Themes, Motifs & Symbols

Themes

Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work.

The Coexistence of Good and Evil

The most important theme of To Kill a Mockingbird is the book’s exploration of the moral nature
of human beings—that is, whether people are essentially good or essentially evil. The novel
approaches this question by dramatizing Scout and Jem’s transition from a perspective of
childhood innocence, in which they assume that people are good because they have never seen
evil, to a more adult perspective, in which they have confronted evil and must incorporate it into
their understanding of the world. As a result of this portrayal of the transition from innocence to
experience, one of the book’s important subthemes involves the threat that hatred, prejudice, and
ignorance pose to the innocent: people such as Tom Robinson and Boo Radley are not prepared
for the evil that they encounter, and, as a result, they are destroyed. Even Jem is victimized to an
extent by his discovery of the evil of racism during and after the trial. Whereas Scout is able to
maintain her basic faith in human nature despite Tom’s conviction, Jem’s faith in justice and in
humanity is badly damaged, and he retreats into a state of disillusionment.

The moral voice of To Kill a Mockingbird is embodied by Atticus Finch, who is virtually unique
in the novel in that he has experienced and understood evil without losing his faith in the human
capacity for goodness. Atticus understands that, rather than being simply creatures of good or
creatures of evil, most people have both good and bad qualities. The important thing is to
appreciate the good qualities and understand the bad qualities by treating others with sympathy
and trying to see life from their perspective. He tries to teach this ultimate moral lesson to Jem
and Scout to show them that it is possible to live with conscience without losing hope or
becoming cynical. In this way, Atticus is able to admire Mrs. Dubose’s courage even while
deploring her racism. Scout’s progress as a character in the novel is defined by her gradual
development toward understanding Atticus’s lessons, culminating when, in the final chapters,
Scout at last sees Boo Radley as a human being. Her newfound ability to view the world from his
perspective ensures that she will not become jaded as she loses her innocence.

The Importance of Moral Education

Because exploration of the novel’s larger moral questions takes place within the perspective of
children, the education of children is necessarily involved in the development of all of the
novel’s themes. In a sense, the plot of the story charts Scout’s moral education, and the theme of
how children are educated—how they are taught to move from innocence to adulthood—recurs
throughout the novel (at the end of the book, Scout even says that she has learned practically
everything except algebra). This theme is explored most powerfully through the relationship
between Atticus and his children, as he devotes himself to instilling a social conscience in Jem
and Scout. The scenes at school provide a direct counterpoint to Atticus’s effective education of
his children: Scout is frequently confronted with teachers who are either frustratingly
unsympathetic to children’s needs or morally hypocritical. As is true of To Kill a Mockingbird’s
other moral themes, the novel’s conclusion about education is that the most important lessons are
those of sympathy and understanding, and that a sympathetic, understanding approach is the best
way to teach these lessons. In this way, Atticus’s ability to put himself in his children’s shoes
makes him an excellent teacher, while Miss Caroline’s rigid commitment to the educational
techniques that she learned in college makes her ineffective and even dangerous.

The Existence of Social Inequality

Differences in social status are explored largely through the overcomplicated social hierarchy of
Maycomb, the ins and outs of which constantly baffle the children. The relatively well-off
Finches stand near the top of Maycomb’s social hierarchy, with most of the townspeople beneath
them. Ignorant country farmers like the Cunninghams lie below the townspeople, and the white
trash Ewells rest below the Cunninghams. But the black community in Maycomb, despite its
abundance of admirable qualities, squats below even the Ewells, enabling Bob Ewell to make up
for his own lack of importance by persecuting Tom Robinson. These rigid social divisions that
make up so much of the adult world are revealed in the book to be both irrational and
destructive. For example, Scout cannot understand why Aunt Alexandra refuses to let her consort
with young Walter Cunningham. Lee uses the children’s perplexity at the unpleasant layering of
Maycomb society to critique the role of class status and, ultimately, prejudice in human
interaction.

Themes: (Kery)

Prejudice : Prejudice runs rampant in Maycomb county. ex1. The town

has prejudice against blacks. This is seen in the case against Tom Robinson.
It is obvious that he is innocent through evidence presented by Atticus(Bob
Ewell is left handed, Tom's left hand is useless, etc.)but since the jury
"cannot" find a black man innocent over a white family they find him guilty.
ex2. prejudice against boo Radley. No one bothers to find out about the real
Arthur "boo" Radley. He may seem a little scary but the town ridicules him
and shuns him from society. All the children have been raised to fear him as
the town freak. If they took the time to see the world from his eyes they
might not be so prejudiced to his situation.

Maturity : Different degrees of maturity are displayed by the

characters of the novel. ex1. Atticus. One might say he is an adult and
therefore mature. This is a very irrational statement because there are many
adults that have no hint of maturity. His view is very enlightened for a
white southern man in the thirties. He shows his mature and enlightened views
in the court room while defending Tom Robinson. He doesn't take Tom's defense
lightly because he's black but tries hard to with his case. He also shows how
mature he is in the way he treats and raises his children. The life lessons
and the free thought that are exchanged show his maturity and understanding in
bringing up scout and Jem. ex2. Scout. She shows a maturity level that is
advanced for her age. This is due not only to her free spirit and intelligent
approach to experiences but from the teachings of Atticus. She constantly asks
questions and truly cares about important issues such as reading.

