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Themes In To Kill A Mockingbird

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On the surface Maycomb County might seem like quiet, nice place to live, but deeper into the town hidden identities are discovered, courage is needed, and the maturation of characters is crucial to unearthing the truth about life in the 1930s. In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, readers learn about a small town named Maycomb County and the struggles that occur within it. During the Great Depression and a peak of Southern racism, readers met the main character Scout. Scout, a girl ages six to nine, narrates this story for years and the happenings in the town. Years pass and different incidents arise including a court case about rape, a mean old neighbor, and the mysterious man next door. As these events take place, themes pop up throughout the book. While there are multiple possible lessons and themes hidden in To Kill a Mockingbird, three significant themes that are included are hidden identities, courage and Jem’s maturation.
A theme incorporated into the book is hidden identities that characters have that readers might not know about. When a “mad dog” comes into the neighborhood, people aren’t sure what to do about it. Atticus reveals a different side of himself, when Heck Tate, the sheriff, hands him a gun. Mrs. Maudie later says to the kids, “Forgot to tell you that besides playing the Jew’s Harp, Atticus Finch was the deadest shot in Maycomb County in his time,” (Lee 98). The author developed Atticus to be a very sophisticated and proper character, readers

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