Physical Barriers In To Kill A Mockingbird

In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, the theme of mental and physical barriers is used to deepen the protagonist’s understanding of the world around her. As Scout grows up, she is faced with many barriers she must break through to make sense of the society she lives in. By recognizing the mental and physical barriers that she is faced with, Scout matures and continues on her path towards adulthood. Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses the exploration of barriers to bring Scout’s understanding of the “Maycomb Way” to a higher level.

In the novel, the separation between black and white is a mental barrier that the people of Maycomb create, but it is shown through many physical barriers. After losing the trial, Tom Robinson was

Scout spent most of her early childhood inside the safe and trusted environment of her house unaware of “The Maycomb Way” that existed just outside her door. However, once she attended Tom Robinson’s trial she had to leave the boundaries of her home, and enter the doors of the courthouse. “You haven’t even seen this town but all you gotta do is step back inside the courthouse.” (269) The physical barrier displayed here is the barrier of doors that disconnects Scout from her town, Maycomb. When she leaves her house and opens the “barrier” (door), she becomes exposed to the rumors that focused on her neighbors, her classmates, and even her own father. Then, by entering the door of the courthouse, Scout is able to understand how the “Maycomb Way” has created barriers in people’s minds. With all the rumors and racist thoughts that exist in her town, people eventually build a wall in their mind causing them to be close-minded and ignorant. Every time that Scout walks through a door, whether it’s her house door or the courthouse door, she matures and learns to recognize how “The Maycomb Way” has affected people and shaped the society she lives in. In the last chapter of the book, Scout demonstrates huge growth by breaking apart from the “Maycomb Way” and ignoring all of the rumors that have circulated through the

Because of all these images that had been implanted into Scout’s mind, she was induced by the “Maycomb Way” and was starting to create a barrier in her own mind. However, after Jem’s accident, Scout meets the real Boo Radley and realizes that everything that people had said about him was wrong. “We came to the street light on the corner… I wondered how many times Jem and I had made this journey, but I entered the Radley front gate for the second time in my life.” (373) The first time that Scout had been through the Radley gate, it was by accident and she ran for her life once she realized where she was. However, now she was able to see Boo Radley for who he really is and understand the position he is in, allowing her to feel comfortable in the Radley yard. The physical barrier used here is the front gate of the Radley house. This is the barrier that has separated Scout from breaking through the rumors of Maycomb, and finding out the truth about Boo. The farther away Scout went from the gate of the Radley house, the more she became persuaded by the “Maycomb Way”. By being around so many rumors, she was building a barrier in her mind that would soon be just as powerful and unbreakable as the ones that exist in most people’s minds. Luckily, Scout is