Friendship : This is an influential theme in the novel. ex1. with

Dill. The friendship with Dill opens scout and Jem up to a new world. He
talks of experiences outside of their small closed community. He also
introduces them to the stories of boo Radley. ex2. Atticus with his children.
if Atticus did not have some kind of friendship with his children they couldn't
call him Atticus. They also might not see his important lessons in the same
light because not only is it teachings from a father but life advice and
insight from a friend. ex3. Boo with Jem and Scout. It isn't really a
friendship that they develop but a friendly understanding. For certain
purposes is is just as important because just to understand that Boo was
another real relatable person gave them the ability to oversee the stereotypes
set on him. Plus their friendly manner allowed Boo to have an outside contact
with the world(gifts in the tree)

Status : Status plays a role in every story. But the status divisions in
this story are very defined and influences many happenings in this novel.
The social structure is made up of four layers. The highest level is held
by white, educated "wealthy" families(especially the men of those
families). This includes the Finches and Mr. Tate. The second layer is
the working "middle" class. Although these people are generally poor, they
work and are somewhat educated. The members of this class would include
small shop owners and farmers for example the Cunninghams. The next class
although financially similar, has completely different morals, standards and
quality of life. This class may include some who work, but most noticeably,
it is made up of the town drunks, fools and all around irresponsible
people. This class certainly includes the Ewell family. Finally the
lowest rank in this hierarchy is the made up of the black citizens.
Although they may be as educated and economically stable as those in the
second or even first rank, because of their skin they are immediate
outcasts and can obviously never move out of their strata. This specific
structure had influence in certain events in this novel.

Sacrifice : When someone sacrifices something for the benefit of others it

is usually well praised. But in this novel not all sacrificial acts are
given their recognition. ex1. Tom Robinson sacrifices his life for his
family: After the guilty verdict in Tom's trial, he was sentenced to be in
jail and later hanged. But, this would almost definitely lead to his
family being further ostracized from the Maycomb community. His execution
and trial would linger with them. So, to end this future suffering for his
family, Tom purposely tried to be killed while he made his "escape." No one
truly realizes his intentions; maybe because he was black or people figured
he was trying to save his own life.
 
To Kill a Mockingbird - Themes

Although the character of Boo Radley does not reveal himself until the end of the novel, he is important
to all of the themes present in `To Kill a Mockingbird'

One of the more dominant themes is prejudice. There are three main types of prejudice that are
explored in the novel; racial prejudice, social prejudice and fear of the unknown.

Racial prejudice is present throughout the novel in the people of Maycomb's everyday life, as it is a
novel set in the `deep south' of America in the 1930's. This is a period shortly after the American civil
war, so slavery's abolishment had occurred not long ago. Because this had not been around for long,
most people's attitudes towards Negroes had not changed, despite efforts towards change.

The situation that shows the best examples of racial prejudice is the trial of Tom Robinson. In his trial,
Tom Robinson is misjudged and mistreated because he is black. One of the most prominent examples of
this is the way in which Mr. Gilmer, Tom's prosecutor, calls Tom "boy." He uses a tone of voice, which
one would use when talking to the lowest creature on earth, towards Tom and makes him look foolish.
This is all because Tom is Black.

The worst example of racial prejudice is Tom Robinson's trial verdict. All of the evidence produced by
Atticus makes it clear that Tom is innocent, yet Tom is found "guilty". This verdict is clearly based on the
fact that Tom is black, but also that he, a black man, felt sorry for a white woman. "I felt right sorry for
her" This statement would have brought any jury of Southern America to outrage in the 1930's. To them
it was not right for a Negro to feel pity for any member of the white community.

Another example of racial prejudice in the novel is at Aunt Alexandra's `lady's meeting'. It also shows the
hypocrisy that took place in Maycomb. Miss Merriweather goes on to explain the "sin and squalor" that
is suffered by "those poor Mrunas" and makes herself seem most ethnically aware, but the she refers to
Helen Robinson as; "That darky's wife" The way that Miss Merriweather uses this term as if it is
everyday language shows that Negroes are not respected, and are given quite offensive names.

One person that contrasts this, however, is Atticus. He does not believe in discriminating a person
because of the colour of their skin. This is shown by the way that he defends Tom Robinson as best he
can, the fact that Tom Robinson is black does not affect him. Racial prejudice does not connect directly
with Boo Radley, but Boo can be connected with Tom Robinson, who is a victim of racial prejudice. The
connection is that they are both `Mockingbirds' of the novel, and are both victims of prejudice.

Another form of prejudice quite similar to racial is social prejudice. Some members of the Maycomb
society are discriminated against by others due to their social status. Aunt Alexandra is a prime example
of this; her whole attitude towards everything is based upon social status. She considers herself to be
higher up the social ladder than quite a few people, including Walter Cunningham."Because-he-is-trash"
This is the reason that Aunt Alexandra gives when Scout asks why she cannot speak to Walter
Cunningham. This whole `trashy' view of Walter Cunningham is based purely on the fact that he is part
of a family that are very poor, she seems not to care about Walter's personal values.

