ipl-logo

To Kill A Mockingbird Theme Essay

1148 Words5 Pages

To Kill A Mockingbird has several themes, but to me the one that stands out the most is growing up and how your perspective on things change as you age. I feel that young readers today can still align with this theme because as you get older your opinions, actions and thoughts do and should change based on your experiences. Throughout this essay I will be citing some specific examples to support my thesis. One of the main characters in the story is Scout. Scout is the narrator of the whole book. She is the daughter of Atticus the lawyer. At the beginning of the story, Scout is depicted as sassy and impulsive. For example, when Walter Cunningham comes to school without any lunch and Miss Caroline offers to give him money but Walter would not accept it. Scout stepped in and stated “Walter’s one of the Cunningham’s, Miss Caroline” (Lee, 1960, p.26). Scout then goes on to continue to explain what she thinks that Miss Caroline should already know about Walter and his family in a very …show more content…

Even though all the all the evidence proves that Tom was innocent, he was found guilty. The events leading up to the verdict are symbolic. You can see how Scout has grown in that she can sense the changes in the courtroom while they are waiting for the verdict. She compares the feelings she has to “a cold February morning, when the mockingbirds were still” (Lee, 1960, p.281). She went on to describe how she “saw something that only a lawyer’s child could be expected to see” (Lee, 1960, p.282). She went on to describe that she knew that a jury never looked at the defendant it had convicted. She noticed immediately that no one on the jury looked at Tom as they came back into the courtroom. Being able to sense something like this shows how mature and experienced Scout had become over the course of the

Show More
Related

  • How Does Tom Robinson Make A Dialectical Journal For To Kill A Mockingbird

    1250 Words  | 5 Pages

    When Tom tries to escape, guards tell him to stop, they shoot him and he stops. When Mr. Underwood describes Tom’s death by comparing to “the senseless slaughter of songbirds by hunters and children”, it is symbolic because it related to the title of the novel, since to kill Tom Robinson was like ‘killing a mockingbird”. Tom never did any harm, and was an innocent man, who was killed by the guards. 19. One-way Scout changed since the beginning of the novel is she is now able to “climb into his skin and walk around in it”, meaning she can now understand someone from their point of view, so she able to understand a situation from a colored person’s point of view (Chapter 3, Page 39)

    Read More

  • How Does Lee Show Partiality In To Kill A Mockingbird

    1400 Words  | 6 Pages

    Atticus turned out to be guiltless but, he was still indicted, simply because he was dark. In spite of the fact that Tom was sentenced, the jury set aside a long opportunity to achieve their choice, demonstrating that they may have considered stateing him blameless. Scout couldn't come to comprehend why Tom was indicted, particularly if Atticus had demonstrated him pure. She later discovered this was along these lines, simply because he was a dark man. " ¦There's something in our reality that makes men lose their heads-they couldn't be reasonable in the event that they attempted.

    Read More

  • Mrs Caroline's Accomplishments

    193 Words  | 1 Pages

    Mrs. Caroline had a "new" way teaching that year and Scout being more advanced, didn't follow that "new" way of teaching. Mrs. Caroline's way was probably to have everyone on same track. No one behind and no one ahead. It's probably easiest to teach that way. Mrs. Caroline then tells Scout that her father has to stop teaching her but, Scout takes it as an insult.

    Read More

  • How Does Lee Show Loss Of Innocence In To Kill A Mockingbird

    1066 Words  | 5 Pages

    At one point in the book, Scout wishes to invite Walter Cunningham over for dinner when school starts, but Aunt Alexandra forcefully tells her that is not an option. Scout becomes confused. She questions her aunt and tells her that they are “good folks,” but Alexandra snaps back saying that they’re not “our kind of folks.” The argument eventually leads to Alexandra yelling at Scout and stating that Walter is trash. Her words acquire a huge reaction from Scout.

    Read More

  • Changes In Maycomb In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

    929 Words  | 4 Pages

    Miss Caroline does not like what Scout says about the Cunninghams so Scout gets in trouble and Scout blames Walter. Scout thinks , “Catching Walter Cunningham in the school yard gave me some pleasure, but when I was rubbing his nose in the dirt Jem came and told me to stop”(Lee 22). Scout thinks that she is better than Walter because she is able to beat him up ,and she does not stop until Jem forces her to. But later in the novel, Scout is talking to Mr. Cunningham outside of the jailhouse to see if he remembers who she is to stop him from hurting Jem. Scout says, “I go to school with Walter,” [...] “He’s in my grade,”I says, “and he does right well.

