To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, may appear to be a simple story about childhood and life in a Southern town, but upon close examination it is a complex novel dealing with themes of education, moral courage, and tolerance. Through the eyes of Scout Finch, the young protagonist, novelist Harper Lee educates the reader about the importance of a moral education, as opposed to a formal education, the difference between traditional bravery and moral courage, and prejudice vs. tolerance. In the early chapters of the novel, Scout Finch joins her brother Jem at school. School is something that the precocious Scout has been looking forward to attending. Her first day proves to be a disappointment when Jem (Scout's primary playmate at home) tells Scout that they are not to play with each other, and when Scout gets into trouble for educating her teacher about a fellow student, Walter Cunningham, who belongs to a family that doesn't take charity. Her worst disappointment of all is when her teacher, Miss Caroline, tells Scout that Atticus has been teaching her the wrong way. Instead of feeling pride for her reading skills, Scout is made to feel ashamed. She tells her father that she will not return to school, but he compromises with her and tells her if she goes to school that they will continue reading just as they always have. Through their talks on the porch and at night, Atticus teaches Scout more than she will ever learn at school. The most important lesson he teaches her is how to treat people. The moral education Scout receives from Atticus is juxtaposed by Lee in the novel with formal education, which is depicted mostly as rigid, narrow-minded, and not very useful. In addition to the theme of moral education, Lee explores the notion of bravery vs. moral courage. Scout, Jem, and their friend Dill tend to define bravery by the risks people are willng to take. To these children, accepting a dare is the truest test of one's bravery. Jem accepts Dill's challenge to touch the door of the Radley house, where the neighborhood bogeyman, Arthur "Boo" Radley, lives. Jem also views bravery by how skillful one is with a gun. When Atticus shoots the rabid dog, Jem earns a new-found respect for Atticus. Their notion of bravery changes during the Tom Robinson trial and at the end of the novel.
In chapter 15 of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, the children will do anything to protect Atticus from getting hurt. Lee uses imagery and shift to show that the children are protective of Atticus.
Through the development of Scout’s relationship with Arthur Radley, Scout develops and becomes more empathetic. Atticus Finch, Scout’s father, is her most consistent role model and used by Lee as the moral compass. Atticus is a firm believer in teaching by example, and his respect of his children is such that he treats them almost as adults, emphasised in the line ‘he played with us, read with us, and treated us with courteous detachment’ pg. 6. This refusal to shelter Scout from the harsh realities of life in Maycomb allows her to learn from experience. The strong moral guidance offered by Atticus allows Scout not only to learn from experience, but also to develop her personal integrity. Atticus exemplifies his strong beliefs, as illustrated when he says ‘Shoot
In To Kill a Mockingbird, this theme of deluding oneself rather than admitting a painful truth is shown through the town of Maycomb itself, Mayella Ewell’s internal and external struggles in dealing with her feelings for Tom Robinson, and how Jem refuses to believe that the world he grew up in turns out to not be what he had imagined.
To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel written by Harper lee in 1960. The novel tells the story of Atticus Finch, a white lawyer, and Tom Robinson, a black servant, accused of raping a white female. Finch defends Robinson in court arguing lack of evidence as his main point. However, the judge and jury still believe the woman’s testimony and orders Robinson to be killed. The novel has been praised for its outstanding literature since its publication. However, it remains a banned book by the American Library Association for its use of racial slurs and profanity. Due to it being banned, many high schools have reconsidered the notion of teaching it to their students. Two prominent authors wrote articles pertaining to this piece of literature: Angela Shaw-Thornburg wrote an article on her re-reading of the novel and her opinions on it; while Malcom Gladwell wrote an article comparing Atticus Finch to a state governor liberalist, James Folsom, and the restraints of liberalism in the south. In addition, Rebecca Best contributes her thought on how the novel should be taught by introducing the idea of “the other.” Regardless of the modern day political arguments surrounding this piece of literature, this novel contains a large insight into the time period of the 1960s which is an influential topic that should be taught to young high school students.
Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird is an astounding portrayal of Southern tradition and human dignity, a novel whose themes and lessons transcend time and place. The book is narrated by a young girl named Scout who matures over the course of the story from an innocent child to a morally conscience young adult. The cover of the novel displays a knot-holed tree containing a pocket watch and a ball of yarn, accompanied by the silhouette of a mockingbird soaring over the trees through a twilight sky. The portrait on the cover is an emblem that signifies the nature of Scout's maturation and the underlying themes presented by Harper Lee. Lee's signified themes, ethically rich and profoundly humane, epitomize traditional Southern mentality.
The way in which humans come to be understanding, compassionate individuals is a process demonstrated constantly throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, a famous novel written by Harper Lee, taking place in the 1930’s during the Great Depression in Maycomb County, Alabama. The story is told from the young Jean Louise “Scout” Finch’s perspective, and tracks the development of her and her older brother Jeremy Atticus “Jem” Finch, from innocent to understanding. The negative influences which Jem and Scout experience, including the racially charged case of Tom Robinson, lead the children to have a new, more experienced perspective on human nature. People like Atticus Finch, Jem and Scout’s father, help the children to make sense of this part of human
Imagine living in a society where the color of your skin defines who you are. In Harper Lee’s Novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Maycomb County is surrounded in ignorance because people believe that people of a certain color are not as important as everyone else. An individual, Tom Robinson is attacked, and judged by Maycomb’s society because of false rape accusations and the color of his skin. The power of Atticus’s words show society that they were wrong about Tom because the color of his skin does not define who he is and being black does not make him a rapist. The three most important themes in To Kill a Mockingbird are knowledge versus ignorance, individual versus society, and power of words.