The Ewell family are also victims of social prejudice. The whole family is looked down upon because of
he way the father, Robert Ewell' is irresponsible. The family is made out to be, again `trashy'. Although
some other members of the family are just plain nasty. Like Burris. "Ain't no snot-nosed slut of a school
teacher ever born c'n make me do nothing" Burris' use of language gains him the title of a "real mean
one". But not the whole family is like this. Mayella is not as "mean" as others in her family, she has a
sensitive side, as it is mentioned that she looks after flowers that could "rival Miss Maudie's"

Boo Radley is a victim of social prejudice just like Mayella Ewell and the Cunningham's. The whole
Radley family suffers social prejudice because Boo hadn't been seen for years, and people didn't know
where Mrs. Radley was. Prejudice is directed towards some characters of the novel because they do not
fit into Maycomb's usual behavioural patterns of society and little is known of them. This prejudice is
fuelled by fear, which leads to rumour, which leads to superstition.

Boo Radley is a victim of this fear of the unknown. The children fear him, as the rest of Maycomb does,
and as a result, there are many rumours about him. Most of these rumours are started and spread by
Miss Stephanie. For example, she claimed that she woke up in the night, and saw Boo looking in at her
through her window.

The people of Maycomb liked to believe that any unsolved, mysterious, crimes were the work of Boo
due to these rumours. One example is the `Crazy Addie' incident. Before and even after the `Crazy
Addie' incident was solved - Boo was innocent -, the people still believed it was Boo. Another example is
when Mrs. Radley dies and the children assume that Boo "finally got her".

Another major part of `To Kill a Mockingbird' is courage. This is a more positive theme than that of
prejudice, and courage is shown by almost all of the characters in the novel. Atticus has strong views on
courage. He taught Jem and Scout to be brave, especially Scout when he told her to stop fighting people
that mock her. One person Atticus looked up to as having "real courage" was Mrs. Dubose. He makes
Jem go and read to her because he wanted Jem to learn from her. "I wanted you to see what real
courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand" This shows how
much Atticus respected Mrs. Dubose for her courage. He called her "the bravest person I ever knew".
Atticus is trying to teach his children that he is not courageous for shooting a crazy dog dead with one
shot; he is in fact courageous for defending Tom Robinson fairly. He teaches them that being
courageous is standing up for what you think is right.

Courage is shown within the community, by the community when there is a fire at Miss Maudie's house.
"The men of Maycomb, in all degrees of dress and undress, took furniture from Miss Maudie's house to
a yard across the street" The most important part "in all degrees of dress and undress" shows that the
people that came to help, came straight away. If the men would have dressed first, then they would
have thought about whether to help or not, but they came straight from their beds to help.

During this time, with Miss Maudie's house burning down, Boo shows a small amount of courage. He
comes out of the safe hold of his house so that Scout will not be cold. Boo's presence is not realised until
after all of the commotion. "Looks like all of Maycomb was out tonight" Atticus that it was Boo coming
out and he recognises the courage Boo had to come out face the town's prejudice.

Boo's most courageous act was when he saved Jem and Scout's lives when Bob Ewell attacked them.
When Boo saw that "his children needed him," his courage overrode the town's prejudice and he risked
his own life to save Jem and Scout's lives.

Family plays an important role in `To Kill a Mockingbird'. This theme is linked with social prejudice by
Aunt Alexandra. Aunt Alexandra is someone that considers family to be very important, and she tries to
teach Jem and Scout her views on family. Scout does not really understand her auntie's thoughts on
family, but Jem does when he explains to Scout that; "There are four kinds of folk in the world" This
shows that Jem has begun to understand his auntie's views, and therefore the importance of family in
Maycomb. He goes on to explain that these "four kinds of folk" are; The Finch family (representing the
white-middle class), the Cunningham family (poorer, farmer class) the Ewell family (lowest of the white
folk) and the Robinson family (representing the black community)

Although Jem believes his examples to cover everybody, they do not, however, cover Dill's family. Dill
has more of a dysfunctional family. He does not know his father, which would have been quite strange
for the 1930's. As Dill does not have a `proper' family, he almost becomes part of the Finch family. He
shoes he wants to by asking to "marry" Scout when they grow up.

Atticus and Mr. Radley are quite different in their fathering methods. Atticus seems to be a very good
father. "he played with us, read to us, and treated us with courteous detachment" As well as this, Atticus
is very straightforward with his children. He would never prefabricate the truth to make it more suitable
for children; he tells it as it is. Atticus always listens to his children's opinions and treats them with a
great deal of respect.

If Atticus ever had reason to reprimand Jem or Scout, he would explain why. Because of this, he is
greatly respected by his children. Atticus does not have a history of physically punishing his children, and
because of this, they want it to stay that way. "Atticus ain't ever whipped me since I can remember. I
wanta keep it that way" Not much is mentioned of Mr. Radley, but from what is said, we could assume
that he cared for his son, Boo, from how he "insisted that Boo not be charged with anything" after Mr.
Radley was stabbed by his son. "Mr. Radley said no Radley was going to an asylum" Mr. Radley was quite
a proud man, and he did not want his son to be seen as crazy. In Mr. Radley's eyes "Boo wasn't crazy"

The only thing that the reader cannot be sure of is the reason for Mr. Radley keeping Boo inside the
house. The possibilities are, either he is ashamed of Boo because of his pride or he wants to protect Boo
from the town's prejudice due to the fact he cared so much for his son. It is, however, proven that Mr.
Radley's children respected him. This is shown when Mr. Radley dies and Nathan, his other son, takes
over the Radley lot, and makes sure Boo is still kept indoors.

