Considered one of the greatest pieces of literature in history, To Kill a Mockingbird won several prestigious awards such as the Pulitzer Prize Award. The mastermind of this masterpiece, Harper Lee, is praised as one of the best American authors in the history of literature. Throughout her book, Harper Lee exposed many injustice that she had witnessed in her childhood. Lee expresses various underlying themes throughout the book through the masterful use of dialogue and narration. Some of the themes and motifs portrayed in this novel are prejudice and the coexistence of good and evil in the world.
The author of the novel, Harper Lee, uses the characters to symbolize different themes within novel, one such theme is the existence of both good …show more content…
For example, Mrs.Dubose, a senior living couple houses down from Atticus’s house, greatly criticizes Atticus by telling his children that “Atticus no better than the n-----s and trash he works for” (Lee 102). Because of his attempt to help an African American man, Atticus is also being frowned upon in his family. Another example would be when Francis said, “Grandma says now Atticus turned out a n----r-lover, the family never be able to walk the street of Maycomb again” (Lee 83). Some members of the Finch family believe that Atticus is damaging the whole family’s reputation in Maycomb through “loving” African Americans. This is demonstrated when Aunt Alexandra, who has the typical views of a middle class person, refuses Scout to go to Calpurnia’s house only because she is black. Later, Alexandra refuses Scout to invite Walter to their house just because of the Cunninghams socio-economic status. Seen as the lowest class of whites are the Ewells, as they are very poor and uneducated. On some levels, they are the most overtly racist. Constantly throughout the book, Bob Ewell makes comments about blacks such as, “they’re dangerous to live around” and refers to them as “black n-----s” rather than their names. Finally, the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, exposes one of the most pressing issues that was faced during Great Depression period which was racial and …show more content…
To put it simply, the two themes are the basis of the plot and the entirety of the book itself. For example, Reverend Sykes realizes the underlying prejudice during the trial when he says, “Now don’t you be so confident, Mr. Jem, I ain’t ever seen any jury decide in favor of a colored man over a white man…” (Lee 238). This goes to show of how rooted the racial prejudice of Maycomb is. If it weren’t for the prejudice that takes place in the book, then the verdict of Tom Robinson might’ve come out differently. Another example would be when Scout and Jem were attacked, “His stomach was soft but his arms were like steel. He slowly squeezed the breath out of me. I could not move” (Lee 301). While Atticus may represent the good within the world, on the other hand there is Bob Ewell who tried to kill Scout and Jem. Without the existence of evil, Bob Ewell, the conflict of the story wouldn’t have existed and Tom Robinson would have been alive. In conclusion, the themes of the story, as bad as they are, were vital for this novel to achieve the greatness that it
The author of the novel, Harper Lee, uses the characters to symbolize different themes within novel, one such theme is the existence of both good …show more content…
For example, Mrs.Dubose, a senior living couple houses down from Atticus’s house, greatly criticizes Atticus by telling his children that “Atticus no better than the n-----s and trash he works for” (Lee 102). Because of his attempt to help an African American man, Atticus is also being frowned upon in his family. Another example would be when Francis said, “Grandma says now Atticus turned out a n----r-lover, the family never be able to walk the street of Maycomb again” (Lee 83). Some members of the Finch family believe that Atticus is damaging the whole family’s reputation in Maycomb through “loving” African Americans. This is demonstrated when Aunt Alexandra, who has the typical views of a middle class person, refuses Scout to go to Calpurnia’s house only because she is black. Later, Alexandra refuses Scout to invite Walter to their house just because of the Cunninghams socio-economic status. Seen as the lowest class of whites are the Ewells, as they are very poor and uneducated. On some levels, they are the most overtly racist. Constantly throughout the book, Bob Ewell makes comments about blacks such as, “they’re dangerous to live around” and refers to them as “black n-----s” rather than their names. Finally, the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, exposes one of the most pressing issues that was faced during Great Depression period which was racial and …show more content…
To put it simply, the two themes are the basis of the plot and the entirety of the book itself. For example, Reverend Sykes realizes the underlying prejudice during the trial when he says, “Now don’t you be so confident, Mr. Jem, I ain’t ever seen any jury decide in favor of a colored man over a white man…” (Lee 238). This goes to show of how rooted the racial prejudice of Maycomb is. If it weren’t for the prejudice that takes place in the book, then the verdict of Tom Robinson might’ve come out differently. Another example would be when Scout and Jem were attacked, “His stomach was soft but his arms were like steel. He slowly squeezed the breath out of me. I could not move” (Lee 301). While Atticus may represent the good within the world, on the other hand there is Bob Ewell who tried to kill Scout and Jem. Without the existence of evil, Bob Ewell, the conflict of the story wouldn’t have existed and Tom Robinson would have been alive. In conclusion, the themes of the story, as bad as they are, were vital for this novel to achieve the greatness that it