    Read More

  • How Did Tom Robinson Fail In To Kill A Mockingbird

    1001 Words  | 5 Pages

    Scout and Jem stood at the Maycomb county jailhouse waiting for the judge to announce the verdict for Tom Robinson. They had declared him guilty and that was final. As people began to leave the courthouse, Jem started to cry. “His face was streaked with angry tears as we made our way through the cheerful crowd.” He found Atticus and expressed that “It ain’t right” (Lee 242).

    Read More

  • Examples Of Compassion In To Kill A Mockingbird

    915 Words  | 4 Pages

    (Lee 26). Scout observes that Miss Caroline doesn't comprehend why Walter can’t take the quarters which embarrasses Walter even more. As a result, Scout informs Miss Caroline of the fact that Walter lacks the finances to compensate Miss Caroline. Scout is aware of this information since Atticus

    Read More

  • Tom Robinson Development

    526 Words  | 3 Pages

    After the jury comes back in from their vote about whether to convict Tom or not, Scout knows that “a jury never looks at a defendant it has convicted, and when this jury came in, not one of them looked at Tom Robinson” (Lee 282). This quote shows that the jury is hinting about what the verdict will be: guilty. This also shows that the jury, made of all white men, are all biased based on their own beliefs. They believe that in a conflict between a black and a white person, then the black person is automatically guilty, no exceptions.

    Read More

  • To Kill A Mockingbird Coming Of Age Analysis

    741 Words  | 3 Pages

    They saw that Tom Robinson is a mockingbird because he was innocent and he got convicted of a crime that he did not do, that was the moment that Scout and Jem understood what Miss Maudie and Atticus were talking about. Scout finally could wrap her head around that quote once she matured and got

    Read More

  • To Kill A Mockingbird Coming Of Age Analysis

    1596 Words  | 7 Pages

    Miss Caroline instructed Scout to, ”tell [her] father not to teach [her] anymore,” confusing, as well as frustrating, Scout (23). Before this part in the story, Miss Caroline reveals that she is from the northern region of Alabama, and Scout acknowledges that their ways are particularly peculiar up there. As she puts together the pieces of the idea that not everyone is the same, Scout learns how different Miss Caroline is from everyone in Maycomb. Later, as Miss Caroline attempts to spot Walter Cunningham a quarter for lunch, she finds difficulty in getting Walter to accept the quarter, yet doesn’t know why. When Scout finally speaks up to clarify that, ”he is a Cunningham” and won’t be able to pay her back which is why he won’t take it, Miss Caroline just seems to have had enough of Scout already and completely rejects her efforts to be helpful (26).

    Read More

  • Examples Of Loss Of Innocence In To Kill A Mockingbird

    1045 Words  | 5 Pages

    After hours of waiting, the jury came back in. Scout explains how “A jury never looks at the defendant if it has convicted, and when this jury came in, not one of them looked at Tom Robinson… Judge Taylor was polling the jury; ‘ Guilty...Guilty...Guilty’”(211) When Scout and Jem hear the verdict, they are distraught. As they were walking home, “It was Jem’s turn to cry.. ‘It’s not right, Atticus’”(212)

    Read More

  • Social Class In To Kill A Mockingbird

    741 Words  | 3 Pages

    However Miss Caroline addressed Scout in front of the whole classroom saying, “‘What is it, Jean Louise?”’ Scout replied to her by saying, “‘Miss Caroline, he’s a Cunningham.”’ (page 20) Scout was attempting to say that he was lying to her. It was confirmed that they were one of the poorest families in

    Read More

  • Mayella Ewell To Blame For Tom's Death Analysis

    1245 Words  | 5 Pages

    The significance of this event is that it emphasises to the reader that the prejudices of Maycomb were essentially a death sentence to Tom, or more figuratively to the black community as a whole, long before the Ewell’s ever screamed rape. In the end, not even Atticus’ stirring defence of Tom is enough for the white community to abandon their prejudices. Scout realises the frivolousness of the trial whilst reading Mr Underwood’s editorial - no matter how astounding of a

    Read More

  • Aunt Alexandra Influence In To Kill A Mockingbird

    473 Words  | 2 Pages

    Scout does not like Aunt Alexandra because Aunt Alexandra is too strict, does not like blacks, and wants her to change her childish ways. Aunt Alexandra wants

    Read More

  • Examples Of Empathy In To Kill A Mockingbird

    976 Words  | 4 Pages

    Scout sees how unjust it was what people had done to Tom Robinson and Boo, and through the course of the novel, feels compassion for them. With a first person point of view, when Jem and Scout start to see the unfairness of the trial or other occurrences and take it emotionally hard, the readers can relate because of the strong connection Lee makes with the characters during this book. “It was Jem’s turn to cry. His face was streaked

    Read More

More about To Kill A Mockingbird Theme Essay

Open Document