Dill's fascination with Boo is fuelled mostly by his excited, childish imagination. There is a small link
between the two; they are both currently without a father figure to look up to. This may be one reason
why Dill is so fascinated with Boo. Childhood plays a vital role in the novel as the novel is a retelling of
Scouts childhood. Boo is very important to this theme as he is Jem, Scout and Dill's childhood obsession.

When Jem and Scout first meet Dill and tell him about Boo Radley, Dill's imagination is alerted. Dill's
childish games result in the children's first encounter with Boo. Jem is dared to touch the Radley house,
and he does so. After Jem has returned from completing his task, Scout and Dill say that they saw the
shutters move, and so began their obsession.

It is made evident that the children are excited by things of a gothic and morbid nature when Dill
mentions that he had seen the picture show of Dracula. "tell it to us" This was Jem's reaction to Dill's
announcement, and it seemed to make Jem and Scout suddenly more interested in Dill after they
weren't too bothered about him.

This fascination with things of a gothic nature is reflected by Dill in the same way Jem did. Straight after
Jem gave a grim description of Boo, Dill replied with; "Let's try to make him come out, I'd like to see
what he looks like." Again one of the children has become very interested and excited when faced with
an opportunity to see a gothic artefact. It is curiosity and fascination that keep the children wanting to
make Boo come out.

At the beginning of the novel, the children see Boo as `something' rather than `someone'. They do not
consider Boo's feelings or privacy. However, the children's respect for Boo does grow, along with their
maturity. This is not so much evident in Dill, but Jem eventually stops all games involving Boo because
he matures enough to see Atticus' point of view. Atticus tells his children to consider things from
another point of view. "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of
view- -until you climb into his skin and walk around in it." This is the lesson Atticus tries to teach Scout,
and by the end of the novel she understood what it meant. At the end, the narrative Scout says, "Atticus
was right" about not knowing a man until you see things from their point of view.

Boo has a very important role in Part 1 of the novel, even though he is not actually seen. Boo is the focus
of Jem and Scout's childhood games. And as Part 1 is mostly about their childhood games, Boo is
important. Although Boo is not seen at all by the children in Part 1, and it is said that he "was not seen
again for fifteen years", he does come out of his house a few times. One time is when he brings the
blanket for Scout at Miss Maudie's house, and another is when the children are trying to look through
the shutters at the Radley place in chapter 6. A shadow, belonging to Boo, comes up behind Jem and
"stopped a foot beyond Jem". When the shadow stops Boo realises that it is Jem and he goes away
again.

Boo is not really present during Part 2 until the end, but the author does no let Boo Radley slip he
readers mind. Many of the characters of the trial share characteristics with Boo. For example, Tom
Robinson is a victim of prejudice, just like Boo. But the one person that has the most important similarity
to Boo is Mayella. Like Boo, Mayella is lonely "Mayella must have been the loneliest person in the world.
She was even lonelier than Boo Radley" The mention of this similarity between Boo and Mayella makes
the reader remember Boo and look for more similarities between the two.

The author is very clever in how she makes the reader want to see Boo. All throughout part 1 Boo is
being mentioned, and the children want Boo to "come out". The author makes the reader share the
desire and excitement so much that the reader feels as though the story will not be over until Boo is
seen. And that is exactly how the story does end. It is because of the sharing of the children's excitement
that the story is completed when Scout "gazed at him in wonder" and uttered. "Hey, Boo" These are the
words that the reader has wanted to hear ever since the children first looked upon the Radley lace.
There was probably no more a perfect way to give the story that finishing touch.

The most important symbol in this novel is the mockingbird symbol. Most of the characters can be
related to this symbol in one way or another. A mockingbird is a small plain bird with a song that mimics
the song of other birds. The mockingbird represents kindness, innocence and harmlessness, as is
explained by Miss Maudie. "Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us t enjoy. They don't
eat up people's gardens, they don't nest in corn cribs..." One group of people linked to the mockingbird
for completely different reasons are Atticus, Jem and Scout. The reason is their name, "Finch". The
mockingbird is part of the Finch bird family.
 

The mockingbird's significance is emphasised not only by the novel's title, but also by Atticus saying;
"You can shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit `em, but remember it is a sin to kill a
mockingbird" Scout mentions that this is strange for Atticus to call anything a "sin". So this places the
importance of the mockingbird in the readers mind.

Boo Radley and Tom Robinson's representation of the mockingbird symbol is not drawn together until
the end when Scout says that the public exposure of Boo Radley would be "sort of like shooting a
mockingbird." Both characters show mockingbird traits such as, Kindness, innocence, vulnerability and
being a victim. Boo shows kindness to the children by leaving them gifts in the tree. He is vulnerable to,
and a victim of, the town's prejudice, but is innocent of this.

