To Kill a Mockingbird One of the most important themes of To Kill a Mockingbird is the book’s message on the nature of human beings, whether people are good or evil. The book portrays Scout and Jem’s as two young characters with a sense of innocence, because they make assumptions that all people are good because they do not fully understand evil. As Scout and Jem mature, they slowly begin to acknowledge evil to a more adult perspective. As the novel continues, Scout and Jem develop a better understanding between the world and evil. Scout and Jem’s transition from innocence to experience can lead into other side themes, such as hatred and racism tend to face the other innocent characters like, Tom Robinson and Boo Radley.
“I Know Why the Caged Bird Cannot Read” Critic and editor, Francine Prose in her argumentative essay “I Know Why the Caged Bird Cannot Read” strives to encourage high schools to give more difficult books to students so they can learn and grow. “Given the dreariness with which literature is taught in many American classrooms, it seems miraculous that any sentient teenager would view reading as a source of pleasure”(Prose 89). Prose embraces an abrasive attitude towards her topic in order to introduce her purpose, and she uses ethos and logos to convey her message. Prose's essay begins with her giving background knowledge about herself to her audience. By being a parent, as well as a teacher this develops a sense of credibility and allows her audience to believe what she has to say.
Through the use of conventions such as characterisation we find that the theme of prejudice is explored in to kill a mockingbird. Innocence is represented through symbols and literal meanings. the use of innocence in the novel highlights the theme of prejudice and influences the response from the reader. As the story evolves we find that maycomb is not all that it seems to the protagonist scout and her brother jem, as they grow older they experience the harsh reality of prejudice and eventually see the unjust end it takes on Tom Robisnson we find that prejudice is an integral part to the structure of "to kill a mockingbird" The idea of innocence is conveyed through the characterisation of Boo Radley, Boo Radleys innocence in the eyes of maycomb influences main ideas and meanings. Innocence is shown through the characterisation of Boo as a harmless man, he lives with his brother and leaves the house rarely he has little protection from the outside world, this can be related to a section of the book where Atticus says to scout and jem "Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."
Scout is an innocent kid just like any young kids, she then because informed that the world around her is not a nice place sometimes. Racism is a big part of evil in the world. Most kids are like Dill who think that it's unfair “That old Mr. Gilmer doin‘ [TomRobinson] thataway, talking so hateful to him—” However, Scout just accepts it. “Dill, that’s his job. Why, if we didn’t have prosecutors—well, we couldn’t have defense attorneys, I reckon.” Scout learns about the real world, how it's unfair.
To Kill a Mockingbird "Ignorant individuals are those who refuse to see the world through the eyes of another." - Matthew Michael James once said. Ignorance is something that is oblivious to humans and are not aware of their lack of knowledge about other people. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, displays Attics Finch a lawyer that was chosen to defend Tom Robinson's life from the racist people in Maycomb County such as Bob Ewell, and to always be their for his two children Scout, and Jem that experience many conflicts throughout the novel. Two characters that show bewilderment throughout the course of the novel is Scout, and Bob Ewell.
Prejudice is a preconceived opinion not based on reason or experience. Sometimes prejudice is a destructive force in society. In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, prejudice is shown in many ways. Prejudice was shown when Atticus was defending the jail, a group of men came to kill Tom and also when Scout was getting teased at school by other kids because her dad was taking Tom’s case. Furthermore, when Tom Robinson was accused of being guilty even though he was not, and died because of it.
The derogatory term makes it hard to appropriately depict the true meaning of the book to a group of children without raising countless unspoken questions. On the other hand, we have those that believe that the removal of Twain’s vernacular of that time takes away from the contextual essence of the novel leaving the youth “unaware that their people have overcome centuries of oppression”. (Schneider 3) Furthermore, censorship of Huckleberry Finn could depend on many other factors: fear of uneducated or insensitive teachers leading student discussions, school administrators who wish to avoid controversy and discomfort with acknowledging our country's painful history. “It’s true that people might now be offended by the portrayal of Jim, or the use of “nigger”, but times have changed and we don’t portray them that way anymore. You can’t just ignore what happened and people
This book is challenging in understanding its meaning and actually reading the literature. People trying to argue for New South Editors/Publishers most often bring up the point that some children are not mature enough to handle reading “the N-word” and the conversation that comes along with it. Because it can be so challenging to understand you are most likely not offered this book until about high school, and by the time you are fourteen I do believe you could handle reading “the N-word”. I also understand that some kids do mature faster or slower than others but if you are smart and responsible enough to handle high school you can handle the uncomfortable conversation that comes along with it. Timothy Say said, “…it’s naïve to believe that anyone who is old enough to read Huckleberry Finn would not know the racial epithet or why it is offensive” (Say).
That’s how bad parents viewed this novel. Today’s parents should be more open-minded, they should be able to accept a novel that is a bit profane and vulgar. Their children watch worse shows than the content of this novel. Today’s time and age is well advanced and parents should expect anything from everyone. They need to understand that school
The existence of civilization is essential to keep the innocence and authenticity of man from escaping. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout and Jem are two children who mature through their adventures together. They achieve much insight in their society through Tom Robinson's trial, and in the end drop their youthful innocence. Lord of the Flies and To Kill a Mockingbird include and represent