To Kill A Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, is a tale of two children, Jem and Scout. This powerfully inspiring and educational story entails daily life of the children, as well as the struggles they faced while their father is defending a black man’s case during a racially segregated time period. As an author, Harper Lee developed multiple themes throughout this story. These themes include good, evil, justice, fear, family, forgiveness, and compassion. Atticus illustrates the characteristics of bravery in Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird by choosing to defend a black man in court, and shooting a rabid dog in Maycomb.
The novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, tells the story of two children, Jem and Scout Finch living in Maycomb, Alabama, around the time of the Great Depression. Their father, Atticus, also happens to be a lawyer and tries teaching the children strong moral values, such as not holding prejudices against others based on skin tone or social background. In addition, Atticus happens to be defending an African-American man, Tom Robinson, who is accused of rape by one of the more undesirable members of the town, Mayella Ewell and her father Bob. In the end, however, Tom cannot escape the racism that plagues Maycomb and after many hours of deliberation by the jury, he is convicted and sent to jail. There Tom tries to regain his freedom and escape but he is shot and killed. After some time, Jem and Scout are assaulted by Bob Ewell- who does it out of revenge on Atticus for embarrassing him-but they are saved by their mysterious neighbor, Arthur “Boo” Radley who happens to be a recluse. Throughout the story, Harper Lee uses a motif of time to show the loss of freedom for many characters.
Atticus tries his best to teach and show others-specifically Scout and Jem-how to judge what is right and what is wrong. First, Atticus tells Scout a very valuable life lesson. This is said when Scout was complaining to Atticus about her day at school, he said to her, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view-until you climb into his skin and walk around in it” (Lee 30). Atticus is telling scout that she cannot truly judge someone's actions until she sees things from their side. This is something that Scout only understands near the end of the novel, when she sits on Arthur Radley’s front porch and tries to see what he see when he sits there, and she imagines how Boo see the events in the novel and in doing so began to understand him.
Personal values and morals are instilled into children by their parents . Jem and Scout Finch, characters from Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird, are open minded, educated, young children that have a father named Atticus Finch who tries to teach his children to have sound morals and personal values . The children have not been sheltered from life's hardships due to their father Atticus's views on parenting instead they have learned right from wrong. Atticus Finch believes that not sheltering his kids from the world allows them to form strong morals and values. Atticus Finch does what he believes will help make his children into strong citizens with outstanding values and morals.
A person cannot call themselves a noble person if they can’t understand others. Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is told in first person by Jean Louise Finch or by her nickname, Scout a 6-year-old. Harper Lee, depicts Atticus Finch as a proficient father to his two children, Scout and Jim, 10-year-old. Atticus teaches his children life lessons, one being it 's a sin to kill a mockingbird. Showing them the harsh reality of life with honesty and fearlessness. During this time the Great Depression was hitting the southern town of Maycomb. This novel compares many of its characters to mockingbirds, a symbol of pure innocence. One summer, Atticus, who is a lawyer, finds himself in the middle of a controversial case, involving a African American man, Tom Robinson and a white woman, Mayella. Despite the town throwing hatred towards Atticus and his family, he doesn’t back down because he takes pride in helping the innocent. Even if Atticus can’t win the trial he fights hard because he wants to be a role model to Jem and Scout.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a novel set during the 1930s in a small town in Southern Alabama called Maycomb. The story is told through the narrator, Scout, a young girl who lives with her father, a lawyer, and her older brother Jem. As a child, Scout is portrayed as a stubborn and obnoxious little girl who loves to read, play with her brother Jem, and fantasize about her mysterious neighbor, Boo Radley. However, her life gets turned upside down when Scout’s father agrees to do something that is deemed unacceptable in the south; he agrees to defend Tom Robinson, a black man who is accused of raping a white girl. Instantly, Atticus and his family go from being respected and beloved by their town, to being
How is the racial problem of the southern states of USA in the 1930s portrayed in To Kill a Mockingbird?
Throughout the book Scout is a character of great change. In the beginning she was a tomboy who liked to beat up weaker people, like when she beat up walter early on. The summers when Dill came by had great influence on Scout because those summers also had Aunt Alexandra come by and stay with the Scout. When Aunt Alexandra and Atticus start arguing it allows Scout to see a different part of Atticus. Towards the end of the book Scout’s empathy arises and she uses it see what things could be like from Boo’s perspective. Harper Lee tells us to be hopeful for the future because when our children can understand other people’s emotions just as we can it only can shine a bright light. Children understanding others emotions before they can understand theirs properly is great sign because it can put some of
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is the story of a small town named Maycomb Located in Alabama, highlighting the adventures of the finch children and many other people in the small town. The people in this town are very judgemental and of each other and it often leads to people being labeled with stereotypes and people think they know everything about that person however that is not reality. It is not possible to know the reality of a person 's life by placing a stereotype without seeing it through their own eyes and experiencing the things they experience. This happens often throughout the story with many people in the town. People are labeled as many things such a “monster” a “nigger” and many other things that seem to put them in their
How does Harper Lee vividly capture the effects of racism and social inequality on the citizens of Maycomb county in ‘To kill a mockingbird’?
Race has always been a part of history, from slavery to MLK, to Barack Obama. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee defines race in the south during the 1930’s. Jean “Scout” Finch, is the narrator of the story. Her brother Jeremy “Jem” and her dad, Atticus, are both main characters. Calpurnia is their house cook and helper, she is also black. Tom Robinson is a black man who is wrongfully convicted of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell. This novel goes through Scout's life from when she was 6, till she is 9. She lives in the town of Maycomb Alabama, and lives an innocent life until about halfway through the story, where she begins to ask questions. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Scout shows the readers that racial inequality creates an unjust society through the African American community, through the people surrounding colored folks, and through Tom Robinson’s Case.
Her school teacher, Miss Caroline, tells her that she cannot read at home because her father doesn’t know how to teach. After confronting Atticus about her problem he says that “[People] never really understand a person until they consider things from his point of view” (39). This is a lesson about considering things from another person’s perspective, which is good for Scout to learn because she tends to judge people based on their looks or ways of doing things. This lesson will help her in real life because before she judges someone, considering their point of view will help her understand other people’s opinions. To end, Atticus teaches Scout a lesson about seeing things from others perspective.
The novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee takes place in the town of Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression. The author Lee demonstrates some major themes such as social inequality, intolerance, education, legal justice and bravery through this character. The title To Kill a Mockingbird symbolises innocence where Lee explores this through the eyes of Jem and Scout who are kids of Atticus Finch. He is one of the most honest, patient, kind, fair, respected and admired men in Maycomb during the Great Depression. Atticus is known for his moral character throughout the book. He is a talented man, he is good at a variety of things from being the best checker player in the town to being an honest and fair lawyer, and he can even play the Jew’s harp. Atticus is seen as a great father even though the odds are against him he does not give up therefore he is admired and respected for his courage. His attitude and personality does not change. For instance Miss Maudie says, “Atticus Finch is the same in his house as he is on the public streets”
To Kill a Mockingbird is an important text worthy of all the recognition it received in the time following its original publication.
In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee presents a large social atmosphere that includes many different cultures and extremes. The story takes place in the southern town of Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression. This novel illustrates how the southerners perceived different ideas about each other and social norms. It is told through the eyes of a young girl, Scout Finch, as she is growing up and becoming influenced by societal attitudes. Throughout the course of this book Scout learns many lessons including: how a society functions, why there is conflict between different cultures, and what makes cultures different from each other. Harper Lee utilizes functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism to convey how