To Kill a Mockingbird is a book mainly about the coexistence of good and evil. The book stresses and emphasizes on the exploration of moral nature in humans. There are many themes in this novel including courage, innocence, racism, femininity, etc. However the most prevalent theme in the book is innocence. Not just innocence in itself but the danger and harm evil poses to the innocent. You can see in the book as Jem and Scout go from a childish perspective, one that only sees good in people because they’ve never faced evil. To a more adult perspective who have confronted evil and learn to integrate it into their world.
The first example of this is Boo Radley. Boo is a mockingbird. Mockingbirds in this novel refer to people who are innocent
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The next example of the theme of innocence is yet another mockingbird Jem. Jem’s innocence is a childish one. Although it can be argued that he is not a mockingbird there are also telltale signs that he is. Jem starts out in the book as a child he views the people of Maycomb as all being naturally good. Textual evidence that supports this is "it 's like being a caterpillar in a cocoon, that 's what it is," he said. "Like something ' asleep wrapped up in a warm place. I always thought Maycomb folks were the best folks in the world, least that 's what they seemed like." this evidence shows that Jem before the trial saw everyone is good but after all the persecution his family got during the Tom Robinson trial he is forced to look at the people of Maycomb as what they truly are and not all of them are good like he thought. Although Jem does not physically die the child inside of him does.
To Kill a Mockingbird has many of underlying themes such as racism, courage, respect, femininity, etc. But the theme that fits this book most appropriately is innocence and the harm caused to the innocent by evil and bigotry. Examples of this include Jem, Dill, Tom Robinson, Boo Radley. While all these characters have completely different personalities and circumstances they all have one thing in common. All of them were innocent at one point and were harmed by the evil of
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee tells a story of how a trail can have an impact on families. Through the book, Harper Lee shows a lot of symbolism using the mockingbird. The mockingbird is used to show the innocence of some of the characters. Atticus is shown as a Mockingbird for helping Tom Robinson in the trial where is convicted of raping Mayella Ewell when he did not. Tom Robinson is seen as a mockingbird because he is innocent in the trial.
The mockingbird represents true goodness and innocence that should always be protected. Another character who shows loss of innocence is Tom Robinson. He is accused of raping Mayella Ewell but because of obvious evidence, he is innocent. In effect, he gets shot to death for being a kindhearted man who saw a girl in need of help and helped her with daily fixing’s around the house. He was an innocent man who had a family and a life, but that was destroyed because of the color of his skin.
Mockingbird, a southern novel, Harper Lee uses the characterization of Atticus and Boo Radley. Lee also uses the symbolism of the mockingbird in her book. Both the characters and the symbolism show that innocence should be defended rather than attacked. To begin with, Atticus develops the theme by defending his children from racism and, also, defending Tom in court despite all the struggles.
Why do you think a mockingbird represents innocence? In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee makes innocence a big theme. In the 1930’s, Caucasian people didn’t make good decisions with respect to how they treated the black community. In the novel, innocence is one of the themes in the book; there are a variety of characters that show us innocence because they do absolutely nothing wrong.
The Downfall of a Mockingbird Mockingbirds are said to be one of the most innocent animals in the world. Although Harper Lee used many instances throughout the novel of mockingbirds being stripped of their innocence. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird the theme of innocence is taken away from certain characters just like a mockingbird being killed. Firstly, Boo Radley was accused of being a crazy man who is never seen. Secondly, Mrs. Maudie had her house get burned down to the ground.
In, the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, there were many themes that were supported in the novel. Harper Lee gave many general themes that were shown throughout the chapters of the novel. Atticus, who is one of the main characters of the novel input the aspect of life lessons to his children. One of the common themes that are shown throughout the novel is injustices. Atticus would greatly agree that the world that he lived in was unfair, sometimes.
