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Common Themes In To Kill A Mockingbird

763 Words4 Pages

Payton Hawkins-Rowland
Pre-AP English
Coach Hamlin
4th Period
Second Selection

Themes Shown in To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird is a book that is full of themes to be learned as well as lessons to be taught for readers of any age. The characters in this book experience a multitude of things that allow the reader to reflect and relate, allowing them to learn from the book and take a closer look at the events that took place within the story. Some lessons or themes that can be taught in the story include, “don't judge a book by its cover”, “perspective is key”, and “be your true self” .
To begin with, the first theme that can be taught in To Kill a Mockingbird is “never judge a book by its cover”. This theme is shown in multiple …show more content…

These themes are shown in this story because many characters were misrepresented by society, such as the radley family for a multitude of reasons including looks, morals, and religious beliefs. Specifically, people judged Nathan Radley, Boo’s father, for not allowing Boo to be exposed to society, when in reality Nathan was just trying to protect his son. Another example is shown when Atticus treated Mrs. Dubose with nothing but respect, even though he was aware that she was addicted to morphine, he recognized her bravery and courage to quit her addiction when nobody else …show more content…

Being your true self is a theme that has a very wide spectrum, and can be represented in many different ways, and through many different characters. This theme can be shown throughout the entire story from multiple characters including Scout, Jem, Calpurnia, Atticus, and many more. Scout and Jem display this theme throughout the book because they stood up for what they believed was right no matter what others thought of them, although Scout and Jem were just children, the way that they decided to treat others greatly affected everyone around them. In addition, Calpurnia and Atticus are a great example of this theme because they never allowed others to destroy their courage and bravery to stand up for others and protect their

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In Harper Lee’s classic novel, ‘’To Kill a Mockingbird’’, the protagonist, and father of the narrator, Atticus Finch goes through many issues in his attempts to overcome separate forms of adversity, for many different reasons. In order to prevent these difficult situations, Atticus would have to risk his safety, reputation, and life. Finch had a distorted family life. Widowed only a few years prior to when the story takes place, Atticus worked incredibly hard as a lawyer, in order to support his two children, Jem and Scout.

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The theme of this novel is "Not everything is the way you predict it is". I believe this thematic statement suits the story because throughout the book there are lots of surprises, and most situations don't go the way people predict they will. For example, Aunt Alexandra was first seen as mean, according to her attitude towards Scout. At the end of the book Aunt Alexandra hands Scout her overalls, as mentioned in the story, "the garments she most despised." Because she always wanted Scout to be a lady and wear dresses.

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In Harper Lee's famous novel To Kill a Mockingbird, the themes of sin, understanding, empathy, and the complexities of human nature are prominent ideas that run throughout the story. This chapter helps us explore right and wrong. It also helps us to understand and have empathy for people. Chapter 11 is a crucial part of the book where these themes become more apparent. Lee skillfully portrays their presence both on the surface and in the larger perspective.

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928 Words | 4 Pages

Widespread motifs in Maycomb “Well, it’d be sort of like shootin’ a mockingbird, wouldn’t it?” exclaims Scout Finch the narrator of To Kill A Mockingbird (Lee 317). Harper Lee is a white author who grew up in Alabama herself; Likewise living a similar life to Jean Louis Finch. To Kill A Mockingbird is widely banned for racial misunderstandings. The award winning, top selling book has never been out of print since it was published.

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1105 Words | 5 Pages

In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee was published in 1960 and is set in the American South during the 1930’s; Lee grew up during this harsh time, which paints a vivid and clear picture of what it was really like during the events that had unfolded. “Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen” (Winston Churchill). In the plot, there is many themes that can define the characters, and how they carry themselves in life. Some are good standing people, some abuse their power, and a couple of them don’t understand and are innocent. In this story, created by Lee, there are three common themes that help shape both good and bad characters, morality, courage, and justice.

