To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

753 Words2 Pages

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

"It is not what an author says, but what she whispers which is most

important.

In other words, one must read in 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 undertak...

... middle of paper ...

...ertain similarities between Mrs. Dubose defeating her morphine

addiction and Atticus defending Tom Robinson.

"It is not what an author says, but what she whispers which is most

important." This holds true for To Kill a Mockingbird. It contains

themes such as dignity which are not obvious in the text, but which

Harper Lee implies. She also does not clearly state the connection

between Mrs. Dubose overcoming her morphine addiction and Atticus

defending Tom Robinson, but she whispers the metaphor through the

characters' similar qualities and motivations. Another implicit aspect

of the book is its title's subtle relevance to the text. To kill

either Tom Robinson or Boo Radley is to kill a mockingbird because

they are metaphorical mockingbirds. None of these ideas is explained

in the text; Harper Lee softly whispers them.

TKAM: Literary Analysis Paper
596 Words | 2 Pages
To Kill a Mockingbird is a classic novel written by Harper Lee. The novel is set in the depths of the Great Depression. A lawyer named Atticus Finch is called to defend a black man named Tom Robinson. The story is told from one of Atticus’s children, the mature Scout’s point of view. Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, the Finch Family faces many struggles and difficulties. In To Kill a Mockingbird, theme plays an important role during the course of the novel. Theme is a central idea in a work of literature that contains more than one word. It is usually based off an author’s opinion about a subject. The theme innocence should be protected is found in conflicts, characters, and symbols.
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To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
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Scout learned a number of things in the book, but most of them all refer back to a statement that Atticus and Calpurnia said, which goes, “It’s a sin to kill a mockingbird because all they do is sing their hearts our for us.” (Lee, pg. 90). Scout learned that about people, too. She learned that some people don’t do anything to you, so it would be a sin to do something mean in return. Over the course of the story Scout becomes more mature and learns the most important facts of life. She was living through a very difficult time and most of that helped her get through.
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To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
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In conclusion, there are various themes in the book. The theme of education is evident from the beginning to the end of the novel. Atticus Finch stresses the need for education to his children and also to the people of Maycomb during the trial of Tom Robinson. The theme of courage is also an important part of this novel. The children learn from Atticus and Mrs. Dubose that courage and strength are not necessarily physical, but actually they are present in the hearts and minds of people. The theme of prejudice is present throughout the novel in the first part against Boo Radley and in the second part in the form of racism against Tom Robinson. The understanding of prejudice helps the children change from childhood innocence to a point of maturity and acceptance of people who are different from them.
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Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird
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Childhood is a continuous time of learning, and of seeing mistakes and using them to change your perspectives. In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee illustrates how two children learn from people and their actions to respect everyone no matter what they might look like on the outside. To Kill A Mockingbird tells a story about two young kids named Scout and her older brother Jem Finch growing up in their small, racist town of Maycomb, Alabama. As the years go by they learn how their town and a lot of the people in it aren’t as perfect as they may have seemed before. When Jem and Scout’s father Atticus defends a black man in court, the town’s imperfections begin to show. A sour, little man named Bob Ewell even tries to kill Jem and Scout all because of the help Atticus gave to the black man named Tom Robinson. Throughout the novel, Harper Lee illustrates the central theme that it is wrong to judge someone by their appearance on the outside, or belittle someone because they are different.
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Despite all bad or good qualities anyone truly has, one should always try to fight for what’s right and not punish someone who truly doesn’t deserve it just to save themselves. This is evident between Walter Cunningham Sr. and Bob Ewell. Walter Cunningham Sr. is a poor farmer who has to pay those who he owes with supplies rather than money. He also happens to be in a mob, which is trying to kill Tom Robinson [the innocent black man] before his trial. Bob Ewell is part of Maycomb’s poorest family and is also a drunkard. Something both Mr. Cunningham and Mr. Ewell have in common is that they are both white men, who are not the wealthiest and are both trying to put Mr. Robinson in jail. Despite the similarities these characters may seem to have, there are a lot differe...
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Teaching To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
1491 Words | 3 Pages
To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel written by Harper lee in 1960. The novel tells the story of Atticus Finch, a white lawyer, and Tom Robinson, a black servant, accused of raping a white female. Finch defends Robinson in court arguing lack of evidence as his main point. However, the judge and jury still believe the woman’s testimony and orders Robinson to be killed. The novel has been praised for its outstanding literature since its publication. However, it remains a banned book by the American Library Association for its use of racial slurs and profanity. Due to it being banned, many high schools have reconsidered the notion of teaching it to their students. Two prominent authors wrote articles pertaining to this piece of literature: Angela Shaw-Thornburg wrote an article on her re-reading of the novel and her opinions on it; while Malcom Gladwell wrote an article comparing Atticus Finch to a state governor liberalist, James Folsom, and the restraints of liberalism in the south. In addition, Rebecca Best contributes her thought on how the novel should be taught by introducing the idea of “the other.” Regardless of the modern day political arguments surrounding this piece of literature, this novel contains a large insight into the time period of the 1960s which is an influential topic that should be taught to young high school students.
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Theme Of Honesty In To Kill A Mockingbird
