Essays For To Kill A Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird Essay examples
Children look up to their elders for wisdom and advice. They rely on someone experienced and with
authority for guidance on how to live their lives. However, sometimes the people who are
accountable for youth mislead them; they may have good intentions, but are not mature enough to
exemplify their values and morals, or they simply are ignorant. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird,
Aunt Alexandra plays a negative role: she is a proper, southern lady with a strict code of behaviour
and etiquette, but is too closed–minded and obstreperous to change her ways or view the world
from others' perspectives. Calpurnia takes on the position of a positive role model by disciplining
the children in the Finch household. Miss Maudie takes on the role of a...show more content...
(Lee, 83) Aunt Alexandra is inimical towards people such as Walter Cunningham as well, who are
less fortunate and therefore perceived as repugnant and unfit to be her niece's playmate.
"'...you can scrub Walter Cunningham till he shines, you can put him in shoes and a suit, but he'll
never be like Jem...Because–he–is–trash." (Lee, 224–225).
These words indicate not only a vituperative nature, but arrogance and obstinacy. She believes white
people are better than black people. She refuses to consider anything positive about people she finds
reprehensible; she is steadfast on her opinions about people and would rather not get to know them.
She is also quite domineering and officious; she often meddles with Atticus' fatherly role:
"'...it's bad enough he lets you all run wild...'" (Lee, 83), "Aunt Alexandra put him up to this..." (Lee,
134).
This grandiloquence is a manifestation of hypocrisy in the novel because her behaviour towards
others is atrocious, yet she expects the best manners from Scout. Calpurnia is a much more positive
caregiver, as she is a strict disciplinarian, but to a lesser degree than Aunt Alexandra. Likewise she
is not a hypocrite; she could comment on the ways of white people because she has been raised in a
white environment.
"'I've spent all my days workin' for the Finches or the Bufords...'" (Lee, 125). An example of how
Calpurnia disciplines Scout Finch is when she takes Scout into the kitchen after she complains that
Walter
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Essay To Kill A Mockingbird
To Kill A Mockingbird Timed Essay "It's a sin to kill a mockingbird." Throughout To Kill A
Mockingbird, there is symbolism behind the title. Mockingbirds are portrayed as harmless and
innocent which relates to several characters in the passage. Although there are many characters that
can convey this symbolism, Boo Radley and Tom Robinson best fit the metaphor because they are
the most misjudged characters throughout the novel, they have not shown or caused any harm to the
people of Maycomb. The title, To Kill A Mockingbird, has a connection with the overall main idea
of the plot. It carries a large amount of symbolism in the book. According to Miss Maudie,
"Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy... they don't do one...show more
content...
Tom Robinson is an innocent man, convicted for the rape of Mayella Ewell for being colored.
Tom is not guilty of this crime but the jury was afraid to speak the truth since the society of
Maycomb believes a white man's word is stronger and contains more justice than a colored man's.
Tom Robinson has testified that he helped Mayella with her labor because of his generosity but
when Mayella Ewell forces herself on Tom, he chooses to run away and not physically harm the
Ewell's in any way which allows the Ewell's to use him as an escape during the court–case.
Therefore, once Tom is killed, the truth is revealed. In the novel, Mr. Underwood submits a section
about Tom Robinson's death in the paper. In the passage, it states "He likened Tom's death to the
senseless slaughter of songbirds by hunters." Through this quote, Mr. Underwood is showing how
the Ewell's killed Tom's innocence to the community. It proved that although the jury knew the truth,
they decided to take the easy way out in order not to cause any conflict and offend the large
population of Maycomb, the whites. In the process, they killed a mockingbird, one that caused no
harm to anyone through his kindness and generosity, Tom Robinson. In summation, Boo Radley and
Tom Robinson both convey the metaphor of the mockingbird best. They are both mockingbirds that
lived without being affected by the rumors of Maycomb and the rules of

