To Kill A Mockingbird Thomas Pryor Language Analysis

Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird has many examples of prejudice. The prejudice presented is against people such as Tom Robinson, Atticus Finch, and Boo Radley. Each is discriminated against either because of the color of their skin, who they represent in court, or just how much they isolate themselves from the town. Harper Lee’s stance on racial prejudice is that it is a foolish practice, no matter who does it. Prejudice is a very large part of To Kill a Mockingbird.

Well-known book To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, centers on one main theme: It is a sin to kill a mockingbird. This theme on its own is not entirely literal, but it has a very important meaning that is developed throughout the book. Many events in the book bring the theme to light and unfolds more and more as the story progresses. At the start of the book, we are introduced to the main characters Scout and Jem.

The novel To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in the segregated South of the 1930’s. The book is told in the eyes of an eight year old girl, Scout Finch. Her father, Atticus Finch, is an attorney who is struggling to prove the innocence of a black man incorrectly accused of rape. The historical context of the book lets one see the social status of different groups during the civil rights era. The story explores who fits into certain societies, who is respected in the community, written and unwritten rules concerning family, gender, age, and race, expectations of certain people, and what conflicts arise out of tension.

In the book, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” by Harper Lee, the author writes about what happens in the small southern town of Maycomb, in Alabama. Lee uses the influence of belief in traditions such as roles and family bonds to show that they are causes of conflict. Throughout the book, roles such as gender, age, race, and family confines characters to act, look, and even speak certain ways, causing internal, external, and family conflicts. This theme that different types of roles and family bonds are the root of conflict is developed through the use of physical setting, anti stereotype, and historical setting The author shows that Scout faces external conflicts caused by the pressure to fit into the stereotypical gender roles accustomed to girls at this time in history.

During the jury voting, Jem could not believe his eyes, “ Judge Taylor was polling the jury: 'Guilty...guilty...guilty...guilty...' I peeked at Jem: his hands were white from gripping the balcony rail, and his shoulders jerked as if each "guilty" was a separate stab between them” (278). Watching Atticus try cases for years, he knows in court that justice prevails. He thought for sure that Tom was free, the evidence was crystal clear. He could not see what reasosn the jury had for a guilty verdict, but when the verdict came out as guilty, he was mad because he knew it was a racist verdict from the jury.

In the book Atticus and the members of the court system express the reach of prejudice, justice, and fairness in the justice system. The justice system was filled with prejudice. In the book it states, “ Now don 't you be so confident, Mr. Jem I ain 't ever seen a jury decide in favor of a colored man over a white man…”(279). Reverend Sykes is witnessing the trial of Tom Robinson.

To Kill A Mockingbird by the late Harper Lee is a very monumental book in classic American literature. It is filled with craft moves that support the goals that Lee makes the reader aware of throughout the story. To Kill A Mockingbird is about the struggles of dealing with a court case supporting a black man, Tom Robinson, through the eyes of a young girl, Scout Finch. Scout lives with her father Atticus in a small home in Maycomb County, Alabama. She goes through many internal struggles throughout the story that she learns to deal with.

To Kill a Mockingbird is a coming of age story, through the eyes of Scout, a young girl living in Maycomb County, Alabama. Scout is raised in an odd time in American history when racism and prejudice were routine. Scout was surrounded by people that forced to learn many crucial life lessons and help her mature into a respectable lady. List points Firstly, Atticus taught Scout many important lessons, but most importantly, not to be prejudice, and treat everybody equally. This was extremely important in Scout’s growth as a person because at the time many people were blinded by racism.

After Atticus loses his trial, Jem notices that the Maycomb County justice system is broken and it needs help, “Then it all goes back to the jury, then. We oughta do away with juries. ”(294) This shows that Jem now understands that people are racist in everything and racism needs to be fought. On top of realizing that the justice system is in shambles, Jem realized that Tom Robinson’s case was very good at showing that.

Don’t see how any jury could convict on what we heard-’...’Now don’t be so confident, Mr. Jem, I ain’t ever seen any jury decide in favor of a colored man over a white man,”’ on page 279 paragraphs 6-7. Harper Lee then continues on page 282 paragraphs 2-3 to write, “A jury never looks at a defendant it has convicted, and when this jury came in, not one of them looked at Tom Robinson…’Guilty...guilty...guilty...guilty.’” Then, on page 285 paragraph10 it says, “‘They’ve done it before and they did it tonight and they’ll do it again and when they do it-seems that only children weep.’” This all comes together to prove that the children, Jem especially, saw how the verdict should have been and then goes on to suggest that if the jury had been made up of kids the verdict would have been much faster and would have been right because the children would not have been blinded by public opinion. So, the irony of Jem believing Tom Robinson would be free and the belief everyone else had including Atticus that the jury would convict Tom Robinson, shows that adults have come to believe that justice no longer matters, while hypocritically teaching their children that it

In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee as the novel progresses Scout’s innocence is gradually evaporating. Scout is losing her innocence of a child from being exposed to the “real world” and experiencing the prejudice ness of others. At the beginning of the novel Scout is a young girl who has never faced the “evil” of the world. Maycomb county Alabama during the Great depression is extremely racially prejudiced. Scout encounters the evil of society when Atticus takes on the case of Tom Robinson.

Respect is a hand, calling out, waving, waiting to be picked on to express its views on a topic. People look up to it, and, consequently, admire its nobility and intelligence. The book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is set during the time of the Great Depression and the Jim Crow laws, when black people and white people did not have the same rights as each other. The book is told from the point of view of Scout, a young girl, and the story is a reminiscence of her childhood. Her father, Atticus, is appointed as the lawyer for the trial of a man named Tom Robinson.

Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel that show the life of a southern state od Alabama during the “black racism” time period, where majority of the people had the mentality that (quote) with the exception of a few. To chosen to portray it from the eyes of Scout Finch, from a child’s point of view. Living in Maycomb, in the midst of a conservative society of the 1930’s and 20’s Southern America Scout Finch is an extra ordinary child.

This behaviour is deemed as natural, and few people question the roles put in place, this is truly terrifying so we are lead to wonder if what we accept as normal is perhaps corrupt instead. Race is the dominant cause of inequality in To Kill A Mockingbird, thus Maycomb’s views on race heavily influence every aspect of life. Although racial inequality is clearly illustrated in the in the injustice, prejudice, discrimination and antagonism surrounding the Tom Robinson trial, it is also shown more subtly throughout the novel. In Chapter 25 Atticus Finch is quoted disclosing that the corrupt justice system is a direct cause of a racist society. “In our courts, when it 's a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins” (Lee, 295).

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a masterful novel that dives into the life of Scout as a child. In the novel, Lee goes into much depth about Scout’s life so that the reader can always keep up with what is happening. When a book is converted into a movie, many things often change no matter what book it is. This remains true for To Kill a Mockingbird between the book and the film. The film is a wonderful work but there were still many things cut out that were in the book.