Good Vs. Evil In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

Arabella Sorensen

Mrs. Rollins

Honors English 9-7

8 March 2023

Good vs. Evil in To Kill a Mockingbird In Harper Lee’s evolutionary novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, she features the protagonists Jem and Scout, who face the struggles of growing up as children in a Southern town where there is “nowhere to go” (5), “nothing to see” (5), and nothing to do. Scout and Jem are fairly standard children, except they see the world differently, based on the teaching of their father, Atticus. Throughout the story, the children face many conflicts and learn that life is not as simple or rewarding as they once thought, but rather challenging and bitter. Atticus helps them through many challenges, however, they also help him as well. Their father teaches them

The subject of the “mad dog” (94), Tim Johnson is compared to the “invisible force” (95) that is racism. This is fitting because both racism and Tim Johnson are what Atticus has to face. Lee entwines the theme through Atticus being the only person willing to kill the rabid dog. The police officer is seen “shift[ing] his gun” (94) but not taking the shot even after being told he is “wast[ing] time” (95) he refuses to shoot the dog. This is significant because the person who is supposed to keep the people safe has refused to do what he is in attendance for. Lee establishes how Atticus initially didn’t want to kill the dog but felt obligated to “walk out into the middle of the street” (96) because the evil presence wasn’t going to go away unless something was done about it. He does this based on the morals that allow him to realize he needs to aid the people. Atticus is put into a complex situation and chooses to step up and do the right thing, even when the people who should, do

Dubose. Harper Lee profiles Mrs. Dubose as a “vicious” (100) and “horrible” (106) person who has strong opinions and is unafraid to express them. Mrs. Dubose is also shown knowing when her “shot[s] ha[ve] gone home” (101) when she “ruthless[ly] interrogates” (99) the other characters. On the other hand, Jem is the son of a good man, Attticus. Lee crafts Atticus to be an exemplary person and is shown telling Mrs. Dubose that she looks “like a picture” (100), even though he knows of her unkind behavior towards his children; he still shows her kindness and respect. Especially when it may seem to others that she might not be deserving of it. Nonetheless, Lee puts Mrs. Dubose in a position of authority over the town even going as far as to mention that she may or may not carry a “CSA pistol” (99) and yells from her “station” (101) at her porch. However, Jem is unafraid to challenge Mrs. Dubose or question her authority. Even though he is just a boy he “forget[s] everything that Atticus had said” (102) after she offends his father, whom he loves, and is unafraid to show her that he disagrees. Lee includes this to show how Jem steps up to defend who he cares about and does not back down from the fight, and what he believes is