Harper Lee’s only book, To Kill a Mockingbird, is the stereotypical tale of childhood and innocence, yet it successfully incorporates mature themes, like the racism in the South at the time, to create a masterpiece of a work that has enraptured people’s minds and hearts for generations. According to esteemed novelist Wally Lamb, “It was the first time in my life that a book had sort of captured me. That was exciting; I didn’t realize that literature could do that” (111). Scout’s witty narration and brash actions make her the kind of heroine you can’t help but root for, and the events that take place in Maycomb County are small-scale versions of the dilemmas that face our world today. Mockingbird is a fantastically written novel that belongs on the shelves of classic literature that everyone should take the time to read and appreciate for its execution of style and the importance of its content.
Although the character of Boo Radley does not reveal himself until the end of the novel, he is important to all of the themes present in `To Kill a Mockingbird'
Everyone is living in the real world, it is just when someone starts becoming aware of their surroundings that gives them pain the most. The desire to escape is shown throughout the classic book, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Taking place during the Great Depression in the South at a town called Maycomb County, characters in the book go through life and they find it hard to face some of the events that happen around them. Some people become uneasy once they have to face reality or the truth. Dill, Tom Robinson, and Scout have their own way of dealing with pain and the desire to escape reality. The pain that these three characters face is too much to endure which pushes them over the edge, one way or another.
Imagine what it is like to defend a black man during the 1930s, during the time where racism is a huge problem, but deep in your heart you know that it is the right thing to do. Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, show the life during the 1930s through a 6-year old girl’s perspective. The story takes place in Southern Alabama, during the time of the Great Depression and other major conflicts. Living in a town, Maycomb, Jean Louise is also known as Scout, experience racism, poverty, and other problems that Maycomb suffer from. Scout’s father, Atticus Finch, is a very well known lawyer in Maycomb, he stands up and accepted to defend Tom Robinson, a humble and kind black man that have been
In Harper Lee’s historical fiction novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus shows the children that Maycomb is prejudice, teaches them courage, and the children show maturity. Scout and Jem are children of Atticus who's assigned to defend Tom Robinson is his case and throughout this case Scout’s summer neighbor and friend, Dill, Jem, Atticus, and Scout exuberate of these themes in their actions .Prejudice is when one pre-judges another based on their race, gender, age, or sexuality which one don’t understand and one hates the unknown of another. Courage is doing something without the fear of being judged or fearing the unknown. Maturity is learning lessons and applying them to oneself where one start to display adult characteristics. These themes of courage, prejudice, and maturity come and go through the novel.
Symbolism. Why is it important in a novel? Why do authors incorporate symbols into their writing? Symbolism aids the reader in understanding what the author wants to portray. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird, she writes about the racism in a small town in Alabama named Maycomb set in the 1930’s and about two children growing up and learning that their town is not as perfect as they thought. The theme topic appearance versus reality helps to get a better understanding of the symbols used in the novel and that you should not judge something by their appearance, you should judge by the reality of what it is. “As Atticus once advised me to do, I tried to climb into Jem’s skin and walk around in it.” (Scout page 77) In her novel, there are many symbols throughout the narrative that relate to the theme topic appearance versus reality. Harper Lee writes symbols into her novel, such as the snowman, Mrs. Dubose’s Camellia flower and Dolphus Raymond’s Coca-Cola bottle to help reinforce the theme topic of appearance versus reality throughout the novel.
Harper Lee makes some direct statements about the thoughts of the public during the mid-nineteen thirties. The simplest way to make a statement in the novel is through the thoughts of Scout. Scout shapes her character from her father's advice. One of the principle values Scout attains from Atticus appears at the end of the novel when she states, "Atticus was right. One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them" (279). Lee demonstrates the difference between an adult's understanding of the world around him and a child's understanding of his environment by creating the character Dolphus Raymond. Dolphus states: "'Secretly, Miss Finch, I'm not much of a drinker, but you see they [adults] could never, never understand that I live like I do because that's the way I want to live'" (201). Scout does not understand why Dolphus trusts two children with his secret over an adult and he replies, "'Because you're children and you can understand it'" (201). Dolphus teaches that it is not until one loses his innocence that he looks on things with prejudice. Stating facts proves to be beneficial when one is trying to express a point; however, the best way to learn is through experience.
The book To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, is a classic coming of age literature that explores ideas that every generation should be aware of. It is mainly the story of a young girl growing up in Maycomb, Alabama. Scout lives in the era of racism and injustice and she would find herself in the middle of it. As she narrates her life, I encountered various life lessons that I found a connection in my own expirience growig up.