What Are The Themes In To Kill A Mockingbird

To Kill A Mockingbird Essay
In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee there are a lot of different themes throughout the book such as courage, justice, stereotyping, racism etc. Throughout the book lots of themes develop and are very easy to identify. For example heroism, violence, and racism are very easy to identify throughout the book and they develop quickly throughout the book.
To begin, racism develops very quickly throughout the book, especially during the court case. ”I shut my eyes. Judge Taylor was polling the jury: “Guilty… guilty… guilty... guilty”” (Page 282). In this example you can see how the racism theme starts to play a role because they are stating that Tom Robinson is guilty just because he is black, even though Atticus previously presented solid evidence that proves that Tom is innocent. “The negroes waited for the white people to go in and then they climbed to the balcony where they sit.” Since the black people have to sit separate from the white people they are being racially segregated. Throughout the book the whites constantly use a racial slur which label black people. This racial slur is “nigger”.“She

says she never kissed a grown man before an’ she might as well kiss a nigger.”(Page 260). By saying this Tom is pretty much implying that Mayella might as well kiss someone who is less of a man because of the way he himself compares “a grown man” to a “nigger”
Next, violence is also a big theme in the book.”Catching Walter Cunningham in the schoolyard gave me pleasure, but when I was rubbing his nose in the dirt Jem came and told me to stop.”(Page 30).

This event shows how the violence play a part very early in the book because of the way Scout is bullying Walter.”I beat him up twice but it did no good”(Page 55). Since Scout says this she is saying how violence wasn’t really resolving her problem and how this wasn’t going to improve her relationship with Dill.”Halfway through the collards I tripped; as I tripped I heard the roar of a shotgun shattered the neighborhood.”(Page 71). This relates to how the violence theme keeps on developing throughout the book because of how Mr.Radley was trying to kill or injure the person who was “breaking” into his

house.
Furthermore, heroism also develops strongly throughout the book.“I'm simply defending a negro-- his name's Tom Robinson.”(Page 100). Atticus is heroic here because he was the only person willing to defend Tom. “Miss Jean louise stand up, your father’s passin’.”(Page 283). They did this as a sign of respect to show they are thankful of Atticus’s heroic efforts to defend Tom Robinson. ”The rifle cracked. Tim Johnson leaped, flopped over and crumpled on the sidewalk in a brown and white heap. He didn’t know what hit him.”(Page 127). Here heroism is clearly shown because Atticus killed the mad dog even when he swore he wouldn’t shoot a gun ever again in his life.
In summary, you can see how these three themes play a part throughout the book, and how there are times where they really show how they are being developed as the book goes on. Also you can clearly identify how these themes are developed as you read the book.