To Kill A Mockingbird

Harper Lee's coming-of-age tale, To Kill a Mockingbird, is set in the Deep South, and is a searing portrayal of race and prejudice told through the eyes of a little girl. Filled with atmospheric evocations of life in the 1930s and a moral and caring sensibility, To Kill a Mockingbird is both a brilliant rendering of a specific time and place as well as a universal tale of how understanding can triumph over old and evil mindsets. Most of all, To Kill a Mockingbird is a modern-day morality tale of how prejudice must be met, fought and overcome--no matter where it is present or how difficult that task might seem. Overview: To Kill a Mockingbird Scout Finch lives with her father, a lawyer and widower by the name of Atticus, and her brother, a young man named Jem. The first part of the To Kill a Mockingbird tells of one summer. Jem and Scout play, make new friends, and first come to know of a shadowy figure by the name of Boo Radley, who lives in a neighboring house and yet is never seen. A number of bad rumors surround this man (he is rumored to be a runaway murderer, who steals children), but their fair-minded father warns them that they should try to see the world from the other people's perspectives. Tom Robinson: To Kill a Mockingbird Another plot line involves a young black man named Tom Robinson, who is accused of raping a white woman. Atticus takes on the case, despite the vitriol this arouses in the largely white, racist townsfolk, because he believes that there has been a serious miscarriage of justice. Given the cold-shoulder by their white neighbors, the Finches are welcomed into the black community, and Scout is amazed by the feeling of cohesion and happiness that this poor, oppressed people are able to muster. When the time of the trial comes round, Atticus proves that the girl that Tom Robinson is accused of raping actually seduced him, and that the injuries to her face were caused by her father, angry that she tried to sleep with a black man. Despite the overwhelming evidence provided at the trial, however, the all white jury nevertheless convicted Robinson; and he is later killed whilst trying to escape from jail. Meanwhile, the girl's father, who held a grudge against Atticus because of some of the things he said in court, waylays Scout and Jem as they walk home one night. It is clear that he wants to them harm, but they are saved by the mysterious Boo, who disarms their attacker and kills him dead. Scout finally comes face to face with the enigmatic figure of which she was so scared, and realizes that he is just a kindly man, who has been kept away from the world because of a mental retardation that makes him appear simple. The lesson that Scout learns from both Tom Robinson's fate and her new found friend, is the importance of seeing people how they are, and not being blinded by the fears and misunderstandings of prejudice. Experience Growing Up: To Kill a Mockingbird To Kill a Mockingbird is enormously touching and powerful in its simple story. Because it is narrated by young Scout, we are able to grow up and come to an understanding about the world in the same way that she does, creating order from the chaos of her everyday life.

The novel has a courageous and powerful political message about the downtrodden lives of African-Americans in 1930s America, and the prejudice and fear they faced every day. We also see a memorable heroic figure in Atticus Finch, a man of conscience raised to the level of crusader or idol. In his quiet strength, he believes in the innate goodness of human beings that pushes him to defend Tom Robinson despite the approbation of his peers and to implore his children to try and see the good in Boo Radley. He became the voice of moral conscious in the age that the book was written and represented the ideals and hopes of the liberal classes who hoped to see the end of segregation and racism. Beautifully written, evocative, tender, but with a passionate message that drives the novel's action, To Kill a Mockingbird is rightfully a much loved and much studied classic. A tale of childhood, but also a tale of how the world should be (and how we can change it), the book lives on in the hearts of those who have read it well after the final page has been turned.

The novel To Kill A Mockingbird revolves around a young girl named Jean Louise Finch who goes by the nicknamed "Scout". Scout experiences different events in her life that dramatically change her life. Scout and her brother Jem are being raised by their father, a lawyer named Atticus and a housekeeper named Calpumia in a small town in the south. At this point in time in the South racism and discriminations towards black was a big issue . The story begins when Scout is 6 years old, and her brother is about to enter the 5th grade. That summer Scout and her brother meet a young boy named Dill who comes from Mississippi to spend the summers there. They become fascinated with a man named "Boo" Radley, a man in his thirties who has not been seen outside of his home in years, mainly because of his suppressed upbringing. They have an impression of Mr. Radley as being this large ugly and evil man. Then comes the trial. Scout's father becomes a defense attorney for a black man, Tom Robinson, who is falsely accused of raping a white women. This has a big affect on Scout. During this trial she gets teased by friends because her father was helping this black man. Scout starts to see the racism that exist. During the trial Scout and her brother and close friend Dill witness the trial. Even though they are young they can see that Mr. Robinson is innocent. Even though Mr. Robinson's innocence was clear even in the eyes of kids, Mr. Robinson was still found guilty. Later in an attempt to escape, Mr. Robinson is shot dead. Scout is extremely disappointed at the verdict and even more at the death of Mr. Robinson and realizes the injustice that exist. Later in a cowardly attempt by the alleged rape victims father, tries to kill Scout and her brother in order to get even with her father for making him look back in court. This is when Mr.Radley makes an appearance again an stabs their attacker. Even though Mr. Radley kills a man he is not tried for murder because he was defending the Scout and her brother. Finally some justice. This gives Scout some hope that is a chance for improvement in this unjust world. (Discussion of main themes in To Kill A Mockingbird) There are many different themes present in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. The first theme which I will discuss is "Prejudice". The whole story revolved around the prejudice views of this Southern community. The whole reason why the trial was going on was because of people views towards blacks in the south. Since the alleged rape victim's father has such a prejudice view towards black, he is embarrassed that his daughter was actually flirting with a black man. To combat this he falsely accuses the innocent Mr. Robinson of rape. If it wasn't