Tom shows kindness to Mayella by helping her. He is vulnerable because he is unable to use his left arm.
He is a victim of racial prejudice, and he is innocent of his accusation of raping Mayella Ewell.
Prejudice

 The novel is set in the In the deep Southern state of Alabama in the mid 1930’s.  During
the early days of freedom for the African-Americans.  The climate was fraught with
resentment that reflected people’s resistance toward abolition of Slavery.
o Racial Prejudice
o Trial of Tom Robinson
o Wrongly accused, misjudged and ill-treated and disrespected by the people at
large, including the Prosecutor who calls him ‘boy’.
 The verdict of the trial:
 The evidence produced by Atticus makes it clear that Tom is innocent, yet
Tom is found “guilty”.   It is based merely on the fact that Tom is black.

Racial Prejudice

 Lula does not want Scout and Jem to attend the Black Church.
 Boo is not jailed with the Black prisoners.  He is kept in the basement of the courthouse.
 Miss Merriweather goes on to explain the “sin and squalor” that is suffered by “those
poor Mrunas” and makes herself seem most ethnically aware,
 She refers to Helen Robinson as; “That darky’s wife”

Prejudice

 Scout and Jem face harsh criticism from their peers and they are called ‘nigger lovers’
because Atticus chooses to defend

an innocent man.

 Aunt Alexandra’s attitude toward everyone is based upon their social status.
 Ewell Family is a victim of social prejudice.  Everyone assumes that they are “no good”.
 The whole Radley family suffers social prejudice because Boo hadn’t been seen for
years, and people didn’t know where Mrs. Radley was.

Fear of the Unknown

 It is common human trait that we fear everything that we do not know or do not
understand.
  This universal theme is portrayed through the town’s bias (Lady’s Missionary society)
toward the Negros.
 Fearful rumors about Boo Radley isolated and Alienated an otherwise disturbed but
gentle human being.

Innocence

 The entire novel is written from the viewpoint of and innocent 7 year old.  We see the
world of Maycomb through the unbiased and untutored eyes of Scout Finch.
 Innocence of the mind and spirit is portrayed through the character of Boo Radley.
 Jem, Scout, Dill and Boo represent innocence
 The most important instance of the triumph of innocence over violence and hatered was
shown through the scene of confrontation between Atticus and the mob in front of the
Jailhouse.  As Scout makes the adult see the foly of their actions through her innocent
questions and actions.

Coming of age

 Coming of age comes with an inevitable end of childhood innocence. Without this
experience  graduation into maturity cannot truly take place.
 Jem and Scout are shown going through a tremendous amount of growing up - 
physically, emotionally, mentally, and morally.
 Jem and Scout learn about the real world in brushes with the outside world, such as at
school.
 Boo Radley, Ms. Maudie, Ms. Dubose Ms. Crawford and the other neighbors all provide
a means to learning life’s lessons to Jem and Scout.
 Tom Robinson’s trial provides insight into the unfairness, injustice and cruelty of the
adult world for the children and becomes and major vehicle for the experience of
‘Coming of Age

Courage

 The concept of courage if thoroughly explored through the action of several characters.
 Atticus was truly a man of great courage.  on the outside he appeared to be a pacifist.
However, when he killed the rabid dog, his children gained a totally different view of
him. The whole town had revealed to them the secret of their father, that he was an
excellent marksman and a brave man.
 In addition Atticus had the moral and emotional courage to stand up to the whole town in
order to defend a black man.
 Atticus had the courage to teach his children the values of equity and justice through his
own example.
 Mrs. Dobose had the courage to give up her morphine addiction.
 Boo Radley had the courage to befriend the children
 despite opposition from his brother.

 Jem, Scout and Dill stood by their father in front of the jail as Atticus faced the mob.

Family Relationships

 Finches, Ewells, Cunnighams, Robinsons,and Radleys all present different models of

family relationships.
 The underlying truth that is revealed is that , an individual is shaped by the
circumstances, morals and support of their family.  All characters evolve through the
given framework of their family circumstances. Their morality, behavior, judgment and
decisions about life reflect their family background.

The mockingbird theme

The title of the novel alerts us to the importance of this theme. It comes from an old proverb that
“it's a sin to kill a mockingbird”. The children first hear this from Atticus, when he gives them
air rifles as Christmas presents (Chapter 10). He tells them they should shoot only at tin-cans but,
seeing that they may well shoot birds, allows them to shoot the very common bluejay (regarded
in the USA rather as pigeons are in the UK) but not mockingbirds. (Modern readers, especially in
the UK, where many bird species are protected by law should note that hunting birds is
considered acceptable sport in most parts of Europe and the USA even today. In the 1930s most
children would have seen it as normal to hunt animals and birds.)

Scout is puzzled by this remark and asks Miss Maudie Atkinson about it. Miss Maudie says that:

“Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people's
gardens, they don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us.
That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird. ”

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The mockingbird of the proverb is a harmless creature which does its best to please its hearers by
singing, but which is defenceless against hunters. (Perhaps hunters with a sense of sport would
avoid the bird, as being too easy a target.) The wrongness of killing the bird is evident, but it
becomes a metaphor for the wrongness of harming innocent and vulnerable people.
In the novel, while we associate the mockingbird generally with weak and defenceless people,
there are two characters who are more explicitly likened to the bird. These are Tom Robinson
and Arthur Radley. Why are these two like the mockingbird?

