...Influential Themes in the book To Kill a Mockingbird The history of the world has lots of social problems that still exist in the world today. We deal with an extensive amount of racism all around the world; therefore, it is still a struggle for the world to learn how to live in peace and harmony. Harper Lee’s book, To Kill a Mockingbird, captures many themes, but the most influential life lessons deal with racism, perspective, and morality. Racism is one of the most influential themes in the book. Lee explains very well about the problems of racism in the south; in other words, the theme of racism in the book teaches an important message that all people need to learn. Atticus says, “Remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” That was the...
Words: 719 - Pages: 3
...of a novel is an important asset for the author to present their story in a way they see fit. By allowing the author to express their emotions, the title remains a significant feature. When examining the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, the reader can see that the mockingbird is a metaphorical symbolization of the theme of innocence, or the loss of. Published in 1960 by Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird has become a literary classic. This essay will explore the significance of the title “To Kill a Mockingbird” and will endeavor to explain to the reader why Harper Lee’s novel is called To Kill a Mockingbird while also touching on some of the themes that are connected to the title, such as the loss of innocence and injustice. Revolving...
Words: 940 - Pages: 4
...between the lines to discover the subtler meaning of novels. This is true for To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Understanding of the many themes in To Kill a Mockingbird is attained only by reading in between the lines. A major one of these themes is dignity as Harper Lee presents a clear picture of which characters are dignified. She does not clearly state which characters are dignified, but she utilizes actions to differentiate between the dignified and the undignified. Amongst the poor folk, the Cunninghams have dignity and the Ewells lack it. The Cunninghams pay back everything they borrow. One Cunningham turned the racist mob away from Atticus and Tom Robinson; another almost voted for Tom’s innocence at his trial. This virtuous behavior proves the Cunninghams to be dignified. While the Cunninghams’ good deeds demonstrate their dignity, the Ewells’ actions prove them undignified. They live unhealthily off the town’s welfare and the father, Bob Ewell, selfishly causes the death of an innocent man and tries to kill two innocent children. Of the rich people in Maycomb, Atticus holds dignity while Miss Stephanie lacks it. Miss Stephanie lies, exaggerates, and gossips about the town’s affairs. Harper Lee whispers Miss Stephanie’s dignity deficiency through her undignified actions, but never labels Miss Stephanie as undignified. Although the author does not describe him as dignified, Atticus is a moral man who considers all possible implications before he acts. He also...
Words: 913 - Pages: 4
...figure of speech in this passage is repetition.For instance the name Atticus is repeated twelve times, since his characterisation is one of the main themes of the extract, and when his name is not quoted, there are other references to him as simply ‘he’, ‘our father’ and ‘your father’. There is also a lot of repetitions of the world ‘old’, or references to oldness, both of Atticus and the people in their neighbourhood. For example Scout refers to Atticus as ‘feeble’, ‘nearly fifty’ and ‘nearly blind’, which can all be associated with agedness. Miss Maudie also talks about ‘your father’s age’, because he is older than other father’s in town. The neighbourhood and its habitants are also portrayed as quite aged: ‘old’ and ‘settled’ neighbourhood, ‘the folks on our street are all old’, ‘Mrs Dubose is close to a hundred’, ‘Miss Rachel’s old’, and Miss Maudie says she is not ‘being wheeled around yet’...
Words: 675 - Pages: 3
...and Violence in To Kill a Mockingbird Maycomb, like other Southern towns, suffers considerably during the Great Depression. Poverty reaches from the privileged families, like the Finches, to the Negroes and “white trash” Ewells, who live on the outskirts of town. Racism violently attacks the people of Maycomb and causes many conflicts throughout the novel which causes violence amongst the citizens. Harper Lee uses the characters involved in To Kill a Mockingbird as symbols of the main themes of the story, which includes, poverty, racism, and violence and these recurring themes influence the actions of the characters in numerous ways. Poverty is repeatedly referenced throughout the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Many citizens...
Words: 1145 - Pages: 5
...To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a chilling historical fiction novel that centers around the trial of an innocent black man who is accused of raping a white woman. The novel is set in Alabama during the 1930s, and it follows an old lawyer and his family in the small town of Maycomb. Atticus Finch, the lawyer and father, is often called upon by the town for help due to his stature. He is level headed and focuses on the belief that everybody deserves to be treated equally. It is this belief that leads him to being chosen to represent Tom Robinson, the accused black man, in court. Because To Kill a Mockingbird is set in Alabama during the 1930s, the odds that he will be found innocent are exceptionally low, so Atticus must do everything...
