Preview

To Kill a Mockingbird Literary Analysis

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1116 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
To Kill a Mockingbird Literary Analysis
Discrimination: When Will It End? The world is inhabited by a variety of species: plants, animals, and… human races. Despite physical, biological, or even typical idealistic differences, one would assume that humans, in general, should still be humans, no matter what goes on between them. That is not always the case. Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, demonstrates a few of the minor matters that, in a way, greatly affect society, though seeming to have no effect within the events taking place in the book. To Kill a Mockingbird is limited within Maycomb County and is emphasized through the impertinent attitude of a very young girl, only to reveal a small portion of Earth’s shockingly insensitive public. Maycomb, Alabama is very small, a town that has grown with the families living in it; Harper Lee creates a limited environment to just within the quiet county’s parameters. The story took place during the Great Depression in the 1930’s, so money was limited as well. For example, the Cunninghams had no means of monetary payment, but agreed to give crops instead (21). This proves how badly the farmers were hit and how greatly economic limitations were set. According to Miss Caroline, there was also a limit to how much Scout was to learn (17), and finally, there was a limit in society. The townspeople were expected not to fraternize with the “Negroes”, or black community. Though slavery had officially ended, there was still that social boundary. Segregation was still present all throughout the south, except in Finch’s Landing, where Calpurnia is greatly welcomed and respected, despite Aunt Alexandra’s wishes to fire her (136). Scout does not just exaggerate her thoughts and views, she puts emphasis. She greatly emphasizes the description of the Radley house all throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, and even referred to Miss Caroline in that “she looks and smells like a peppermint drop” (16). When she and her older brother, Jem, meet Dill – Charles Baker Harris


Cited: Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. New York: Warner Books. 1982. Print. “Dictionary.” Web. 5 Dec. 2011. <http://www.dictionary.reference.com/> “Thesaurus.” Web. 5 Dec. 2011. <http://www.thesaurus.com/> “To Kill a Mockingbird Summary and Analysis.” Web. 5 Dec. 2011. <http://www.gradesaver.com/to-kill-a-mockingbird/study-guide/section3/>

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    During the 1930’s in Maycomb Alabama, prejudicial, preconceived and hypocritical views reigned over empathetic and open-minded attitudes, but by Harper Lee’s use of Scout as the protagonist in the novel, a sense of hope is created. Scout represents exploration and the need for knowledge and through using her as the protagonist, harper lee can convey that through having an educated and understanding generation, there is hope for the future. Scout, being the daughter of the most progressive thinking man in Maycomb, is able to empathise with many people and through using her optimism and developing views and opinions she is able to “finally see” that most people are “real nice” if you get to know them and prove that there is a real sense of hope carried throughout To Kill a mockingbird.…

    • 875 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    To Kill a Mockingbird has multiple major themes that are outcomes of significant scenes throughout the book. One of the most well-known scene is the trial scene where Tom Robinson is found guilty for a crime he did not commit. Because Scout and Jem were at the trial, the verdict deeply affected their view on the goodness of the people of Maycomb. Lee throughout the novel explores the concept of human morality, the inherent goodness or malevolence of people and how it can have a positive or negative affect on people. Lee achieves this through the coming of age and development of Jem and Scout, and through the effect that human morality has on the characterization of the mockingbirds, Boo Radley…

    • 635 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    How does an eight year old learn about the unknowns of life? In the book To Kill A Mockingbird written by Harper Lee the main character Scout is shown growing up. Scout's personality changes in many ways throughout the book.…

    • 452 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, the main theme is that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird. This metaphor of not killing mockingbird is clearly portrayed throughout the course of this novel. This theme is so important to the plot of this novel that the author decided to entitle the book after this very metaphor. Mockingbirds are birds that do not do anything wrong and they just give us music. Atticus is the main character in the novel that really stressed why it is a sin to kill a mockingbird. Mockingbirds are just a simple metaphor for the characters in this book who are killed, such as Mr. Raymond and Tom Robinson.…

    • 609 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In To Kill a Mockingbird, Jem demonstrates moral growth by understanding the way society works. Boo Radley never wants to come outside of his house, but then he starts to realize that Jem and Scout are in danger, and also that the community he lives in is never going change. After that he decides to come outside and to come to the kids’ rescue. Jem says, “Scout, I think I'm beginning to understand something. I think I'm beginning to understand why Boo Radley's stayed shut up in the house all this time... it's because he wants to stay inside."(Pg. 259) Here, Jem realizes there is not one reason that stops Boo from coming outside, it is just because he wants to. This passage sticks out to one because one of the main characters has an aha moment…

