge men by their appearance rather than what’s on the inside.
The first instance of theme of appearance versus reality is a huge issue throughout To Kill a Mockingbird. In each chapter, prejudice occurs in a constant cycle whether it is aimed at an innocent black man. The book shows every aspect of how people can look through the foggy window and see things completely different than what they truly appear to be. One place where the theme of judging others is evident is when Raymond states that it is easier for “...people to handle differences when they have a reason to explain it”; therefore, he pretends to be an alcoholic (Lee 256). When Boo Radley, a man the entire world has feared for 30 years, brings Scout to tears when she realizes that this same man had saved her life. If every person goes one-step further to wipe this window clean, people like Boo Radley, Raymond, and Tom Robinson would not have to
Tom Robinson is wrongfully convicted of rape and eventually killed in prison, whereas Boo Radley is killed emotionally because he is not accepted by society. Since it is a sin to kill a mockingbird, it is also a sin to kill innocent souls like Tom and Boo. When Scout tries to understand why it is a sin to kill a mockingbird, Miss Maudie elucidates Atticus’s opinion more clearly by stating, “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy...They don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (103). Mockingbirds sing and make beautiful music; however they mimic the songs of other birds, so they are seen through others. Tom and Boo are like mockingbirds because they are subject to the perceptions of the people of Maycomb. The townspeople knew these characters based on what others said about them. Consequently, Tom and Boo do not have their own “song” and are portrayed by others’ views of them. The mockingbird emerges as a metaphor for the wrong in harming innocent and defenseless people.
What are the rules by which one must treat another human being? The two most important rules are justice and fairness. By definition, justice is the act of rewarding the good and punishing the bad , while fairness is treatment without discrimination. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, an innocent man is tried, and because of his race, is determined guilty. In an utopian society, freedom and justice stand side by side. In the town of Maycomb Alabama however, cases that include racism and prejudice occur every day. However, these people are seen in the eyes of Atticus, Scout, and Jem as innocent “mockingbirds” who benefit the lives of others. There are many people in the world who take justice and fairness to heart, and treat
Prejudice is one of the world’s greatest struggles. It does not only hold society back, but is harmful to the people who do good .In Harper Lee’s book To Kill A Mockingbird, Scout and Jem live through and witness prejudice and racism in the small town of Maycomb. They see someone wrongly accused of a crime because of his race. Scout and Jem also witness and take part in prejudice against a man no one knows anything about. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird Harper Lee uses characterization to show the negative effects of prejudice and racism.
In conclusion, throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, prejudice is shown as one of the most important things in the lives of the citizens of Maycomb, Alabama. One of the most evident types of prejudice is
“But remember, it's a sin to kill a mockingbird." (119) The mockingbird represents the symbol of pure innocence and beauty in the book, while the bluejay represents the vicious and the ruthless of society. "People generally see what they look for, and hear what they listen for..."(232) This quote represents how people view mockingbirds and blue jays. Although there are many shameless ‘mockingbirds’ the two that stand out the most are, of course, Tom Robinson and Boo Radley. Unlike the several ‘mockingbird’ characters, there is one clear blue jay, which is Bob Ewell. Representing the symbol of the mockingbird, Tom Robinson and Boo Radley are significantly impacted by Bob Ewell, the symbolic bluejay.
“Human beings are poor examiners, subject to superstition, bias, prejudice, and a profound tendency to see what they want to see rather than what is really there” ~ Scott Peck. Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird abounds with the injustice produced by social, gender, and racial prejudice. The setting of the book takes place in the 1930s, where racism is a big deal in society. In the novel Harper Lee uses a mockingbird as an analogy to the characters. The Mockingbird is a symbol for Three Characters in the book, Atticus Finch, Tom Robinson, and Boo Radley. The people of Maycomb only know Boo Radley and Tom Robinson by what others say about them. These Characters are then characterized by other people 's viewpoints. In the novel there are many themes that are adjacent to our lives, the one that is found in To Kill A Mockingbird is Human Conflict comes from the inability for one to understand another. “ You never understand a person until you consider things from his point of view- until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” (39)
At some point everyone has judged someone or has been judged , and this leads to stereotypes and prejudice. In to “Kill a Mockingbird” Harper Lee displays how judging a man by his color leads to unfortunate events. Through symbolism , stereotypes, colorism , Harper lee shows that everyone eventually judges even if they don’t see it as judging .
