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Significance Of Scottsboro Trial In To Kill A Mockingbird

883 Words4 Pages

Matthew Kidd
Mrs. Moore
English 10 Honors, Period 5
2 February 2023
To Kill a Mockingbird Theme Analysis Essay The book To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel by Harper Lee that is set during the Great Depression in Maycomb, AL. Similar to the Scottsboro trial, which occurred in a similar setting, To Kill a Mockingbird details the trial of an innocent African-American man accused of rape from the perspective of Scout Finch who sees her father work for equality and defends the innocent black man. Scout learns from her father about the racist nature of Maycomb and understands that she also must work for change. Through the lessons that Scout learns, Lee illustrates two themes of To Kill a Mockingbird which are that one must empathize with others in …show more content…

Atticus’s children receive guns as a gift and as they are learning how to use them, Atticus reminds them that "it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird" (Lee 103). The children originally do not grasp the meaning of this and so they ask Mrs. Maudie. She explains to them that mockingbirds do not cause any harm and it would be wrong to hurt them. By reminding his children about not hurting innocent mockingbirds, Atticus is teaching them that it is wrong to hurt those who cause no harm. Much later, Sheriff Tate lies about the case of Bob Ewell’s death and covers up Boo Radley’s role in killing him to defend Atticus’s children. Scout realizes that publicizing his role would be "like shootin' a mockingbird" (Lee 317). This is caused by her realization that Boo Radley is extremely shy and can not handle the public. She also understands the original idea of him that she had based on the rumors about him was incorrect and that he had in reality been secretly looking out for them. She also recognizes that telling the truth would cause unwanted publicity for Boo. Scout shows her maturity in relating Atticus’s lesson to Boo, emphasizing the importance of this theme in Lee’s In summary, Lee's theme that one should not harm the innocent is shown through Atticus's lesson to Scout and Jem after they receive guns, and Scout's later application of the lesson to not harming the antisocial yet innocent Boo

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