To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a fascinating story that has captured the hearts of many readers. The main character and narrator Scout Finch, or otherwise known as Jean Louise Finch, speaks the voice of a young girl who grows up in a small town called Maycomb County in the 1930’s. Her father, Atticus Finch, is a non-racist lawyer in a very prejudice town. Throughout the novel, Harper Lee includes many themes, but one of the most important one explains the loss of innocence and growing up. Even though one loses their childhood innocence, he or she eventually gains more consciousness and understands more about themselves and the world around them.
The first example in To Kill a Mockingbird of when Scout and her brother Jem lose their innocence has to do with a game they made based on Arthur Radley. Mr. Radley, also known as Boo, never goes outside of his home, at least not for anyone to see. It is believed by the citizens of Maycomb County that he is a monster, and the children due to the rumors have a set description of him, “There was a long jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten; his eyes popped, and he drooled most of the time” (Lee 16). Atticus Finch one day sees the children playing the game. He asks them if it has anything to do with the Radley family; the children lie to their father and say that the game is not based on Boo. Once he leaves, they continue to play the game. Surprisingly, later throughout the story, they learn that Arthur Radley is truly a benevolent man. He leaves the children gifts in a little tree-hole from time to time; however he stops doing so suddenly for his brother fills up the tree-hole with cement and blocks him from the outer world. Scout and Jem r...
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...To Kill a Mockingbird: Themes | LitCharts.com." LitCharts.com | LitCharts Study Guides | The Faster, Downloadable Alternative to SparkNotes. Web. 8 Sept. 2011. .
"Growing Up." Growing Up or Loss of Innocence? Web. 8 Sept. 2011. .
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Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. New York: Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2006. Print.
One way Harper Lee shows the theme of a loss of innocence is through Boo Radley, a town outcast who comes into the life of the Finch children and the gossip within the Maycomb folks. One way that Boo Radley’s innocence was victimized is when Atticus tells Scout, “Scout’ he said,’ Mr. Ewell fell on his knife. Can you possibly understand?” “Well it’d sort of be like shootin’ a mockingbird, wouldn’t it?” (Lee 370) This shows that Boo Radley is being blamed
Shaw-Thornburg, Angela. “On Reading To Kill a Mockingbird: Fifty Years Later.” Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird: New Essays. Meyer, Michael J. Lanham, Md: Scarecrow Press, 2010. 113-127. Print.
---. Understanding To Kill A Mockingbird: A Student Casebook to Issues, Sources and Historical Documents. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1994
Walt Whitman’s 1859 poem “Out of the Cradle Rocking Endlessly” depicts the mockingbird as a symbol of innocence that chants or sings of fond memories from the past. By contrast, Harper Lee’s famous novel To Kill a Mockingbird, published in 1960, written almost a century after Whitman’s poem, portrays the mockingbird as innocent but as a fragile creature with horrific memories – memories of discrimination, isolation, and violence. Harper Lee wrote her novel, which is rooted in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama, in the Deep South, during a time of segregation and discrimination, social issues which can be seen not only in the novel but were witnessed by Harper Lee in her own life. While Lee does insert bits and pieces of her own life into the novel, this fictional story is told by the character Jean Louise Finch, better known as “Scout.” She tells a horrific yet heroic story about a time in the 1930’s from a childhood perspective. The title of Lee’s book is not at first as apparent as it would seem. In fact, the only literal reference to the mockingbird appears only once in the novel. The reader, then, must probe deeply into the characters and events of the book to uncover the significance of the mockingbird. After seeing the treatment and the unyielding courage of Tom Robinson, Boo Radley, and Atticus Finch, the reader can easily identify these three as mockingbirds.
The novel To Kill a Mockingbird is a timeless American classic that has been appreciated and loved by readers for decades. Harper Lee explores the story of a lawyer and his family in the deep parts of the South who is given the task of defending a black man accused with the rape of an adolescent white girl. Atticus Finch, the father of the protagonist and narrator Scout Finch, represents an elite group of minds that see beyond the invisible lines of race and wish to treat everyone with respect and equality. Atticus faces a series of external and internal struggles that brings meaning to the novel and reveals the overarching themes of the novel. Through several conflicts varying from a child’s misunderstanding to society’s blatant racism, Harper Lee’s Atticus Finch is passionate about upholding his morals and values and instilling in his children the knowledge and wisdom that he utilizes to guide himself throughout life.