for the prejudice view which existed in the south the accusation would had never been brought against Mr. Robinson. These prejudice views in the south created a double standard of justice. With all the negative points that can be found in the story in respect to prejudice, there was a bright spot when it came to the prejudice issue. This "ray of light" came in the form of Scout's father Atticus. Atticus represented hope. Hope that good people still exist. Even in a society filled with hate. Atticus represented the hope that one day things can change The "Prejudice" theme also ties in well with the title of the book "To Kill A Mocking Bird." In Chapter 10, Scout and Jem Finch get air rifles for Christmas. Scouts father tells her and her brother that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird because mockingbirds are harmless creatures who do nothing but sing for our enjoyment. In the story To Kill a Mockingbird Mr. Robinson is clearly the "Mocking Bird". He is a good man who has never harmed anyone and is figuratively and literally shot by society because of prejudice. The jurors sentence him to death not because he did anything wrong but because of prejudice. He is then later shot for trying to escape this unjust ruling. Mr. Robinson just like a mockingbird is shot for no reason at all. The second theme which I will discuss is "coming of age". The "Coming of age" theme basically entails a character who evolves to a new level of self awareness through his or her experiences in life. This is clearly the case with Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird. An example of Scout's "coming of age" can be seen when she meets her friend Dill. Dill comes from a broken home and lives somewhere beyond Alabama. Scout who comes from a good home is awaken to the different quality of life that exist and is able to come to a conclusion that life exist beyond the world she knows. Through these experiences she grows more tolerant of others, learning how to "climb into another person's skin and walk around in it." On her first day of school she finds that just like with Dill there are both social and poor classes in society, some are respectable and others not. She also learns that her father is an extraordinary man, fighting for a Negro's rights in court. During the trial of Tom Robinson Scout learns about equality and inequality and finally about racial prejudice. By the final chapters of the novel, Scout goes to another "coming of age experience." She learns that good people can still suffer injustice. She realizes this when she see's Tom Robinson suffer injustice even though they did nothing to deserve it. She discover that the courts does not always result in justice. In the end after all of Scout's experiences and discoveries we get the sense that she will not follow the prejudice views which her society upholds. In the end Scout had matured and grown more as a kid, than many adults will do in there lifetime. The third and final theme which I will discuss is "Justice". In the story To Kill a Mockingbird I feel,the author, Ms. Lee portrays true justice as being best seen through the eyes of the innocent. In the story Scout and her brother, being the innocent,can clearly see the injustice being done to Mr. Robinson. In contrary to Scout and her brother other people in society more specifically the older people in the town, the people who have lived through different experiences, become blinded when it comes to true justice. Or maybe they are not blinded but just choose to ignore it. This is clearly seen when they sentence an innocent man to death. This ignorance of justice can be blamed on the prejudice views which are present and eventually instilled in society in the south. So I feel that Harper Lee is connecting justice with innocence to a certain extent. In my opinion Harper Lee portrays justice as being easily detected. The reason I say this is even the young justice. The problem is society can instill beliefs that can act as a veil and blind the people from justice. The only way to uncover this

veil is through people like Atticus who can pass his morality and nobility to the young and the "blinded" I would definitely recommend people to read the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I found it to be an interesting and powerful book. I feel the book does a great job in portraying the extreme prejudice that existed in the south at that time. I feel this book makes a powerful statement on how justice can be altered through racism. I also think that the themes found in the book are themes which can still be found in our current society and that makes it the more interesting. You can even make a case that prejudice still has an effect in our legal system today. So if you are looking for a powerful book of "coming of age" and the battle for justice I would highly recommend To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.