To Kill a Mockingbird Essay
To Kill A Mockingbird Essay In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird a major theme is the loss of
innocence. Whether from emotional abuse, racial prejudice or learning, Boo, Tom, and Scout all
lose their innocence in one sense or another. The prejudice that each character endures leads to their
loss. Through the responses of Boo, Tom, and Scout, Harper Lee shows how each character
responded differently to their loss of innocence. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbirdthe character of
Boo Radley is the first to suffer the loss of his innocence. As a teen, Boo experienced trouble with
the law and for his consequences his father imprisoned him in his own house. Because of the harsh
consequences forced upon him by his father, Boo grew up without a...show more content...
With the racial tension so high during this time period, Tom's innocence was lost before he could
even defend himself. This was shown through Atticus's reply to Scout's question of, "Will we
win?" Atticus answered no because the case was lost before it began. Tom Robinson's response to
his loss of innocence was to simply run away from the problem that had befallen him. For his
attempted escape Tom suffered the highest consequence, "They shot him,' said Atticus. 'He was
running. It was during their exercise period. They said he just broke into a blind raving charge at
the fence and started climbing over" (235). Due to Tom's decision on how to respond, he was
killed even though he was placed in his position no thanks to himself. Tom Robinson chose poorly
when it came to his response towards his loss of innocence and it cost him his life. The main
character of the novel, Scout, was the only character that suffered a loss of innocence and
responded in a way that did not ruin her life. During the novel Scout gradually lost her innocence
due to the fact of her ever–increasing knowledge of the world. Being the child that she was, Scout
had a kind of blind faith in her community that it was as good and as moral as she believed it to be,
but she realized after the trial how wrong she was. Throughout the

To Kill a Mockingbird
Literary Analysis for To Kill a Mockingbird "There's something in our world that makes men lose
their heads– they couldn't be fair if they tried. In our courts, when it's a white man's word against a
black man's word, the white always wins. They're ugly, but these are the facts of life."
************ Along with the main theme of the story, racism, there are multiple other themes that
are represented in the story. These include: the coexistence of good and evil, and importance of
mortal education. The use of the "mockingbird" symbolizes innocence in the main characters, Boo
Radley, Tom Robinson, and Scout because of the social issues within the society in the 1930's.
Racism was one of the biggest topics in To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee and also one of the
biggest issues in the United States during the 1930's. In the novel Atticus Finch is a distinguished and
successful lawyer in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama. Maycomb during this time was home
to many racist citizens, and also home to many struggling families. Even though Maycomb's
community is filled with racist people, Atticus agrees to defend a black man named Tom
Robinson. Tom Robinson is accused of raping a white woman, Mayella Ewell, but claimed he did
not. Once Robinson's trial begins he is put in jail and then soon after a mob gathers at the local
jailhouse to lynch him. Atticus, having exceptional morals stood out from the rest of the residents in
Maycomb. He defended Tom not only as his job but as a

To Kill a Mockingbird Essay
Learning lessons is a very important part of growing up. Children learn new things every day of
their life. Even adults learn something every once in a while. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird
by Harper Lee, the character Scout is very adventurous and loves to learn; she has many
experiences that lead to her being taught many different things about life. On page 12 of Cliff
Notes for this novel, John Sova writes "each experience is designed to give Scout a further
understanding about certain things in life and about people. In one way or another, every episode
leads to some type of learning experience for Scout". Scout learns a lot of different things about her
town's views, the people who she's heard about but never really knew, and...show more content...
Scout was also very into thinking that Boo Radley was a terrible monster of a man. She has never
seen him in person, but all the stories Jem had told her made her believe that he was too scary to
even think about.
Jem explains Boo Radley to Scout by saying: he's about six–and–a–half feet tall, judging from his
tracks, he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that's why his hands were
bloodstained–if you ate an animal raw, you could never wash the blood off. There was a long jagged
scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten; his eyes popped, and he
drooled most of the time. (14)
With a description like that, Scout thought that Boo Radley was the scariest man alive. Scout
didn't know any better at the time than to believe whatever she heard about him from others.
When Scout finds gum in the knothole of the oak tree near the Radley house, she starts to think
that maybe Boo isn't so bad. When he saves Jem and Scout from Bob Ewell, they realize that Boo
actually cares about them and wants to keep them safe. Scout and Jem always believed Boo to be
evil, when he is actually a good–hearted human being. At the close of the novel, Scout talks about
Boo to Atticus, saying that "he was real nice" (323). Scout learns that people are not always what
they seem to be at first, and there is always something good underneath every harsh surface. Scout
always talked about but never