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Honesty is a rare trait that few people are able to perfect, but a trait more people should have to make the world a better place. Mrs. Dubois is harshly opinionated and honest leading to Scout learning more about herself, Atticus stays ardent in his morals and beliefs concluding in a new look on black folk in Maycomb, and Tom Robinson is honest with himself enabling him to die with dignity. Honesty is a prominent topic shown through many characters in To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Honesty is very brutal in the character of Mrs. Dubose, one of the subtle, more challenging characters Lee uses to show the topic of honesty. Mrs.Dubose shows the theme that brutal honesty is better than no honesty at all.
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To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee
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Courage is something that lives in all of us. However, many don’t use the virtue. Many let the aspect of fear obstruct with being brave and courageous. However throughout the novel, To Kill a Mocking Bird, Atticus Finch dares to travel ‘the road not taken,’ and has a mind of a modern man living through the Great Depression. Atticus is a treasured lawyer in the novel and is an inspirational role model for his kids and many others in Maycomb County. Atticus is seen taking the road not taken by others; when he is defending Tom Robinson, thus proving that he puts others before himself and most importantly when he uses teaching methods and values that are immensely different than other peoples.
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To Kill a Mockingbird
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Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is a fictional story in which a black man is accused of a crime against the daughter of one of the most hateful, racist men in all of Maycomb, Alabama. Though the book is considered fictional, it couldn’t be any more real. Nine black men were “hoboing” a train and ended up being accused of a crime against two white women and known as vial criminals throughout the south. This incident became known as the Scottsboro trial. Although the book To Kill a Mockingbird and the Scottsboro trial are very similar, they are also quite different.
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The Mockingbirds of To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
1256 Words | 3 Pages
“Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” (p.90) Miss. Maudie, one of the main protagonists in To Kill a Mockingbird, warns the young girl Scout that mockingbirds should not to be killed or hunted down because they represent those who are kind and innocent. So, on a broader spectrum, the term “to kill a mockingbird” symbolizes cruel and improper behavior towards people with good hearts and intentions. In the town of Maycomb, unethical behaviors, such as prejudice and gossip, are most commonly used against the “mockingbirds”. Three of those “mockingbirds” that are featured in this novel are Arthur “Boo” Radley, Tom Robinson, and Atticus Finch. Due to the depiction of the mockingbird symbol in the novel, the reader understands the consequences that immoral attitudes have towards those who are innocent and kindhearted.
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To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
628 Words | 2 Pages
In the opening chapters of “To Kill A Mockingbird,” Harper Lee introduces several subtle instances of racism. However, when Jem and Scout are welcomed into Cal’s Church in chapter 12, the reader really gets to travel behind the false disguise of Maycomb County’s white society to see the harsh realities of the injustices suffered by the blacks. The black community is completely separate from the whites -- in fact, Cal lives in a totally different part of town!
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To Kill a Mockingbird
515 Words | 2 Pages
There has always been a strong intuition like belief, that Harper Lee used true accounts from her own childhood as an inspiration to create her credible award-winning novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Harper Lee retells the events that she encountered during this time of prejudice through the eyes of an innocent child, Scout Finch. Lee uses her childhood and the events surrounding her juvenile years to construct many aspects of To Kill a Mockingbird: primarily, the main character, Scout Finch, Tom Robinson’s unfair trial, and the racism occurring in the Southern states.
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To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
775 Words | 2 Pages
Nelle Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird has been considered one of the classic works of American literature. To Kill A Mockingbird is the work ever published by Nelle Harper Lee, and it brought her great fame. However, Nelle Harper Lee has published several other articles in popular magazines. Nelle Harper Lee is not an individual who desires to be in the light and little is known about her personal life. At the time it is believed she is possible working on her memoirs. The fictional work of To Kill A Mockingbird plots many elements close to real events in America’s struggle over civil rights.
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To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
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The book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee contain a very engaging family who are the Cunninghams. The Cunninghams are very poor; they are people who live in the woods. They are a family who depend highly on crops. Walter Cunningham, the 'father' of the family has to work hard on the cultivation of crops because crops is the only form of wages for them. The Cunninghams have no money. Their only way to survive is through paying others with their crops. The Cunninghams are not main characters in the book, but they are characters who 'brought out' other characters' personality. Harper Lee displays that there is a lot of prejudice going on in Maycomb by putting the Cunninghams in the book. "The Cunninghams [were] country folks, farmers"(21) who are very honest people in Maycomb, they "never took anything they [could not] pay back"(23), but they are unfairly mistreated by part of the society in Maycomb.
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Comparing 1930's Society, as Depicted in To Kill a Mockingbird with Present Day Society
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“You never really understood a person until you consider things from his point of view—until you climb into his skin and walk around it.” Atticus Finch is a man of extreme integrity. He, as both a lawyer and a human being, stands up for his democratic beliefs and encourages his children to stand up for their own, though they may stand alone. Harper Lee showed how far respect went in To Kill a Mockingbird when Atticus defended Tom Robinson in his rape trial. He did not think twice about being ridiculed by th...
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To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

TKAM: Literary Analysis Paper