 Tom is physically disabled, but his real weakness is his social position - he is a black
man, to whom a white woman has made sexual advances, so he must be destroyed.
 Arthur is psychologically disadvantaged - he is very timid and almost incapable of being
integrated into Maycomb's society.

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The author makes the comparison clearer in Chapter 25. Here, B.B. Underwood spells is out for
his readers, writing in his editorial that it:

“...was a sin to kill cripples, be they standing, sitting or escaping. He likened Tom's death to the
senseless slaughter of songbirds by hunters and chidren...”

Scout notes that Mr. Underwood was writing so children could understand. She is a child and she
understands. Many of the novel's readers will also be children. (You should be aware, though,
that it was written for adult readers. Harper Lee could not have foreseen that the novel would
become a set text for pupils in so many schools.)

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As the children set off for the pageant (Chapter 28), Jem hears a mockingbird and jokes that Boo
must not be at home. There is an obvious irony in that he is very wrong in associating Boo with
“haints” and “hot steams” but is right in his joking suggestion that Boo is not at home. Not only
is Boo out of doors (or just about to leave) but his doing so is what delivers the children from
real and very human danger, not the gothic fantasies of Halloween. But there are more odd
pointers:

 when the bird starts to sing, the children are in front of the Radley house
 the bird is “solitary” and
 unaware “whose tree he sat in”

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When Heck Tate (Chapter 30) tells Atticus that he will not let Boo be exposed to publicity, he
insists that “...draggin' him and his shy ways into the limelight...” is “...a sin. It's a sin and I'm not
about to have it on my head...”

Scout shows that she understands Mr. Tate completely, when she says:

“Well, it'd be sort of like shootin' a mockingbird, wouldn't it?”

Atticus embraces Scout, to acknowledge that she is right.

Good, Evil, and Human Dignity

To Kill a Mockingbird is largely remembered of in terms of the trial of Tom Robinson and its
racist outcome. For this reason, people often think that the book’s theme is simple, a
straightforward criticism of racism and evil. But To Kill a Mockingbird is actually more
complicated (and interesting). Except in the case of Bob Ewell, the novel avoids simple
portrayals and criticisms of “evil.” Instead, it shows through Scout and Jem’s experiences that
Maycomb and its citizens are a complicated mixture of good and bad, full of people with
strengths and weaknesses.

There are two characters of almost complete good in To Kill a Mockingbird: Atticus and Boo
Radley. But they are good in different ways. Boo maintains his goodness by hiding from the
world, while Atticus engages with it. Atticus acknowledges the evil in people and the world and
fights against that evil, but he also appreciates what is good in the very same people who through
fault or weakness might be supporting an evil cause. Atticus believes that everyone has a basic
human dignity, and that he therefore owes each person not only respect, but the effort to try to
understand their point of view. Atticus tries to instill this worldview in Scout when he tells her
that instead of condemning people for doing things that she thinks are cruel, or unfair, or just
plain weird, she should first try “standing in their skin.”

 Prejudice

Atticus’s belief in treating and respecting everyone as an individual is contrasted in To Kill a

Mockingbird with a number of other worldviews. These other visions are all quite different from
each other—they are religious, racist, classist—but they all share one thing in common: they
treat people as groups, demand conformity, and give no respect or credit to individuals. In other
words, they are all forms of prejudice, which is a preconceived notion about a person based on
the groups to which that person belongs. Over and over again, To Kill a Mockingbird reveals
prejudice not just as closed-minded and dangerous, but also as ridiculous.

The most obvious form of prejudice in the novel is racism, which causes otherwise upstanding
white citizens of Maycomb to accept the testimony of an obviously corrupt white man over the
evidence supporting the testimony from a black man. Yet prejudice is also visible in the racially
condescending Mrs. Grace Merriweather; in Aunt Alexandra’s and many other character’s belief
in the importance of social class; in the gender stereotypes that people try to force on Scout; and
even in the way the town views Boo Radley as a monster because he acts differently from
everyone else.

 Growing Up

In the three years covered by To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout and Jem grow up. At the start of the
book they are innocents, with an uncomplicated sense of what’s good (Atticus, the people of
Maycomb) and what’s evil (Boo Radley). By the end of the book, the children have lost their
innocence and gained a more complex understanding of the world, in which bad and good are
present and visible in almost everyone. As the children grow into the adult world, though, they
don’t just accept what they see. They question what doesn’t make sense to them—prejudice,
hatred, and violence. So while To Kill a Mockingbird shows three children as they lose their
innocence, it also uses their innocence to look freshly at the world of Maycomb and criticize its
flaws.

Like every kid growing up, Scout attends school for the first time. But rather than contribute to
her education, Scout’s school is depicted as rigid to the point of idiocy, with teachers who
criticize students who got on early start on reading and hate the Nazis but can’t see the racism
present in their own town. To Kill a Mockingbird does not so much explore standardized school
education as condemn it, showing how it emphasizes rote facts and policies designed to create
conformist children rather than promote creative critical thinking, sympathy, and mutual
understanding across racial and socioeconomic boundaries.

