To Kill a Mocking Bird
By the 20th-century there was a segregation between people of African descent and white people. The Afro-Americans struggled for justice and equal rights. Although slavery was abolished, racial discrimination against black people did not end. The novel, To Kill a Mockingbird 1960 by Harper Lee, tells us the injustice of the southern American community in the 1930s, and the coming of age of two siblings in Maycomb, Alabama.
Scout and Jem spend their summer developing fantasies about their mysterious neighbor, Arthur Radley(Boo), who never leaves the house. Outside the Radley house, Scout and Jem find gifts inside a tree. The gifts are undoubtedly dropped by Boo. Meanwhile a handicapped black man called Tom Robinson is
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However, the most important theme of them all is prejudice. Already from the start of the book, we are introduced to the title, To Kill a Mockingbird. This title can also be understood as a metaphor, that you should not judge an innocent person. There is a quotation that says, “it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” This quotation describes the innocence of Tom Robinson and Arthur Radley(Boo). They are both innocent mockingbirds who have fallen into the hands of injustice. One of the mockingbirds is killed, and the other is forced to kill. The injustice is displayed through the actions of Mr. Ewell, who unfortunately won the jury against Atticus. As black people were suppressed and looked down upon in the 1930s, Tom would not have had a chance to win against Mr. Ewell. Another important theme in the novel is growing up. The children learn how evil and unfair the world can be. Watching the unfair treatment of Tom, the children begin to understand why Boo choose to stay inside his house. Their impression of Boo changes from him being a maniac they can make fun of to a “human being”. Both prejudice and growing up are obvious overt themes. We experience the unfairness between white and colored people in 1930s and we watch the children’s development throughout the