    • 1192 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    As most people have read the novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, many have wondered, what contributes most to the story’s themes? Well, throughout the novel, there are three main literary elements that come into play. In the passage “‘It ain’t right, Atticus…”’(pg.284) to “I looked up, and his face was vehement”(pg.296), Harper Lee uses the literary element character, setting, and tone to develop the theme that recognizing perspectives contributes to coming of age. As many other themes in the novel, the theme will show a change in how Jem starts to view the world, and the major roles included in it, such as racism. But his perspective comes mostly from the kind of character he is.…

    • 1008 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Harper Lee set out to tell a story about the deep south of America. Through that, the author was able to bring racism and various controversial topics to light. These ideas were explored through the naïve eyes of Scout Finch. This is a compelling perspective as Scout is yet to develop racial bigotry, unlike the citizens of Maycomb where these views have been woven into their systems through generations of racist attitudes. Racism is a key theme in the novel but the abiding appeal of this text comes from the fact that these are still very relevant in society. It may not occur in the extremities as seen in the book but the underlying attitudes are still the same.…

    • 678 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Jem, Scout, and Dill use their innocence to take a fresh look at the world of Maycomb and criticize its flaws with their maturing opinions. Scout attends school for the first time, but her school is depicted as strict and unreasonable. Scout’s school is idiotic with teachers who criticize students with an early start on reading and hate the Nazis but can't see the racism that goes on in their own town. To Kill a Mockingbird emphasizes policies designed to create conformist children rather than letting the children be childish and imaginative.…

    • 625 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Authors often have a very good reason for choosing a particular personality for their story’s narrator. Scout was a vital character in the novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Her impartial outlook on life and people was highly voluntary in order to produce the theme and message that Harper Lee was sending to her readers. Many of the events in the story would not have happened or would have occurred very differently if the novel was told through the eyes of an adult narrator. Even though Scout’s narration is often faulty or inaccurate, her innocence often allows readers to see the events and characters in the novel more clearly.…

    • 1130 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Analyse how a significant event illustrated one or more key theme(s) in the written text.…

    • 1128 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    I believe in judging someone by their actions and character rather than by the color of their skin and sexuality. This I believe because there is good and bad in all of us. The color of our skin does not depict the flaws we have. In the second amendment it states that all men are created equal, but we still do not treat each other equally. Defending Tom Robinson was not easy because I knew that from the minute Mayella opened her mouth Tom was a dead man. But everyone including a black man deserves a second chance. How could I ever tell my own children “You never really understand a person until you consider things from their point of view - until you climb into his skin and walk around in it” if I didn’t pick up Tom’s case because I was afraid of what people would think of me. When people say things about me like “Atticus Finch is the same in his house as he is on the public streets” why would I prove them wrong? You are only as good as you portray yourself to be. But when you are a black man in the town of Maycomb, Alabama you were never dealt the good hand to begin with. Sadly Tom never got a second chance. Tom was a good man but because of the color of his skin he was not treated as fairly as the rest of us.…

    • 305 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Out of the many female characters in To Kill A Mockingbird, Calpurnia plays a mother like roll, she has many views about the Tom Robinson case and the Maycomb town, and she has many of he characteristics and opinions shown in the novel. Calpurnia played a major roll in the novel because she was a mother like character, her views about Tom’s case and Maycomb illustrate what it is like where the book takes place, and last but not least her characteristics and behavior.…

    • 745 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    To Kill a Mockingbird

    • 813 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The depth behind this novel is too see how Scout has progressed throughout the course of two years. Slowly but surely, she realizes the life lessons that have been waiting for her all along. She does this with the help of her family and her community. One man importantly sticks out the most, and his name is Arthur Radley, but Scout and the children like to call him 'Boo '. Lee incorporated Mr. Radley to really show Scout the important lessons of life through the experiences and the encounters she faces with him, while also helping her grow into maturity.…

    • 813 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There are many themes in the book To Kill a Mockingbird. Deceptive appearances are one of them and that is what I will prove. People like, Dolphus Raymond, Lafayette Dubose, and Boo Radley. These characters may be portrayed as drunks, mean old spirited, or psycho, but that may not be what they truly are. Deceptive appearances are presented plenty of times; they are usually people who want to be different from the population without being judged.…

    • 688 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" takes place in a small southern town of Maycomb, Alabama during the early 1930s, where prejudice was at its peak. The story unfolds through the eyes of a six-year-old girl named Scout Finch. The universal truth applied in this book is the different forms of prejudice existing in a discriminatory society. The setting of the novel enables us to come to a better understanding of why certain events happen under the circumstances and eventually inform us about the theme.…

    • 614 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays