In Harper Lee's "To Kill A Mockingbird" dignity is a main factor to the characters who gather enough courage to face their greatest fears, Atticus Finch, Tom Robinson and Ms. Dubose portray this more than any other characters. Atticus accepts a case to defend a black man against the pressures of a racist community, knowing it's the right thing to do. Tom Robinson asks for Atticus' defence although the verdict is almost indefinitely against him just for being a black man. He will not let the society win without a fight for himself against the prejudice and racist ways of Maycomb county. Lastly Ms. Dubose's battle to overcome her morphine addiction before her death demonstrates strength and courage against a struggle from within. These three characters take on battles with society and from within. Facing fears by showing courage and keeping dignity.…
“I speak to everyone in the same way, whether he is the garbage man or the president of the university” - (Albert Einstein). These words reflect the way Atticus Finch, protagonist, attorney, and father in Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, lives his life. There is no difference to him in regards to race, social status, or gender. Atticus Finch is an admirable gentleman who demonstrates intelligence and respectfulness throughout the Tom Robinson trial and his interactions with people who despised the fact that he was taking the case. He strongly believes in respect for people of color and passes his belief down to his children by taking the Tom Robinson case. Although he is at times too trusting of people, his words and actions continue to prove to his children and community how a real gentleman behaves.…
Morality is the principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behaviour. Personal morality is a set of beliefs or code that an individual lives and abides by. To Kill a Mockingbird is an exploration of human morality, and presents a constant conversation concerning the goodness or evilness of people and moral education.…
A theme used often in To Kill A Mockingbird is, bravery. At some point in the novel, most…
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.…
Most people may not know this book was based off some of Harper Lee's childhood experiences. The theme is based off many things but main thing is moral courage and how it is used in conflict and characterization. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee shows how conflict and characterization reflected this theme of moral courage through many problems that happened and through many of the characters actions in this novel.…
In Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, the theme is experiencing a loss offers a new perspective on life. Death causes the individual to be more understanding. Before Tim Johnson ws shot, everyone in the neighborhood was sure he was a mad dog, but afterwards they reconsider, “Maybe he wadn’t mad, maybe he was just crazy” (Lee 129). While Tim was alive, the neighborhood could only focus on the bad things about him (he’s a mad dog). Unfortunately, after he was gone, the neighborhood tried to understand his situation, but it was too late. Additionally, after a person has passed, people tend to see a more positive side of the individual’s life than they did while he/she was living it. During Tom’s trial, nobody considered an African American winning,…
The loss of human dignity affects people in different ways, but how they procure it defines them. It is a factor that represents how strong or weak they are. This self-worth brings prestige and purpose, without it one can lose himself. In Harper Lee’s novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” the characters learn about how different people handle redeeming dignity. Through Bob Ewell and Mrs. Dubose, they see the contrast of the strong and the weak, and how they seek it.…
Every person enters this world with the same level of innocence. Whether that innocence is kept throughout one’s life depends on their specific circumstances. In To Kill a Mockingbird, a classic novel by Harper Lee, mockingbirds are symbolic of people who “don’t do one thing but sing their heart out for us” (Lee 119). In other words, mockingbirds are people who are innocent and defenseless, but their innocence is affected by the evil deeds of others. Dill Harris’ innocence is lost when he witnesses the inequality during the trial, identifying him as a mockingbird. Tom Robinson, an African American man in the story, is an exceptional example of a mockingbird because Maycomb’s racial prejudice outweighs his innocence. The humble deeds of Arthur…
To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee (1960) is a Pulitzer Prize winning novel that offers a view of southern life in the 1930s through the eyes of a young girl named Scout, whose view of the adult world evolves as her family is exposed to its evils and injustices, changing from that of an innocent child to that of a near-grown up. Discrimination and prejudice are integral parts of the novel’s themes, and plays an important role in Scout’s development of a sympathetic, mature perspective. This essay will explore and analyze the various forms discrimination takes throughout the novel.…
To Kill a Mockingbird is the title of the novel written by Harper Lee and published in 1960. The mockingbird stands out to be one of the most outstanding symbols in the book: from the cover page picture to the title, the symbol is highly useful to pass a message that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird. Mockingbird, as locals believe, is an innocent creature which is not known to cause harm to other creatures, so Scout and Jem, the main characters in the novel, teach us a lesson that one should not kill such an innocent creature.…
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee brings up the topic of equality with court systems in her novel. Atticus Finch, father of the main character states that “our courts are great levelers, and in our courts all men are created equal” (274) Atticus is right by saying this. In Lee’s story scout defends her father’s thought by adding more evidence.…
In this story Harper lee displays the Ewell family as a disgrace and filthy. They are a disgrace all over Maycomb, Alabama for multiple reasons. For one thing Jem and Scouts dad Atticus almost never talks bad about people, but when it comes to the Ewell family he states that they are a disgrace. Atticus talks about how for three generations they have never done an industrious day’s worth of work. It was also mentioned in the book that, “they were people, but they lived like animals (Lee 40). Also the family is always doing what they want. Every year they go to school only for the first day and never get in trouble. They don’t do any work in town and are “members of an exclusive society made up of Ewells” (Lee 41). The people allow the family…
Imagine a place that is engulfed in racism; a place where prejudice leads to death. Maycomb County the place where a little innocent girl, Scout, encounters many conflicts with several different people that leads to her maturity. The novel, "To Kill a Mockingbird", by Harper Lee takes place in a little town in Alabama in the 1930's. A respected lawyer, Atticus Finch, is appointed to defend a black man, who is accused of rape. This results in many conflicts throughout the book and allows many of the children to mature. The author persuades to teach the reader that, "you never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view until you climb into his skin and walk around…
Morals generally make up a good person. To know all morals will make you great and wise. If what I say is true, then To Kill a Mockingbird could make you a much better person. In the book, the one who learns how to become mature, wise, have faith and learn life lessons and morals is Scout. She learns not to hurt the innocent, not to judge, and treat everyone as equals.…