More handpicked essays just for you.
What is the main theme in to kill a mockingbird
Symbols that represent unfairness in killing a mockingbird
What is the main theme in to kill a mockingbird
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Most would argue that Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill A Mockingbird is an uplifting story about hope and youth. In reality, it is a sad story about two children, Jem and Scout, losing their innocence through treacherous life experience. To Kill a Mockingbird is a coming of age story about childhood in the deep south during the great depression. It speaks about the concepts of racism, innocence and justice as the protagonists, Scout and Jem, struggle with coming of age. The Finch children lose their innocence throughout the book in many ways, such as being involved with the trial, the lynch mob, and Bob Ewell's death. At it’s core, TKAM is a story about youth, and the loss thereof. When Scout and Jem are involved in the lynch mob, they lose their …show more content…
However during the trial, the Reverend Sykes expressed concern that Scout’s innocence needs to be preserved watching and Jem replies. “Aw hush. She doesn’t understand it, Reverend, she ain’t nine yet” (197). This evidence shows that before the trial, Scout was at least partially innocent, and Jem knows that. Harper Lee uses Jem and Scout's involvement with the trial to demonstrate how they lose their innocence. Jem and Scout lose some of their innocence when they are involved in the lynch mob. Scout says the following quote when she, Jem and Dill stumble upon the lynch mob that is trying to lynch Atticus and Tom because they are racist. “Hey, Mr. Cunningham. How’s your entailment gettin’ along… Don’t you remember me, Mr. Cunningham? I’m Jean Louise Finch” (174). In a massively racist day and age, Jem and Scout are exposed to racism in the most obvious way: through a lynch mob targeting their father. This quote shows how Scout is still innocent as she comes into the situation. Scout narrates this next quote when she springs into the middle of a lynch mob and realizes how stupid she was. “There a smell of stale whiskey and pigpen about, and when I glanced around I discovered that these men were strangers” (172). This evidence shows that Scout was innocent and didn't know that the group was a lynch mob. Bob Ewell’s death had a very large impact on Jem and Scout's innocence. The sheriff, Mr. Heck Tate says the following quote after he finds Bob Ewell dead under a tree, in the woods after he attempts to kill Jem and Scout. Bob Ewell’s lyin’ on the ground under that tree down yonder...He’s dead Mr. Finch” (p305). This quote is the moment the children are first really confronted with death. This causes them to lose their innocence because they realize that people want to kill each other sometimes and thats messed up. Scout says this when she contemplates about what happened to Bob Ewell. “I could think of nothing but Mr. Bob
...heme of maturation in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, is conveyed through the characters of Scout and Jem, in conjunction with the assistance of their virtuous father Atticus Finch. Early in the novel, Atticus ascertains himself as a major facilitator in the maturation process of Scout and Jem by incessantly providing mature solutions to his children’s predicaments. Moreover, Scout, a major benefactor of the Boo Radley incident and Atticus’ wisdom, has helped her develop into a very tolerant and mature individual. Undeniably, Jem’s remarkable development into a broadminded and compassionate character can be directly attributed to Atticus’ kindness and Jem’s exposure to the Tom Robinson trial. In synopsis, it is evident that the individuals and social circumstances that surround an individual play a major role in defining the type of individual one will become.
Childhood is a continuous time of learning, and of seeing mistakes and using them to change your perspectives. In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee illustrates how two children learn from people and their actions to respect everyone no matter what they might look like on the outside. To Kill A Mockingbird tells a story about two young kids named Scout and her older brother Jem Finch growing up in their small, racist town of Maycomb, Alabama. As the years go by they learn how their town and a lot of the people in it aren’t as perfect as they may have seemed before. When Jem and Scout’s father Atticus defends a black man in court, the town’s imperfections begin to show. A sour, little man named Bob Ewell even tries to kill Jem and Scout all because of the help Atticus gave to the black man named Tom Robinson. Throughout the novel, Harper Lee illustrates the central theme that it is wrong to judge someone by their appearance on the outside, or belittle someone because they are different.
Before the trial starts, Scout had to endure her classmates refer to Atticus as ‘nigger lover’ because of his defense of Tom. Scout and Jem also hear comments and gossip being made about their father in Maycomb, and they see the support Tom gains from the black community when they visit his church with Calpurna. The kids see the anger and evil of the society when they help Atticus from the lynch mob at the jail before the trial. Scout and Jem attend the trial in person, and they witness the evidence given and they agree that Atticus has made a substantial case for
To Kill A Mockingbird is a heroic tale of leadership and courage during racial times. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Atticus, To, Jem and Scout are unfortunately exposed to a really racist and prejudiced society and town. Which ends up causing them to lose a case and really confuse Jem and Scout when they are young. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird, it uses characterization to help show a theme of loss of innocence when people are exposed to surprising and unfair situations.
When people grow up they understand more of what the world is like, lose innocence, and become responsible for themselves. Most people go through life feeling like everything is getting harder as they grow up. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, there is a character who demonstrates those feelings of turning mature, that character is Jeremy “Jem” Finch, the brother of Jean Louise “Scout” Finch. Jem becomes moody and more morose as the novel progresses, this is due to him learning about how life can be unfair as he learns about prejudice and racism during the novel. The theme of To Kill a Mockingbird is demonstrated by Jem’s development that shows when individuals mature, they gain knowledge, but lose happiness in life.
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.