Words: 1077 - Pages: 5
...Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel centered around a few years in Jean Louise “Scout” Finch’s childhood, featuring her experiences and the lessons that she learns growing up in the 1930s. Scout and her brother, Jeremy “Jem” Finch, mature in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama, in a one-parent home. Their father and aunt, Atticus and Alexandra, raise them with help from Calpurnia, their African American maid. Harper Lee weaves several different themes throughout the novel, but some are more prominent than others. Lee develops the main themes of growth, protection of innocence, and perception throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, disguised in the form of lessons learned during the narrator’s childhood. Harper Lee reveals her theme of growth...
Words: 1632 - Pages: 7
...It is true that Harper Lee’s novel ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ is more than just a simple story. Novels that challenge the reader’s way of thinking become distinct from others. Lee explores key ideas such as prejudice and courage and challenges readers to think about major moral issues experienced in society .The story at first seems like any other childish novel but Lee highlights key ideas making the novel evolve into something much greater. Lee shows the co-existence of Good and Evil and the moral nature of human beings in society. Readers re-evaluate their understanding of the world making the book much more significant. Ideas such as prejudice and courage are emphasized in To Kill a Mockingbird. Prejudice is the preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee isolates characters and depicts ways prejudice is used. She demonstrates the evils of prejudice and the result can be quite confronting to readers. Lee reinforces the idea that all men and women are created equal and have the same rights. To Kill a Mockingbird exposes the dangers of stereotyping and prejudice. In the novel the idea of equality is lost even in the house of god. Prejudice appears in many forms in the novel. An early form of prejudice in the novel is the children’s obsession with Boo Radley which appears all throughout the novel. Local Gossip portrays Boo as a malevolent phantom. The children run by the Radley house out of fear acting as if the...
Words: 847 - Pages: 4
...To Kill A Mockingbird In the book “ To kill A Mockingbird” Author Harper Lee uses plenty of symbolism. Symbolism is a literary device where author uses an object to stand for an idea. The most famous symbol used in the book is “Mockingbird” the symbol of innocents. In her novel, “To KIll A Mockingbird” Harper Lee uses Tom Robinson , Boo Radley and Atticus Finch as human “Mockingbirds” to contribute the overall theme of innocents. First, Lee uses Tom Robinson as a mockingbird. Tom Robinson is a poor black man with a wife and 3 kids. Tom Robinson was accused of raping a young white woman by the name of Mayella Ewell. Tom Robinson was also shot 17 times and killed. Atticus said, “ Seventeen bullet holes in holes, they didn’t have to shoot him that much”(315) Tom Robinson was found guilty of all charges for the “raping” of Mayella Ewell. Tom Robinson’s story was that she asked him to come help get something out of the yard. Then she wanted him to fix a non broken door. After that she needed him to get a item on the shelf and she wrapped her arms around his waist and told him to kiss her. Atticus stated that Tom Robinson’s arm was badly messed up when he was younger by getting his hand caught in a cotton gin. He shows that statement because...
Words: 590 - Pages: 3
...It’s A Sin To Kill A Mockingbird Life isn’t fair. Everyone has heard this phrase at least one time, and most absolutely agree. Our world is far from perfect, it always has and always will. Harper Lee’s, To Kill A Mockingbird, is a great example of this. This is an amazing story of a small-town girl named Scout Finch back in the 1930’s. She lives with her older brother (Jem), her father (Atticus), and her black maid (Calpurnia). Atticus is a well known and respected lawyer, who is appointed to a case he takes personally. A black man named Tom Robinson is accused of rape. A white racist man named Bob Ewell claims he raped his daughter. The case has gotten the whole town’s attention, and the Finch’s who are one of the most respected families...
