To Kill A Mockingbird Essay

The novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” is a bildungsroman which means the characters are coming of age and they develop maturity throughout the novel. In To Kill a Mockingbird the main character and Narrator scout has one brother named Jem, their father Atticus and their cook Calpurnia. They lived in Maycomb County Alabama in the 1930’s during the depression so everyone lacks money. In Maycomb there is prejudice and injustice shown toward the black population of Maycomb. Jem Scout and their friend Dill develop an interest in their neighbor Boo Radley, who has never stepped foot outside and no one knows what he looks like. Their curious minds want to know what goes on in the Radley house, so they run up and touch it, look through the windows, trespass

Maudie loses her house in a fire and Boo puts a blanket around Scout because it is cold, but she doesn't notice. Jem caught his pants in some wire in their backyard and had to leave it there, but Boo sewed and folded them back up for Jem. During all this, they never saw him. Their father Atticus is a great lawyer who is defending a black man named Tom Robinson who was accused of raping a white woman named Mayella Ewell. Tom has a wife and children, and he also has a crippled left arm. There is a trial and we know Tom is innocent so Atticus puts up a fight and makes good points about Mayella's right eye being black and how a left-handed person would have done that just like Bob Ewell, her alcoholic father. during the trial, but due to the prejudice towards black people, the jury decides that Tom is guilty. Tom gets sent to jail waiting for his next trial, during which time he tries to escape and gets shot 17 times. The black population is grieving and so are Jem, Scout and Atticus. At the end of the book Scout is in a pageant for Halloween walks home in the dark with Jem and they get attacked by Bob

In the novel, courage is described as “when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what. You rarely win but sometimes you do.” Since "licked" implies being beaten, he describes courage as the ability to recognize when you are at a disadvantage but you begin anyway because it's noble and mature. In Maycomb, Atticus' job doesn't satisfy Jem and Scout. “He worked in an office, not in a drugstore. Atticus did not drive a dump truck for the county, he did not farm, work in garbage or do anything that could possibly arouse the admiration of anyone”. Jem shows his immaturity by losing his own perspective due to Maycomb's view. But in chapter 10 there was a mad dog in Maycomb. Atticus and the town sheriff heck tate were there and Atticus ended up shooting the dog- the kids now had something to brag about “Jem picked up a rock and threw it jubilantly at the cathouse. Running after it, he called back ‘Atticus is a gentleman just like me.” Although Jem is unaware of it yet, Atticus has plenty of other outstanding traits. Jem believes that since he shot the Mad dog, the people will value