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the main character and narrator, Scout Finch, embarks on her own adventure throughout her childhood years to learn more about the world around her as well as herself. As the novel progresses, she continues her process of coming of age as she faces troubles, explore new areas, and interacts with her community. On her journey Scout grows and matures, realizing who she is and how she feels about her place in the world. Harper Lee masterfully represents the challenges in the coming of age process through Scout. Thus, through transformative conflicts, symbolic setting, and a critical first person narration, Lee reveals how as one grows up, one must face the injustices and normalities
The novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee is a simplistic view of life in the Deep South of America in the 1930s. An innocent but humorous stance in the story is through the eyes of Scout and Jem Finch. Scout is a young adolescent who is growing up with the controversy that surrounds her fathers lawsuit. Her father, Atticus Finch is a lawyer who is defending a black man, Tom Robinson, with the charge of raping a white girl. The lives of the characters are changed by racism and this is the force that develops during the course of the narrative.
Jem and Scout’s maturity over the story is comparable to a caterpillar, in the way that one develops over time. Jem and Scout are the children of Atticus Finch, the lawyer that represents Tom Robinson on trial. Although Atticus instructed Jem and Scout to not go to the trial, they still go and watch. The hearing is about a black male, Tom Robinson supposedly raping and beating a white woman. The children are the protagonists of the novel due to the way that over time they mature more and develop more helpful personalities.
“Maturity is the ability to think, speak and act your feelings within the bounds of dignity. The measure of your maturity is how spiritual you become during the midst of your frustrations.” is a quote from Samuel Ullman. This describes the struggles that Jem went through by taking part in the community and trial and by also taking the risk of losing some of his friends and family in Harper Lee’s, To Kill a Mockingbird. Through Jem’s interaction with the racism of Maycomb, he became aware of the things around him. We all learn that it takes a strong person to overcome the barriers of society.
One evening, Jem and Scout are walking home from the school halloween pageant when they get attacked by Bob Ewell. Bob Ewell uses knife and tries to cut Scout, but her costume protects her. She hears a commotion behind her and assumes that Jem pulled Bob off of her. When they escape and get inside, they find out that Boo Radley is their savior and that Jem has a broken arm. The police come to take Jem and Scout´s statements. Mr. Heck Tate then comes into the house with the news that Bob Ewell is lying dead outside with a knife in his stomach. Later, Atticus and Mr. Tate are out on the porch with Scout. Thinking that Jem was the one who stabbed Bob Ewell Atticus says that Jem will be thirteen by the time he goes to court and Heck Tate says, ¨Mr. Finch, Bob Ewell fell on his knife. He killed himself.¨(p.366) Atticus thinks Heck is trying to cover up that Jem killed Bob Ewell, but Heck is actually covering up that Boo Radley did it. Atticus, being the man that he is, cannot let Heck cover up that it was Jem and he talks about being a father to Jem and says that, ¨if I connived at something like this, Frankly I couldn 't meet his eye.¨(p.366). Atticus believes in equal justice for all. Whether it be a man getting a lawyer to help defend himself, or having his own son go through the same process as everyone else
When children grow up, they face difficult problems, and. they learn to cope and take responsibility. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, is a flashback about two kids that spans over a few years. Jem ages from ten to thirteen over the course of the novel, and undergoes much change, as his sister describes him. Over the years, he is exposed to issues adults face, and eventually shows an understanding of racism and innocence. As Jem grows up, his view on courage also changes. Jem follows his father's footsteps, and gets much of his knowledge from him.
This trial reveals to Scout and Jem that their view of innocence isn’t the same as everyone else’s. The verdict of the trial deeply devastated them because they couldn’t comprehend the idea of him going to prison for something he didn’t do. Months before the trial they, wouldn’t have cared if he was innocent or guilty just because they didn’t like the negative attention the trial brought. They started to care after they started to mature and realize just how unfair and inhumane the trial was. Conflict is something that obviously helped shape the changing views of innocence throughout the
In the beginning of the book, Scout is worrying about her teacher’s teaching methods. In addition, Scout is worried about getting in trouble. However, towards the end of the book, Scout is tackling serious world issues. She contemplates how not everyone has the same opportunities. Furthermore, she worries about African Americans being treated unjustly on a daily basis. After the Tom Robinson trial, the whole Finch family is upset, but they leave it to young Scout to showcase her maturity. Scout shows maturity when she states, “Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men’s hearts Atticus had no case. Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed” (Lee 276). Scout saw the situation from Tom Robinson’s point of view and how he knew that he was a dead man because of the racist white jury. Earlier in the novel, she would not have been mature enough to think about the trial in that way and would not have understood such a challenging concept. After the trial, Scout starts thinking about others and what it would be like to walk a day in their shoes. This is showcased during a conversation with Jem when Scout says, “No, everybody’s gotta learn, nobody’s born knowin’. That Walter’s as smart as he can be, he just gets held back sometimes because he has to stay out
The illusion of innocence is deeply instilled in the outlook of children. Reality soon takes its grip as kids begin to grow and mature, and they lose their pure qualities that they have once possessed. Their father Atticus shelters Jem and Scout from the town’s disease, teaching them the act of sympathy and how to distinguish the good aspects over glaring at the imperfections of people. The loss of innocence portrayed in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is exposed as the lives of Jem, Scout, and Dill go through their racist and prejudice society, learning how the worlds dreamlike qualities is nothing more than just a childhood fable. The children’s judgment of people and society quickly sheds as Lee displays the harsh realities to Jem, Dill,