Theme Of Perception In To Kill A Mockingbird

In society, there are very few people who have the unwavering dedication to stand up for what they believe. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, a black man was convicted and accused of a crime he didn 't commit, raping a white women, which is not in anyway tolerable in society. In Harper Lee 's To Kill A Mockingbird, the author used point of view and symbolism to acknowledge how the the several social divisions which make up much of the adult world are shown to be both irrational and extremely destructive.

Part of the human nature consists of racial judgment towards others. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, presents themes of gender bias, justice, and social class. But one of the main focuses in the book is racism. Most of the people in Maycomb County show racial judgments, opinions, and comments against African American people, as well as white people. Jem and Scout learn the power of racism and what it does to people, as they experience certain situations. Through the stories of Tom Robinson's trial, Jem and Scouts journey to Calpurnia's church, and Mrs. Dubose's commentary to Jem, the theme of racism remains.

Despite race discrimination around the world, there are still people who overcome and persevere through these challenges - often at great risk to themselves. During the 1930s, in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, a small town called Maycomb held a trial against an innocent African American man accused of raping a Caucasian woman. The reader experiences life in Maycomb through the eyes of ten year old girl name Jean-Louise Finch, Scout. In this case, Atticus Finch, Scout’s father, was assigned to be the lawyer for the accused, Tom Robinson. However, Atticus has integrity and tries his best for Tom even if his own life is at risk.

Novelist Harper Lee, in her book To Kill a Mockingbird, depicts the racism and inequalities in the town of Maycomb by having a white man, Atticus Finch, defend Tom Robinson who was black. Lee’s purpose is to show the world is unfair between races and we need to have compassion for others. She adopts a serious tone to appeal to people’s morals to do the right the thing by those seeking changes for equality. Throughout his closing argument, Atticus ensures credibility, mentioning God, and by presenting evidence that Tom Robinson is not guilty but someone in the courtroom is, to explain Mayella’s reasoning to lie.

Life is like outer space, unknown and always changing. In the story To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee writes about the segregation, hate, and prejudice in a town called Maycomb. Tom Robinson, a black man, is accused of rape and doesn’t know what to expect. His attorney, Atticus Finch, an experienced, knowledgeable, and kind man, does his absolute best to defend him. However, the jury consists of all white males, most being racist and narrow-minded about the situation.

Perspective and beliefs go hand in hand when talking about someone's personal views on society and what is morally right to them. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee, Lee shows all throughout the novel that someone’s perspective can change in a matter of seconds. When Atticus educates Scout about stepping into someone else's shoes, when Jem is told that Mrs. Dubose was struggling with an addiction, and when Bob Ewell’s credibility was lost after the trial where he was exposed as a liar. All examples are prominent in this novel as well as many others.

Literature can be analyzed with many different critical lenses. While analyzing To Kill a Mockingbird, one may use a critical lens to recognize the different ideas throughout the novel. Harper Lee’s novel demonstrates her perspective on intolerance and discrimination within the early twentieth century.

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.

As can be seen, Lee’s usage of Tom Robinson’s trial and the racial discrimination and prejudice seen throughout it helps reinforce the theme of social injustice throughout To Kill A Mockingbird. Another encounter that the

‘To Kill a Mockingbird’, the classic novel by Harper Lee, is centered around the case of a black man being framed for raping a white woman. In the 1930s there was a similar case. The Scottsboro Boys were a group of nine black teenagers accused of raping two white woman on a train. Neither of these cases had any substantial evidence, but the men were still convicted based on the racial inequality of this time period. Although the Scottsboro case and the fictional Tom Robinson case are very similar, the one critical difference was the fate of each of the defendants as prompted by the community.

This essay aims to investigate the literary context of Harper Lee 's To Kill A Mockingbird (1960) from four different perspectives. The scope of this essay does not only include the context from historical, cultural and social points of views, but also the significance of Lee 's early life is considered. The essay explores deeply the novel 's events, characters and main themes, which can all be related to the literary context. This is why the research question of this essay is “A Study of Literary Context in Harper Lee 's To Kill A Mockingbird”.

In a world filled with judgement and criticism, people struggle with this on the daily. Always having an opinion about every little thing. Whether people choose to share or not that is their own perspective and everyone’s is different. A person can never have judgement for a person, until they can physically feel and see what they go through each and every day. In Harper Lee’s To KIll A Mockingbird she expresses the theme of perspective throughout the whole book, using her characters in the story to express this.

The theme of this novel is "Not everything is the way you predict it is". I believe this thematic statement suits the story because throughout the book there are lots of surprises, and most situations don't go the way people predict they will. For example, Aunt Alexandra was first seen as mean, according to her attitude towards Scout. At the end of the book Aunt Alexandra hands Scout her overalls, as mentioned in the story, "the garments she most despised." Because she always wanted Scout to be a lady and wear dresses. This proved that Aunt Alexandra is not as mean and as close-minded as she seemed at first.

Perspective and beliefs have a huge effect in the world and especially back in the 1930s. This is about the perspective on Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird and how it affects his beliefs. He has three quotes that really explain how perspective and beliefs that affect their everyday lives. The first quote is, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.” (Lee, Pg.39). The second one is, “...it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.” (Lee, Pg.119) Finally the last quote, “Best way to clear the air is to have it all out in the open.”(Lee, Pg.366)

‘Are you being impudent to me boy?’ ‘No suh, I didn’t go to be.’” (Lee 265). Tom Robinson had confessed to being scared to be in court and cooperated by always speaking the truth, because he did not want to be put to death for a crime he did not commit. What was worse was that the prosecuting lawyer had been rude, saying that Robinson was disrespectful because of his response; while Tom had in reality had been open and honest and the farthest thing from disrespectful the attorney may have said this as a tactic to portray Tom as a stereotypical black person.