Flaws In To Kill A Mockingbird

Harper Lee, author of To Kill a Mockingbird characterizes Maycomb’s flaws because it is a town where others judge and misunderstand one another leaving townspeople scared to speak up for themselves. This conveys to readers that society should understand the perspective of another person so one can express their thoughts and opinions freely. (Mention prejudice for judgement)

The discrimination against the black race is so common in the town of Maycomb, the white society blindly uses it as a scapegoat to treat each other immorally. The white community’s prejudices sanction them to judge them without realizing the black race has the same value and notions as them. Atticus establishes this in the courtroom by telling that there is no particular

Henry Lafayette Dubose. The town’s misunderstanding of Boo due to his disappearance has created difficulties in his attempts to create a friendship or bond with Jem and Scout. As Scout and Jem are walking home, they come across Mr. Nathan Radley. Jem starts a conversation with him saying, “‘Mr. Radley, ah—did you put cement in that hole in that tree down yonder?’… ‘[Nathan speaks] Tree’s dying. You plug ’em with cement when they’re sick’” (Lee 70). Jem later goes to Atticus and asks, “‘Is that tree dyin’?’… ‘[Atticus speaks] That tree’s as healthy as you are…” (Lee 70-71). Boo Radley’s desire and endeavor to reach out to Jem and Scout for a friendship is put to a stop when Nathan Radley interferes and clogs up the hole in the tree on their property with cement. Nathan misunderstands Boo’s aim to create to create a connection with someone, in this case, the two kids. He misinterprets it as a threat to Jem and Scout assuming he might endanger them due to past history. This illustrates that one should understand the perspective of another to understand what one wants to achieve. Another example of a Maycomb citizen who is misunderstood due to her personality is Mrs. Dubose. Jem and Scout note she is heartless and mean character, but it is hidden that she is facing personal complications that cannot be seen by others. Atticus helps Jem recognize the courageous women they knew when he says, “She was the bravest person I ever knew” (128). Mrs. Dubose makes a difficult decision to die clean while suffering with agony as she wants to die known as a courageous women, not an addict. She was afraid what others might think if she was known as an addict leaving a misjudgment on her. This demonstrates one must understand what truly goes on behind closed doors before making quick assumptions about another