To Kill A Mockingbird Essay
Raising children in the era of Jim Crow laws provided a unique teaching experience for Atticus to
provide to Scout and Jem. These laws followed the Southern societal ideas of the separation between
races, but also demonstrated a division between a community where individuals held different moral
ideas. To Kill a Mockingbird explores human morality from the perception of a six year old child,
providing a different perspective on important issues of this time period. Scout's understanding of
morality develops from her once simple idea of an individual being either good or evil to a much
more complete comprehension of its complexity. In retrospect, Scout as the narrator revels in her
naivety and child–like innocence throughout her...show more content...
Harper Lee continually utilizes topics of classism and racism to frame the way the children are being
taught from many influential interactions in this novel. Aunt Alexandra reinforces classism as the
ideal world when she disapproves of Scout's convening with Walter. Referencing the Cunninghams,
Aunt Alexandra replies, "Because he is trash... I'll not have you around him, picking up his habits
and learning Lord knows what...there is no doubt in my mind that they're good folks, but they're not
our kind of folks." (299–301) Scout is faced with a moral dilemma when these conflicting
perspectives arise as she begins to realize that judging someone as good or bad is an incomplete
assessment as shades of grey exist. This idea of separation is also held by Lula, a black woman,
which is made apparent when Calpurnia brings Scout and Jem to her church. Calpurnia defends the
children's right to worship in the African church when Lula approaches them, "You ain't got no
business bringin' white chillum here–they got their church. We got our'n..." This showed the kids
that black people, whom carried most of the weight of discrimination, could also encourage and
uphold this division. The story's point of view is used to show a childlike understanding of the
social world and its transition and differences from that of an adult's perception. Scout is the youngest

To Kill a Mockingbird
To Kill a Mockingbird Mockingbirds are birds that does one thing; Making music for us to enjoy
and nothing else to harm us. In the remarkable novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the
mockingbird is used as symbolism for real people. Including the human mockingbirds, the novel
represents other pieces of the prejudice such as racism and hypocrisy. In the little town of Maycomb
in its 1930ВЎВЇs, the prejudice was an accepted concept for every individual and Atticus even
called it a ВЎВ®diseaseВЎВЇ of the town. This time–honored perception, prejudice, was very
distinctly shown in the novel from its characters and the society. Prejudice does not seem like a
such a big deal in the novel as it actually is now As it was mentioned...show more content...
Mr. Raymond already knows how people will act like for his behavior and does not want to put
up with it so gives them a simple reason. Even if it is a false reason he just wants to live not
bothered by them. Additionally Scout ponders weather to even talk to Mr. Raymond or not
because he has mixed children (170). Scout probably thought about whether to talk to Mr.
Dolphus Raymond or not because he seemed strange and drunk for she did not see any other white
person with relationship with black person and she knows drinking is bad. Even just for Scout she
did not want to know Mr. Dolphus Raymond when she did not know his pretense. This means that a
thing like living with a black woman is not an understandable deed to the town of Maycomb. Maybe
Mr. Dolphus Raymond just got tired by the ВЎВ®MaycombВЎВЇs usual diseaseВЎВЇ and having
nothing to lose, just gave them a reason to make all comfortable. Judging people before you really
know them is prejudice and many people in the novel got pre judged by others who did not know
them. For instance, when Scout thought everyone in the town was all for racism, Miss Maudie
Atkinson points out to her that even Judge Taylor had a reason for appointing Atticus (183). That
was because Judge Taylor knew that Atticus was not a racist and knew his abilities. So when usually
the court appointed cases was for the new inexperienced lawyer, Atticus got appointed. Moreover, the
cruel saying by Aunt Alexandra calling

Essays For To Kill A Mockingbird

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