Themes of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

To Kill a Mockingbird

 Families prestige is based on how long the family has lived in
Maycomb.
 Black people are in the lower class.
 Drunks are in the lower class.
 Prejudice, racism, and discrimination are sociably accepted.
 Girls are to be ladies and boys are to be gentlemen.
 Kids go through phases, including swearing and fighting.
 Politeness and being social are necessities.
 Generally black people worked as servants and laborers.
 Children respect their elders.
 Kids don’t need to wear shoes.
 Girls should wear dresses and boys should wear pants.
 Murder and Rape trials are not fit for ladies to hear.

To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in the South during the
1930’s. In those years, many Southern states still followed a
policy of racial segregation.

 Black people during the 1930’s could not
speak to white people on the street.
 TRUE: Although there was no law stating this; it was
not socially accepted. White people would often
walk right passed as if not seeing anyone.

 Blacks and whites attended separate schools
during the Great Depression.
 TRUE: School segregation wasn’t legally abolished
until 1954 with the Supreme Court’s decision that
schools could no longer be segregated in Brown v.
Board of Education.
 For more information on segregation in Alabama
schools click here.

 Blacks and whites lived in separate parts of
town.
 TRUE: Although in the novel Calpurnia spends the
night at the Finches to help out, the Finches had no
black neighbors in the part of Maycomb that they
resided. Blacks lived on the outskirts of town.

 Even though segregation was practiced, it was
never considered legal by the courts.
 FALSE: Jim Crowe laws were state and local laws in the United States
enacted between 1876 and 1965 that mandated segregation in all
public facilities, with a supposedly "separate but equal" status for black
Americans. The reality was that Jim Crowe laws led to treatment and
accommodations that were usually inferior to those provided for white
Americans.
 For more information on Jim Crowe Laws click here.

 Segregation was a matter of wealth. Well-to-do
blacks enjoyed the same legal rights and
privileges as well-to-do whites.
 FALSE: Socially the poorest white person still had a
higher social status than the wealthiest black
person. In Maycomb, Mr. Ewell, the town drunk, has
a higher social status than Tom Robinson.

To Kill a Mockingbird

 the quality of righteousness, equitableness, or
moral rightness. (dictionary.com)
 In other words, the act of being fair and
unbiased.

 Atticus Finch, one of the major characters of
the novel, is a lawyer.
 Atticus must understand what justice means.

IT IS JUST TO… IT IS UNJUST TO…
 Enforce traffic laws fairly in  Target one group in the
all parts of the community. community for selective
enforcement of traffic laws.
 Assign the same punishment  Being selective and
for the same crime. assigning different
punishments for the same
crime.
 Provide resources to
 Allocate resources based on
individuals based on need.
selective criteria.