Harper Lee’s novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” is set in a small, southern town, Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression of the 1930s. The story is told through the eyes of a girl named Scout about her father, Atticus, an attorney who strives to prove the innocence of a black man named Tom Robinson, who was accused of rape and Boo Radley, an enigmatic neighbor who saves Scout and her brother Jem from being killed. Atticus does his job in proving there was no way that Tom Robinson was guilty during his trial, but despite Tom Robinson’s obvious innocence, he is convicted of rape as it is his word against a white woman’s. Believing a “black man’s word” seemed absurd as segregation was a very integrated part of life in the south. The social hierarchy must be maintained at all costs and if something in the system should testify the innocence of a black man against a white woman’s word and win then what might happen next? Along with the prejudice amongst blacks and whites, the story also showed how people could be misunderstood for who they truly are such as Boo Radley. Without ever seeing Boo, Jem and the townsfolk made wild assumptions on what Boo does or looks like. Even so, while “To Kill a Mockingbird” shows the ugliness that can come from judging others, its ultimate message is that great good can result when one defers judgement until considering things from another person’s view. Walter Cunningham, Mrs. Dubose, and Boo Radley are all examples of how looking at things
In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, characters are used to demonstrate the misjudgement by others in society. Arthur “Boo” Radley is thought of in a very dimensional and untrue way by the children. Dolphus Raymond makes unnoticed compromises in order to live in the community which he does not fit in. Tom Robinson is a kind and humble African American, who is misjudged by society due to the colour of his skin. Lee uses characterisation to show readers how society judges others.
“‘Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit'em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird”’(Lee 90). Atticus Finch tells his children it would be a sin to kill a mockingbird because the act would be taking away the purity or life of something so innocent. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee uses an extended metaphor to reveal the theme of not everyone is as they seem, by comparing Boo Radley, Tom Robinson and Atticus Finch to mockingbirds.
Injustice and judgments are well known in the world. With so many people who get out of what they deserve or are punished for nothing at all. People who are judged by how they appear or seem, and how cruel it can all be. The concept of injustice and judgments is written out in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Injustice and judgments is the theme of To Kill a Mockingbird with certain symbols that help convey it, certain examples are Mr. Raymond’s “liquor” bottle, the snowman Scout and Jem made, and the gifts from Boo Radley.
To Kill a Mockingbird has many characters that are blind to the real truth. For example, when Scout, Jem, and Dill went on their adventure to the Radley house and almost got caught, Mrs Stephanie repeated Mr. Radley by saying “If anybody sees a white nigger around, that’s the one”(Lee 61). This shows that Mr. Radley knew it had to be a black man who was in his yard, even though he said the man was white. The prejudice in these southern states runs so deep that the people think the reason for everything that goes bad is because of an African American. Another example is the jury when Judge Taylor said “Guilty… guilty… guilty… guilty…”(Lee 240). This verdict shows that the jury voted all guilty even though there was all the evidence in the world to show that Tom was innocent. The jury just didn’t want to stand out in a state
The Three Mockingbirds People’s first instinct is to judge people based on how they appear rather than who they are as a person; they believe what is on the outside is more important than what is on the inside. Arthur Radley, a middle aged man, Dolphus Raymond, a local drunk and Tom Robinson, a black man, all have experienced victimization by society in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. These characters discriminated against society by the people of Maycomb, Alabama and reveal an important lesson. People should not judge one another based on the exterior, but should look at the interior.
In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee expresses the theme of not to judge someone too fast. She shows this idea with the character Boo Radley and how the town treats him. He never comes out of his house, so the town gossips about how he is a monster. Also, this theme is expressed with Mr. Dolphus Raymond. The town of Maycomb assumes he is a drunk who lives with negros because he doesn’t comprehend what he is doing.
Harper Lee's ‘To kill a Mockingbird’ explores the prejudicial issues which plague over the town Maycomb. Harper Lee uses the trial of Tom Robinson a black man accused of rape on a young white girl, Mayella as a central theme to portray the prominence of racial discrimination in Maycomb. The racial prejudice is also widely shown through the characterisation of Atticus. Having Scout as the narrator allows Harper Lee to highlight the gender inequity through a youthful unbiased perspective. The chauvinistic attitudes and prejudiced views of most of the town’s folk leaves Maycombs social hierarchy in an unfair order, victimising many of the town’s people due to their socially non-conforming habits some ‘socially unaccepted people’ including Boo