To Kill a Mockingbird: Critical Analysis

To Kill a Mockingbird: Critical Analysis As people view the world around them, events seem to pass in a blur. Violence encompasses them, while fear drives their every move. Looking back on their youth, people realize that life was not always this complicated. When they were infants, the world was their nurturer; when they were toddlers, the world was their playground. They never imagined that their sanctuary would someday cause them unfathomable amounts of misery. As people progress through life, their view of the world and its inhabitants changes drastically. So when does the shield of innocence give way under the pressure of deception and corruption? More importantly, what causes this transformation? In To Kill a Mockingbird, the ever-present prejudice, abuse, and injustice eventually steal the characters’ innocence and alter their view of the world. As Jem and Scout witnessed the presence of black housekeepers in most homes, they began to realize how the county of Maycomb demoralized African Americans. Blacks also seemed to be blamed for almost every fiasco that occurred. For instance, even though it was Jem, Scout, and Dill who entered the Radley’s fence boundaries, the entire county held an African American liable for this trespassing. Miss Stephanie Crawford boldly stated, “‘Mr. Radley shot at a Negro in his collard patch…says if anybody sees a white nigger around, that’s the one.’” (Lee 54). Her statement clearly sets blacks into a group of their own, excluding them from the rest of society. She knew nothing of the trespasser, yet she chose to single out a black. However, the children were very much used to black influence around the home. To Scout, Calpurnia was a maternal figure and a crutch on which to lean. She also taught the children manners and literacy. In their opinion, she was a human being, not a servant, and certainly not property. So, though their county demonstrated prejudice, the bewildered children drew a blank. They had been raised to treat everyone equal, even the county’s outcasts, the Ewells. Tom Robinson’s trial exhibited the chief display of prejudice. To begin with, the case should have never entered the courtroom. The only reason it did was because Tom was black. There was no validation to Bob Ewell’s claim that his daughter was raped. Inevitably, the trial became an ethical black man’s word against a repulsive white man’s. Knowledge of the county’s bias predicted the verdict before the trial began. The children, Jem especially, could not grasp the discrimination of Tom. When Atticus proved that Bob was left handed, “Jem seemed to be having a quiet fit. He was pounding the balcony rail softly, and once he whispered, ‘We’ve got him.’” (Lee 178). The children expected to win the case, while an older, more experienced Atticus knew better. He knew that the world’s prejudice would ruin Tom and everything for which he stood. After the guilty verdict was disclosed, all the children knew became irrelevant. Jem’s outlook of the county changed entirely: It was Jem’s turn to cry. His face was streaked with angry tears as we made our way through the cheerful crowd. “It ain’t right,” he muttered, all the way to the corner of the square where we found Atticus waiting. Atticus was standing under the street light looking as though nothing had happened…“It ain’t right, Atticus,” said Jem. “No son, it’s not right.” We walked home. (Lee 212)
Instead of possessing a hospitable view of the world, the children ended up seeing it as overly biased. Abuse is clearly a heinous act that should never take place. Nothing positive ever results from the black and blue, or the emotional attacks. Unfortunately, the children had to deal with it. Although, Atticus raised them in a moral and just way, he could not entirely protect them from the outside world. Bob Ewell, the main source of abuse, mistreated his children without remorse, and all of Maycomb knew it. His abuse came in many forms from physical brutality to persistent ignorance. His son, Burris, only attended school one day a year. This delinquent act failed to bother Bob at all. Scout whined to Atticus later that day, “‘Burris Ewell, remember? He just goes to school the first day. The truant lady reckons she’s carried out the law when she gets his name on the roll—’” (Lee 30). Atticus, then, felt compelled to explain the Ewell’s circumstances. He told Scout that the Ewells were an exception to society’s rules and that sometimes it was better just to leave them alone. In addition, Atticus informed her of the abuse in the Ewell household. “‘When a man spends his relief checks on green whiskey his children have a way of crying for hunger pains. ’” (Lee 31). Bob consciously spent his money on alcohol rather than on nourishment for his famished children. Also, during Tom’s trial, the physical abuse in Maycomb became clear to Scout, Dill, and Jem. While on the stand, Mayella Ewell reluctantly discussed her family life. “‘He does tollable, ‘cept when—’ … ‘Except when he’s drinking?’ asked Atticus so gently that Mayella nodded.” (Lee 183).
Before the trial, abuse ceased to exist in Scout and Dill’s minds; they were oblivious to that aspect of the world. As they gained knowledge from the trial, more specifically the abuse of Mayella, the children learned that the world was not quite the way they thought. The world was not a stage where they performed theater, a warm, secure lap to snuggle in, or a gigantic tree to climb. The abuse present in Maycomb stopped the children in their tracks and caused them to reexamine the purity of the world. Children were certainly not the only people affected by the attitude of Maycomb. Other than the direct racial prejudice, there were also many injustices that affected adults. Boo Radley began life as a polite, attentive boy. However, after he got into trouble with the law, his life essentially ended. The unmerited way his father treated him after that incident, frightened Boo of the outside world. Even after his father’s death, Boo refused to be seen stepping beyond the front door. As Boo observed life around him, he became the most knowledgeable character on the cruelty of the world. He knew more than anyone of the perilous potential the world contained. Toward the end of the novel, Jem finally realized why Boo stayed hidden. ‘“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.’” (Lee 227). Discussion of Atticus taking on the role of Tom’s attorney also demonstrates more of the world’s injustice. The citizens ridiculed Atticus for standing up for what he believed. Sadly, his children were also a victim of this ruthlessness. Cecil Jacobs and Francis mocked Scout only because her father was defending Tom. “Scout Finch’s daddy defended niggers.” (Lee 74). Scout did not understand the severity of her attacker’s words. She was just an innocent bystander taking in all the hatred. But after learning their definitions, she grasped the reality of the situation. Scout realized that while Atticus was doing a moral deed, the world scorned him for it. This proved to Scout, one more time that the cruelty of the world drives people’s actions. As people enter the world they are completely naïve and unaware of the terrors soon to arise. Sooner or later, though, the cruelty of the world will be revealed to them, changing the way they view their surroundings. In the novel, Scout and Jem were exposed to abuse, prejudice, and injustice. Atticus saved them from the immediate effects of these dangers, but failed to protect them from the retched transformation caused by such threats. Ultimately, Scout’s and Jem’s observations eventually led them to lose their innocence and view the world in a different light.

Lee, Harper. To Kill A Mockingbird. New York: Grand Central Publishing, 1988. Print.