"To Kill a Mockingbird By Harper Lee." To Kill a Mockingbird: Summary & Analysis. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, n.d. Web. 19 Jan. 2014. .
Boo Radley is the next door neighbor of the Finch’s. He is an outsider of the community, because he does not leave the house. He got in some trouble as a teenager, so his father locked him up inside the house. After his father died, his brother moved in with him. While Boo was locked up inside is house, the people of Maycomb County made up stories about him. The legend of Boo Radley was well-known to the people of Maycomb. Jem describes Boo, “Boo was about six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that’s why his hands were bloodstained—if you ate an animal raw, you could never wash the blood off. There was a long jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten; his eyes popped, and he drooled most of the time.” (Lee ). Boo is an innocent character because all he does stay inside his own house, and does not bother anybody. Yet the entire town believes that he could be a murderer. Harper Lee is showing that if you do not fit into southern society, they will make you into an outsider and a bad legend. Another example of Boo Radley being an innocent character is when he gives a blanket to Scout. Miss Maudie Atkinson, one of the Finch’s neighbors, had a house fire. Atticus (Scout and Jem’s father) woke up the kids and made them go outside, in case the fire spread to their house. While Scout was not looking someone gave her a blanket, “‘Someday, maybe, Scout can thank him for covering her up.’ ‘Thank who?’ I asked. ‘Boo Radley. You were so busy looking at the fire you didn’t know it when he put the blanket around you.’”(Lee ). Boo Radley is an innocent character because he helped warm up Scout in the cold, yet Scout was still scared that Boo had been near here. Harper Lee is showing us that Boo could do a nice thing, and yet Scout would still be scared because of his reputation. Finally, another
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 for classic literature that everyone should take the time to read and appreciate for their execution of style and the importance of their content.
Notes, Thug. "To Kill a Mockingbird - Book Summary & Analysis by Thug Notes." YouTube. YouTube, 18 June 2013. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.
Many students believe that Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is a commentary on social issues in 1930’s America. However, over time new themes for discussion have grown from the novel. The courage and leadership of characters in To Kill a Mockingbird have become common subjects discussed by today’s students. In this way, Lee’s novel has evolved to meet the changing ideology of humanity. At the time of the novel, standing up against common customs and beliefs was unacceptable, a violation of societal rules. Several characters in To Kill a Mockingbird express outrage at the collective belief system of their community and show resilience in the face of persecution, much as many current leaders face when espousing unconventional views or actions.
Scout Finch is not the stereotypical girl from the 1930’s. Agents the wishes of everyone around her, she grows up in overalls instead of dresses. Scout plays in the dirt and sand, instead of in the kitchen. In the novel To Kill a Mocking Bird, by Harper Lee, Scout is the wild spirited narrator, growing up in the small town of Maycomb. As she gets older, she learns mostly from her father Atticus how to interact with people. Scout learns to show dignity and respect to everyone, under any circumstances.
Harper Lee once said, “The book to read is not the one which thinks for you, but the one which makes you think…” In that case, To Kill A Mockingbird is the perfect fit with its detailed incorporations of imagery and symbolism in which makes the reader think about its significance. The novel focuses on the childhood of Scout Finch in the town of Maycomb, Alabama, during the 1930’s. Throughout the story, lessons and morals are given by the community resulting in the maturity of not only the children, but everyone involved. The combination of topics tied into one makes this novel a classic to American literature. After reading the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, it is clear that Harper Lee purposely continued to keep symbolism relevant throughout the story to help contribute to the central topics of the novel.
There has always been a strong intuition like belief, that Harper Lee used true accounts from her own childhood as an inspiration to create her credible award-winning novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Harper Lee retells the events that she encountered during this time of prejudice through the eyes of an innocent child, Scout Finch. Lee uses her childhood and the events surrounding her juvenile years to construct many aspects of To Kill a Mockingbird: primarily, the main character, Scout Finch, Tom Robinson’s unfair trial, and the racism occurring in the Southern states.
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.
"To Kill a Mockingbird." Sparknotes LLC. 2003. Barnes & Noble Learning Network. 2 Nov. 2003 .