To Kill a Mockingbird Thesis Harper Lee moved America with her many themes in her award winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird. One of her most common themes incorporated in her novel is innocence. In her novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee portrays innocence by the way the children of Maycomb not understanding or acting certain ways during specific events. One of the first signs of innocence that happens in the book was when Scout first experiences snow. Scout is terrified when she sees the snow outside, her bedroom window.
Innocence is a time in one’s life of carefreeness and peace. In youth, children have yet to experience the harsh realities of life, and when they do, it is often hard to cope with. In her novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee portrays Maycomb’s prejudiced ways through an unfair trial of an innocent man, and through the treatment of certain members of the community. The young narrator, Scout, and her older brother, Jem, experience growth and learn compassion when the trial exacerbates Maycomb’s intense intolerance. In this novel, Lee uses the characterization of the Finch children to demonstrate that innocent children who have been exposed to their community’s prejudice, often have trouble adjusting, but need a mentor figure to help them mature.
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee the term mockingbird symbolizes innocence in a person. In the novel it focuses on the fact that innocence, represented by the mockingbird, can be wrongfully harmed. There are two characters: Tom Robinson and Arthur “Boo” Radley that are supposed to represent the mockingbird. In the novel, Tom Robinson is the best example of a mockingbird because he is prosecuted for a crime he did not commit. Also, he was judged unfairly based on the color of his skin in his trial.
Children are very impressionable people. Almost everything around them changes them in some way. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the main characters, Scout and Jem, start out as little kids who spend their days making up stories and playing sill games. Then their dad, who is a lawyer, takes on a case defending a black man who has been charged with rape. Since they live in Alabama, The whole family has to absorb some pretty ugly things, which forces Scout and Jem to grow up quickly, and it gives them a different and more mature view of the world.
Throughout the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Jem and Scout 's perception of courage drastically changes their behavior as they mature. They learn a lot about courage throughout the novel from their father Atticus and what they learn from him influences their choices and opinions. Although Jem is older than Scout, they both experience change in their behavior. At the beginning of the novel, Jem is still a young boy. He is defiant towards Atticus, he plays all the usual childhood games with Scout and Dill, and he engages in the younger children’s obsession with Boo Radley.
Mockingbirds are a symbol of innocence, because they don’t harm anyone and only create music for people to enjoy. A central idea in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird, or to harm the innocent. The book is set in Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s, narrated by the main character Jean Louise “Scout” Finch as an adult, looking back on her childhood. Many characters in the book can be represented by the mockingbird, facing racism, injustice, or prejudice despite their innocence. However, the most innocent mockingbird in the novel is Arthur “Boo” Radley because he is gentle and kind, giving gifts to Scout and her brother Jem, saving the children when they were attacked by Bob Ewell, and was ostracized
The theme of “To kill a MockingBird” by Lee is Justice. Throughout the story most of the town think that every black person is guilty and by the end they think they’re innocent. The theme of justice is displayed throughout “To kill a MockingBird” by Lee such as, Ewell’s death, Town believing that not every black person is guilty, and Tom’s death. Throughout “To kill a MockingBird” by Lee displays justice by people believing that not all black people are guilty. As in this quote, Miss Maudie said “The handful people in this town who say that fair play is not marked”(Lee 269).
The Mockingbird Spirit of Innocence How do you define innocence? Is there someone out in the world who is purely innocent? To understand innocence you should look at what a mockingbird does, because all they do is sing. In Harper Lee’s classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus and Miss Maudie teach Scout and Jem that it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.
But the perspective of the child-view as opposed to an adult really brings out a good feeling through this read. Although To Kill a Mockingbird may have many themes the themes that stand out the most are innocence, which gives the book a very loving feel; justice vs injustice, which creates an air of real life; and perspective, which enables the reader to see the story from a child’s point of view. To illustrate, innocence is key to the success of this novel. Finding the innocence in this novella is to be finding the mockingbirds, or the people who embody an animal-like sense of innocence. Birds seem to have a significance in this novel, not only in the title, but also in some of the characters.