 Courage

Many people, including Jem and Scout when they’re young, mix up courage with strength. They
think that courage is the ability and willingness to use strength to get your way. But Atticus
defines courage as “when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and
see it through no matter what.” Courage, in To Kill a Mockingbird, is not about winning or
losing. It’s about thinking long and hard about what’s right instead of relying on personal
prejudice or gut reaction, and then doing what’s right whether you win or lose. To Kill a
Mockingbird is filled with examples of courage, from Mrs. Dubose’s fight against her morphine
addiction, to Atticus’s determination to face down the racism of the town, to Mr. Underwood’s
willingness to face down his own racist feelings and support what he knows, in the end, is right.

  Small Town Southern Life

Maycomb is a small town, with all of the characteristics implicit in small town life: everyone
knows everyone else’s business, which can lead to endless and mostly harmless gossip, but more
importantly makes the community extremely intimate and close-knit. The first part of To Kill a
Mockingbird focuses on this close-knit community, because when they’re young Scout and Jem
believe that’s what Maycomb is.

To an extent, the young Scout and Jem are right: Maycomb is a small, safe, peaceful, intimate
community. Yet as Scout and Jem grow up, they come to see another side to their small town.
They discover that the town has a fiercely maintained and largely illogical social hierarchy based
on wealth, history, and race; ensures its safety through a communal insistence on conformity that
subjects anyone who does not conform to dislike and mistrust; and gains its peace by resisting
change and ignoring injustice. This is not to say that To Kill a Mockingbird is a condemnation of
small town life in the South. Rather, the novel sees the town in much the same terms it sees
individuals: as containing wisdom and blindness, good and evil, and for all of that possessing its
own special dignity.
Prejudice

The overwhelming theme of “To Kill a Mockingbird” is prejudice, and the inability that we have
to step into another person’s shoes. Most blatantly, the jury’s decision to condemn Tom
Robinson despite clear evidence of his innocence, purely on the basis of his race, shows how
prejudice can overcome all rationality. The prejudice that Scout, Jem, and Dill show towards
Boo Radley, purely because he seems “different,” only dissipates once he saves Scout and Jem
from Bob Ewell. And by aligning himself with Tom Robinson, Atticus himself becomes an
object of prejudice, even though he has always been one of the most respected men in Maycomb.

Growing Up

Throughout “To Kill a Mockingbird,” the reader can see how Scout is growing up, slowly
understanding the relationship between good and evil in the real world. At the beginning of the
novel, she believes that the world is mostly good, with “scary” things or people, such as Boo
Radley, as the only real evil. As she grows, she realizes that the town of Maycomb, although
made up of mostly good people, can also harbor deep evil, such as racism and prejudice.

Jem realizes this on a deeper level. While Scout is simply leaving basic childhood, Jem is
becoming a teenager during the course of the novel. His inability to reconcile the evil that is
coming from the people in the town who he has trusted truly breaks him, and his confusion about
how Atticus could have failed shows to what extent he has always believed that Atticus could do
anything. Each of these aspects are important to the theme of growing up, as well as which parts
of ourselves we have to grapple with as we do so.

The Meaning of Courage

The third of the most important “To Kill a Mockingbird” themes is that of courage. Atticus
shows courage in defending Tom Robinson, and Scout shows courage in her innocent manner of
turning away the lynch mob. Boo Radley shows courage in attacking Bob Ewell, and Heck Tate
shows courage in deciding to cover up what Boo did. Throughout the book, the author glorifies
people who show courage in the face of adversity.

Read more: http://www.brighthub.com/education/homework-tips/articles/57362.aspx#ixzz10SXUUgQa

To Kill a Mockingbird - Theme of Innocence

Innocence is a time when a person has never done something, it is the first step of the theme of
innocence to experience. The second step in the movement from innocence to experience, is
experience. This step is what is achieved after a person or thing has done something they have never
done before or learns something they have never know before. The theme of growth from innocence to
experience occurs many times in the first part of To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. This process is
one of the central themes in the first eleven chapters of this book, because it shows how Scout and Jem
change and mature.

In To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, there are many great examples of Jem or Scout moving from
innocence to experience. One of these is on page 24 when Scout learns the proper way to treat a guest.
After Scout has a fight with Walter Cunningham, Jem invites him to dinner. During the meal, Scout
watches Walter pour a lot of syrup on his food. Thinking it unusual, Scout inquired about why he was
doing it. Her comment embarrasses Walter. Calpernia, the housekeeper, brings her into the kitchen and
tells her that she should never comment on the ways of their guest's eating habits or otherwise. To drive
home her point, Calpernia not only informs Scout of her mistake, she slaps her.

Prior to these events happening, Scout had never know that it was improper to make fun of or judge a
guest of the house. In her innocence, she had never before realized this behavior was inappropriate. The
hit as well as the scolding have removed her innocence. Scout is now very aware of her mistake. With
her new experience, she will most likely never embarrass a house guest again. She has learned her
lesson.

