Scout: Coming-of-Age
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee was written in the 1950s and published in 1960. During the 1950s, many issues dealing with racism occurred, which is a very common theme in To Kill a Mockingbird even though it is set in the 1930s. Also, Alabama was one of the main places where these events took place, which is also where To Kill a Mockingbird is set.
After all, To Kill a Mockingbird was influenced greatly by the literary movement called Southern Gothic. It became popular in the 1920s and 1930s by “William Faulkner, Flannery O’Conner, Truman Capote, and Carson McCullers” (GENRE: Southern Gothic). This unique genre consisted of many characteristics that are apparent in To Kill a Mockingbird. Firstly, a theme in Southern Gothicism that is seen in Scout is “the innocent’s place in the world—where they are often asked to act as redeemer” (GENRE: Southern Gothic). Scout is perceived as innocent at the beginning of the novel, but by the end she has lost that attribute. Another characteristic is freakishness, which is a “character […] who is set apart from the world by a disability or odd …show more content…
It was during the childhood of Harper Lee but it directly related to the case of Tom Robinson. Nine black youths were charged with raping two white women in Alabama (Wormser). So when taken to court, there was no evidence connecting the women in any way to the black boys (Wormser). There was evidence that the women only agreed to testify against the youth because of their fear of “being persecuted for their sexual activity aboard the train” (Wormser). This is just like Mayella Ewell because she did not want to be caught with a Tom Robinson. But of course, “the all-white jury convicted the nine, and all but the youngest, […] were sentenced to death” (Wormser). Just like To Kill a Mockingbird, the innocent blacks are faced with a guilty verdict, thus ruining their
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee was written in the 1950s and published in 1960. During the 1950s, many issues dealing with racism occurred, which is a very common theme in To Kill a Mockingbird even though it is set in the 1930s. Also, Alabama was one of the main places where these events took place, which is also where To Kill a Mockingbird is set.
After all, To Kill a Mockingbird was influenced greatly by the literary movement called Southern Gothic. It became popular in the 1920s and 1930s by “William Faulkner, Flannery O’Conner, Truman Capote, and Carson McCullers” (GENRE: Southern Gothic). This unique genre consisted of many characteristics that are apparent in To Kill a Mockingbird. Firstly, a theme in Southern Gothicism that is seen in Scout is “the innocent’s place in the world—where they are often asked to act as redeemer” (GENRE: Southern Gothic). Scout is perceived as innocent at the beginning of the novel, but by the end she has lost that attribute. Another characteristic is freakishness, which is a “character […] who is set apart from the world by a disability or odd …show more content…
It was during the childhood of Harper Lee but it directly related to the case of Tom Robinson. Nine black youths were charged with raping two white women in Alabama (Wormser). So when taken to court, there was no evidence connecting the women in any way to the black boys (Wormser). There was evidence that the women only agreed to testify against the youth because of their fear of “being persecuted for their sexual activity aboard the train” (Wormser). This is just like Mayella Ewell because she did not want to be caught with a Tom Robinson. But of course, “the all-white jury convicted the nine, and all but the youngest, […] were sentenced to death” (Wormser). Just like To Kill a Mockingbird, the innocent blacks are faced with a guilty verdict, thus ruining their