The book was written during the 1950’s in America, and coincided with the civil rights movement. At this time, racism was still evident in society and this is a key theme of this text. In the book Maycomb is a small town within Alabama itself and is a microcosm of American society during the 1930’s; although we do not hear anything about the rest of Alabama or America throughout the entire novel we feel it in there within the values of Maycomb. During the first description of the town in chapter one, Harper Lee makes gives Maycomb a very negative atmosphere. She repeats the adjective old, which emphasises how dull it is.
In his second paragraph we find a single sentence shot through with figurative language. ”Be the companion of his thought, the friend of his friendship, the lover of his virtue – but no kinsman of his sin.” Breaking this down one can see four clear examples in one sentence. Be the companion of his thought; Emerson is telling the readers to play along with the thoughts of the child, encouraging and understanding how they think The friend of his friendship; we are instructed to create an environment that is comfortable for the child and one that respects the unique nature of the child. The lover of his virtue; Support the positive things that the child does, reward them for their virtuous behavior. But no kinsman of his sin; Accept no foolishness and do not support the child when they break the rules or behave badly.
Her father guides Scout to treat everyone equally. Atticus shows Scout how to solve things with her mind, and not by fighting. Finally, Atticus influences Scout to respect others. As Scout comes of age in this novel, she is strongly influenced by her father’s value system. Scout learns that everyone should be treated equally that not because of the color of their skin and race they should be treated different.
Exploring and understanding different characters decisions and beliefs truly helps reveal human morality. Aside from Scout, her father Atticus helps explore the good and bad of the Maycomb community. Atticus understands that, rather than being good or evil, everyone has good and bad qualities. The important thing is to appreciate the good qualities and understand the bad qualities by being comprehensive to others and trying to see life from their shoes. “You never really understood a person until you consider things from his point of view—until you climb into his skin and walk around it.” pg 30.
He also does not mind that Calpurnia brought Jem and Scout to the colored church, and he accepts Calpurnia as a part of the family. He teaches his children not to discriminate blacks, and that all people are equal. Atticus’ sister Alexandra does not share the same opinion. What concerns Alexandra the most, is other people’s opinion about her and her family. Alexandra represents the outdated point of view, and the double set of moral.
The modern day novel and movie The Help shows many similarities that were portrayed in the classical novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Both The Help and To Kill a Mockingbird go into depth about the struggle humanity has been threw over the years. Although they both contain the same themes the way the authors create the situations and display the harsh reality of society’s make these two stories very different. During the depression prejudice was at its peak, with the Jim Crow laws and no rights for blacks it made it near impossible for the African American community to live a normal life. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird the rape trail of Tom Robinson vs Mayella Ewell, an African American man accused of raping a white teenage girl was held in a bias court room of Maycomb County.
Harper Lee set the novel in the fictional town of Maycomb, in Alabama in the early 1930s to reflect the town which she grew up in. Harper Lee shows many different problems in American society but the most important one is prejudice. There are different ways Scout reveals prejudice including religious prejudice, ageism as well as prejudice against individuals, social class prejudice, sexism and the most important one in the novel: racism. Scout, a naïve and virtuous girl, is the narrator. The narrator was an adult woman, looking back as she remembered her childhood and how Jem, her brother, broke his arm.
Nick Salamone June 9th, 2009 Theme Analysis To Kill A Mockingbird is set in Alabama before civil rights cases were properly exposed of justices and cases against African-Americans were considered open. You find out that society can hurt innocent individuals who have littler power because of who they are. Through this novel, you put on the shoes of a small girl, Scout, and walks through a town where they learn of social inequality, coexistence of good and evil, and racism by seeing it through her father and life experiences. Race is a central issue in this time period. People aren't willing to accept change and theirs not much you can do in the 1930's to change that because it was "sociality acceptable" not to.
Christopher Dietz Professor Becky Hubbard Course EDU241: Learners and Diversity 18 September 2013 Prejudice in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird Throughout the film To Kill a Mockingbird there were several different themes that were very evident. These themes were growing up, being brave, and being prejudice. However the theme that was the most profound and that we will be discussing is prejudice. Prejudice is defined as an "opinion formed without taking the time and care to judge fairly". The movie takes place in Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930’s during the Great Depression, a time in which our country was at its lowest economic point in its history.
This book is much more than a women chasing after her dream guy, but it is more a glimpse into the high class society of the South that was turned upside down at the start of the Civil War. Personal struggles of losing the family plantation due to high taxes, bad growing seasons, death, and scandal all play an important role into the inside world of the plantation societies. This struggle was seen more clearly too when it was made into a major motion picture in 1939. The movie was seen to be racy for the time period when Rhett Butler told Scarlett “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn (185).” For my generation this kind of talk is nothing, but to watch the 3 hour movie in the eyes of someone watching it in the 30’s, this experience is unbelievable. The special effects, the racy scenes, and the brilliant color are all common traits of movies today, but don’t have the same lasting effect.