In my life I have also gone through many situations that have taken me across the threshold of
innocence to experience. One example of this would be, that when I was young, I was unaware that
leaning back in a chair was dangerous. This would be my innocence, but one day when I was leaning
back, I fell to the ground and took off the skin on my chin. At this moment I lost my innocence because I
learned that something that I thought was fun could result in injury. Another time in which I went from
innocence to experience was when I did not know that playing video games for too long would have any
adverse effects. I was innocent in thinking that such games could not hurt me in any way. I soon
discovered, however, if I watched too long, lights and motion would give me a headache. After this, I
was experienced in this knowledge and knew that there were indeed consequences from watching TV
for too long a time. The theme of innocence to experience runs through all things including books
stories and in reality.

THEMES

Major Theme

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The main and underlying theme in the novel is that of black slavery, its abolition and the
subsequent lack of its acceptance in the southern community. Harper Lee has portrayed the deep-
set traditional way of thinking of the southerners who are unable to accept that the blacks have
been released from the bonds of slavery. So, even if externally there are no slaves, the blacks
have not yet been openly admitted into the whites’ fold and are denied the equality they deserve
and even have a right to. The whites find it difficult and unacceptable to consider them equal.
This theme has been illustrated while depicting the lifestyle of the black community and the
varied problems they face from the white community.

Minor Themes

Along with the major theme, Harper Lee has introduced smaller but no less important themes in
the novel. The legend of the mockingbird, which only sings to please others and therefore the
sense of sin associated in shooting a mockingbird, has been intricately woven into the plot. Tom
Robinson’s death is likened to this sin since even Tom was an innocent, harmless person who
would never hurt anybody and his death was unnecessary. Similarly, when it is revealed that
Arthur Radley is the one who had killed Bob while saving the children’s lives, Mr. Heck Tate
refuses to hold him responsible because he feels that it would invite unnecessary speculation,
interest and undue attention to Boo Radley, which he does not wish for. To bring him into the
limelight would again be like killing a mockingbird, just as Scout, very intelligently surmises.

The theme of morality is also introduced. Morals such as love for human beings, importance of
living things, and an open attitude towards others’ beliefs and actions are well demonstrated.
These are the subsequent themes in the novel.
 Analysis of Themes of "To Kill a Mockingbird"
    Uploaded by sls465 (2938) on Apr 18, 2007

Analysis of Themes of "To Kill a Mockingbird"

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is an award-winning novel, published in 1960. Through

six-year old Scout, her narrator, Harper Lee drew an affectionate and detailed portrait of
Maycomb, Alabama, a small, sleepy, depression-era town. The main plot concerns the trial of
an unjustly accused black man who is steadfastly defended by Scout's father, a respected
lawyer. Covering a period of one year during Scout's childhood in Alabama, the story reflects
the details of small-town life in the South and examines the painfully unjust consequences of
ignorance, prejudice, and hate, as well as the values of courage, honor, and decency. Harper
Lee shows that what appears may not always be real by presenting life like situations during
the story.

One of the main themes in To Kill A Mockingbird is “racism”. Maycomb has both a black and
white community. Both sides have racial views about each other. When Jem and Scout go to
the black church a woman comes out and says, “You Ain’t got no business bringin’ white
chillun here – they got their church, we out ours.” (Pg. 119) Both communities are hostile
towards each other. When a black man is accused of a crime he doesn’t commit, he is still
found guilty because of his skin color. It is stated in the book, “In our courts, when its white
man’s word against a black man’s, the white always wins. They’re ugly, but those are the facts
of life.” (Pg. 220) However most of the white people agree with this. Most of them think that
Tom Robinson is guilty just because of the color of his skin.

The Radley property also threatens the lives of people brave enough to venture near it. The
children believe that anything that comes from the Radley's soil is poison, including the nuts
and fruits on the trees. Jem yells at Scout once saying about the Radley property: “Don't you
know you're not supposed to even touch the house over there? You'll get killed if you do” (pg.
33). Jem also goes so far as to say, “if Dill wants to get himself killed, all he had to do was go
up and knock on the front door” (pg. 13) No child has ever died from touching something on
the Radley property, yet the children continue to believe it to be true. They envision Boo,
Finch’s neighbor who never came out of his house, as a horrible beast that eats squirrels and
rats with his bare hands who loves to kill children. In the end of the novel, the reader discovers
that Boo emerges as a timid man who would never consider hurting a child. Yet, the children
do not know or understand Boo, so they make his property threatening and evil.

In the first nine chapters of the novel Atticus Finch is pictured as a kind and understanding
man and even Jean Louise doesn’t know much about her father. He is also an upright man who
is trying to raise his children properly. In the tenth chapter we get a clearer picture of him.
First we see him through the eyes of his children. To them he is old and feeble because he
can't play football. Then an event occurs to change this picture. A mad dog, Tim Johnson,
comes down the street. It is Atticus who is called upon by Tate to do the shooting. Heck says,
“I would feel much more comfortable if you shot him now.” (p.96) His children see him now
as a brave man.

Throughout the story, people that are unlike the majority, get hurt. They are given obstacles
that they have to overcome in order to survive. Some people in the world can survive these
obstacles, and there are some that just give up. By fighting for your rights, people start to
realize that character is the important attribute to a person. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper
Lee showed me that the people with differences are not always doing things the wrong way. It
is the majority that may be going at it all wrong. She also encourages the theme “Appearances
may not lead to reality” and gives some good examples for it.