Words: 1206 - Pages: 5
...To kill a mockingbird is a novel that that draws attention to the existence of social inequality. In to kill a mockingbird it tells a story about Scout Finch, her brother Jem and their father Atticus Finch in the town of Maycomb in Alabama, Maycomb is suffering through the great depression, atticus is a lawyer and his family is suitably better than the other families scattered across Maycomb, later in the novel atticus accepts the task to defend a black man named Tom robinson. During the trial tom robinson is accused of rape but atticus provides evidence that the defendants Bob Ewell and Mayella are lying and Mayella actually propositioned tom robinson then her father caught her and beat her but in court Mayella is just trying to hide the shame and guilt so she accuses tom robinson. Mr Ewell felt rage and swore revenge for atticus making a fool of him in court so Bob Ewell attacks jem and when that happens boo radley saves and stabs Bob Ewell and carries jem back to the finch house and in order to protect boo the sheriff insists that Bob Ewell tripped over a tree root and fell on his own knife. After watching the kids boo once again disappears once again into the radley house. In the end Two themes that can be found throughout the story are the...
Words: 669 - Pages: 3
...To kill a Mockingbird essay is written to explore and analyze the message given out by novel To kill a Mocking Bird. This novel was written by Harper Lee and published in 1960. It portrays the time period of 1930's in Albama. It shows dominance of white people in the society during that period. The narrator of the story is Scout Flinch. Her father Atticus Finch is a lawyer who has high ethical values and respect for humanity. He is very optimistic. Atticus stood to his character when he defends Tom Robinson, a black man on trial for the rape of a white woman. He sets up example for society and his children to stand up by his values, even when he faces the roughest time of his life in the course of defending Tom. Mockingbird is a long-tailed gray-and-white songbird which does not harm anyone. Author tries to relate the trial of Tom with killing a mockingbird. Our company is equipped with a team of professional writers who are skilled in writing essays related to every field. This kind of work requires an in depth knowledge of literature and expert skills in essay writing. The writer must be able to comprehend the view of the author so that the readers of the essay can associate themselves. Our company ensures that the essay writers strictly follow all the standard guidelines of MLA essay format for the perfect presentation of the literary essays. "To kill a mockingbird" essay should necessarily cover the following points to get a good grade in essay rubric: - Social...
Words: 519 - Pages: 3
...“ To kill a mockingbird” by Harper Lee and “Antigone” by Sophocles are both dramas having to do with justice, the main characters in both dramas are struggling to bring justice to a society or situation that was lacking. In Sophocles’ drama, Antigone was trying to bring justice by burying her brother Polyneices against the kings, Creon’s, orders. While in “To kill a mocking bird” Atticus is an attorney in a case where race is a major issue and he is trying to save Tom Robinson from being convicted of a crime where there’s overwhelming evidence of his innocence. Both “Antigone” and “To kill a mockingbird’s” themes seem to revolve around justice which is proven when Antigone buries her brother and Atticus agrees to take on Tom Robinsons case. Another large theme in both dramas is the idea that women are somehow ‘lesser’ because of their femininity, a cause of this might be because of the era that the dramas are set in. Throughout “To kill a mockingbird” Scout does her best to avoid ‘girly’ things so that she can keep playing with her brother Jem, its only later in the novel that Scout begins to realize that being a girl is more about having positive traits than lacking them. This theme continues in “Antigone”, most pointedly when Ismene states “Bethink thee, sister, we are left alone; Shall we not perish wretchedness of all, If in defiance of the law we cross A monarch's will?--weak women, think of that, Not framed by nature to contend with men. Remember this too that the stronger...
Words: 2326 - Pages: 10
...How would you feel if you were a child living in the early 1900’s when racism and segregation were such a large scale problem. In the masterpiece novel, To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee, she tells the story of a girl named Scout who’s growing up during a time when not everyone is treated with respect and equality. For a young girl, Scout understands more about things in life because of her father, Atticus, a very wise lawyer who doesn’t believe in racism. Even though she knows more than other kids there are still many things she is yet to learn that cause her to ask questions without any thought about what she’s saying. She’s joined by her older brother Jem who makes sure to keep her under check to stop her from doing anything too...
Words: 1281 - Pages: 6
...“This case is as simple as black and white”. It is referring to the racial aspect of the case,, as well as Tom's obvious innocence. And Atticus realizes that he is defending Tom in front of a prejudiced jury and that the lack of evidence has no bearing on the outcome of the trial. The universal message in To Kill a Mockingbird is the Coexistence of Good and Evil. Since they are raised in a loving and kind environment by an educated and good man of sterling values, Jeremy and Jean Louise Finch grow up believing in the innate goodness of mankind. Having a more mature perspective, their father believes that good and evil both surely exist, but he feels that what is good prevails in most people. They are 3 things that make the up the theme...
Words: 265 - Pages: 2
