To Kill A Mocking Bird Themes

710 Words3 Pages

To Kill a Mocking Bird is a popular book that has also been turned into a movie. The themes that are talked about in this book and movie are forms of racism, prejudice and social injustice. It shows how humans can be cruel to other humans simply because they are different from themselves. The author Harper Lee explores the moral nature of humans, especially the struggle in every person between discrimination and tolerance. The novel is effective not only in overcoming prejudice, but in revealing the truth, how it works, and its consequences.
The main idea of the book is racism in America. Primarily racial and gender inequality focusing mainly on the south. Atticus, an attorney who is appointed to defend a black man who had allegedly raped a white woman, the central themes of the book play out. Another key point of the book is how the main characters are supposed to be related to mockingbirds themselves. It was said that “To kill a mockingbird is to destroy innocence, …show more content…

Tom Robinson's trial represents how racism was in society of Maycomb County. The discrimination of people in Maycomb makes them unable to see the validity of Tom's innocence. Although it is Mayella Ewell who tried to make advances to Tom, the people of Maycomb do not want to believe that Tom is innocent; simply because he is black he must be guilty. Tom Robinson’s trial goes to show that in a society where the white race is seen to be most powerful, no other race seems to matter. The narrow-minded people of Maycomb are in favor of segregation in their society and they consider sexual relationships as a threat to their way of life. The trial reflects on historical events to illustrate the racism and segregation that black people have suffered throughout American history. “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in