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1473 Words | 6 Pages

The main theme of “ To Kill a Mockingbird” The main theme of the novel is about how people learn and grow to understand the world and how complicated it is, including issues such as prejudice, discrimination, and unfairness. Harper Lee uses the novel to show that these issues are everywhere in society and can have serious consequences. But also shows that empathy, kindness, and doing what’s right can make a major difference.

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937 Words | 4 Pages

In the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee there is a reoccurring theme that repeats itself many times. Atticus tells his children, "...it is a sin to kill a mockingbird. " This is the reoccurring theme because there are many different characters that can connect with the metaphor. There are many characters throughout the book that can be classified as the mockingbird, but only three main character have a perfect fit. Atticus Finch, Boo Radley, and Tom Robinson are all portrayed as the mockingbird for many reasons that are all different to each other.

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Courage is not strength or skill, it’s simply standing up for what you believe in and what is right. This is the theme that was enrolled after Jem destroys Mrs.Dubose’s camellias and after she died in chapter 11. This passage also reveals Jem’s coming of age moment. After using conflict, symbolism, and point of view, Harper Lee was able to connect the theme with Jems coming of age moment.

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448 Words | 2 Pages

In Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird”, literary elements in this passage help develop a theme of the novel using conflict, characterization, dialogue, diction, and imagery. One key coming to age scene was when Scout felt left out of Dill and Jem’s friendship. In chapter 5, Scout states how she felt excluded from Jem and Dill as if they neglected her. “...then he neglected me. I beat him up twice but it did no good, he only grew closer to Jim” (Lee 46).

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Riley Pope Mrs. Lauren Garret English 1 Honors 17 January 2023 To Kill a Mockingbird Literary Analysis “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view— until you climb into his skin and walk around in it” (Lee 33). In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch teaches his children a valuable lesson. Atticus is a man that strives for moral values and makes it essential for his children to learn these values. To have their ideas and thoughts that are lacking in the beliefs and opinions of their fellow neighbors.

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715 Words | 3 Pages

To Kill a Mockingbird is a book mainly about the coexistence of good and evil. The book stresses and emphasizes on the exploration of moral nature in humans. There are many themes in this novel including courage, innocence, racism, femininity, etc. However the most prevalent theme in the book is innocence. Not just innocence in itself but the danger and harm evil poses to the innocent.

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1614 Words | 7 Pages

Right Vs Wrong What if you were a child growing up in a time where everyone around you didn’t believe what your family believed in? What if you weren’t treated the same because of what you believed in? In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Jean Louise or Scout is bullied and teased because of her dad defending an African American in court. Due to this Scout countlessly gets teased and called names such as “Nigger Lover”.

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320 Words | 2 Pages

In To Kill a Mockingbird, the author Harper Lee incorporates the characters and character interactions in order to teach the reader a life lesson. These life lessons are represented as a theme . One theme that is presented throughout the novel is teaching morals to children is important. Moral is a lesson,especially one concerning what is right or prudent, that can be derived from a story, a piece of information,or an experience. The author presents the theme of teaching morals to children is important through the characters, Atticus, Jem , Scout and uncle jack.

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729 Words | 3 Pages

In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, the significant theme of childhood innocence is explored from the perspective of the children. The plot of the story outlines Scout 's moral education and how she moves from innocence to adulthood. This theme is most evident through their adventures with or without their friend Dill and the paternal relationship between Atticus and his children. Atticus devotes himself to teaching conscience to Jem and Scout and leads them to an understanding of other people’s understanding by continually telling them “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view-until you climb into his skin and walk around in it. " At the start of the novel, they see life innocently believing in the goodness of all people, thinking everyone understands and hold the same values they and their father do.

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1017 Words | 5 Pages

With over 40 million copies sold across the world, at well over 50 years old, Harper Lee’s ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ without question, remains relevant in today’s society. Through its exposure of deadly racism and prejudice this text represents not only the societal issues of the 1930’s but also the very same issues that have carried through to today’s contemporary society. Whilst this book may be over 50 years old it does present the appalling behaviour that is still present in today’s society, many issues which should be long gone in a progressive and modern society such as ours.

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