A Comparison Of To Kill A Mockingbird And Catch-22

Brutality, when present in literature, is never without meaning or thematic significance. Thomas Foster examines such an idea is his novel, How To Read Literature Like A Professor, claiming that violence “can be symbolic, thematic, biblical, Shakespearean, Romantic, allegorical, transcendent.” Two novels which expound significantly upon systemic violence are Catch-22, by Joseph Heller, and To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. The former is hailed as a classic anti-war novel, utilizing a fictitious war with which to critique all other wars, and the latter examines race relations of the 1930’s whilst remarking upon the same issues as they presented themselves in the 1950’s (Muhlestein). Despite their differences, To Kill A Mockingbird and Catch-22 both exemplify institutionalized violence in their

Harper Lee grew up in small-town Monroeville, Alabama, and directly drew inspiration for her novel from her surroundings. Lee’s family was especially invested in the study of the law, as seen through her commentary on cases concerning the race relations during the time period she wrote her novel, the late 1950s. Landmark cases such as Emmett Till’s murder and Brown v Board were addressed through the treatment and trial of Tom Robinson. In the case of Emmett Till, a young black boy whistled at a white woman, and in turn gets abducted, tortured, and murdered. The perpetrators are tried in court with an all-white jury and were acquitted. These facets are emphasized to critique the reality of black men, acting in a reasonable and respectable way, were never