Harper Lee’s ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ explores a racist society and the effects it has on certain individuals by highlighting prejudice, societal outcasts and social injustice prevalent in Maycomb, a typical southern American town in the 1930’s. Harper Lee mainly focuses on the characters Tom Robinson, Boo Radley and Atticus Finch by framing the novel in a certain way to explore their cruel relationship with an unfair society. She explores the societal issues within Maycomb through the characters' hardships and struggles. Prejudice, which is mainly in the form of racism, is explored by Lee throughout the novel, compelling readers to realise the unfairness in society by displaying a black man, Tom Robinson, in a predominantly white society who …show more content…
This is observed in “Aurthur Radley just stays in the house, that's all. wouldn't you want to stay in the house if you didn't want to come out.” which uses the techniques of dialogue. This is said when Miss Maudie explains to Scout why Boo doesn't want to leave the house. This highlights why Boo Radley doesn't want to leave the house because he is afraid of the outside world and Maycomb's society. Lee represents Maycomb as an extremely judgemental society which leads to him wanting to stay indoors,while also indicating his painful relationship with society because Boo feels like he can't leave the house without being judged or ridiculed.While also highlighting the disrespectful societal attitude towards Boo Radley through focalisation.This is also seen in the metaphor of “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.”. Atticus says this to Scout while trying to get her to understand Boos perspective. This displays his poor connection to society because he has been in the house for so long. However this is mainly because of his different thought process which has led him to keeping to himself and staying in the house, causing him to become the social outcast of Maycomb. Harper Lee manipulates this fact and consequently, displays Boo Radley's painful relationship with