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To Kill a Mockingbird tells the story of the young narrator’s passage from innocence to experience when her father confronts the racist justice system of the rural, Depression-era South. In witnessing the trial of Tom Robinson, a Black man unfairly accused of rape, Scout, the narrator, gains insight into her town, her family, and herself.
- Symbols
In this story of innocents destroyed by evil, the...
- Related Links
Its historical narrative provides important context for To...
- Protagonist
Scout is the most obvious choice of protagonist of To Kill a...
- Foreshadowing
Bob Ewell doesn’t figure prominently in To Kill a...
- Antagonist
The social expectations of Maycomb, Alabama are the...
- Genre
To Kill a Mockingbird is primarily an example of Southern...
- Tone
The tone of To Kill a Mockingbird changes over the course of...
- Themes
Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas...
- Symbols
Aug 30, 2024 · “To Kill a Mockingbird” is a profound exploration of racial injustice in the American South during the 1930s. The novel portrays systemic racism as an ingrained and pervasive element of Southern society, manifesting in both overt actions and subtle social norms.
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- Themes
- Analysis of Key Moments
- Style, Tone, and Figurative Language
- Analysis of Symbols
Race
Race is a major theme in To Kill A Mockingbird. We see racial inequality and injustice in the Depression-Era South throughout the novel. The most striking evidence of racial injustice is the unfair accusation of rape on Tom Robinson—Mayella Ewell and her father Bob contrive to accuse Tom of rape because they cannot stand it being known by the public that Mayella who is white tried to seduce a black man. Then we see the racism of the people in the mob that attempt to lynch Tom Robinson before...
Reputation
To Kill A Mockingbirdaddresses the interplay between what the public perceives a person to be and what a person truly is. In the novel, we see that sometimes, people are truly what their reputation says they are, while some other people are different from what they are reputed to be. Atticus Finch is a man whose reputation is consistent with his true personality. He is known across town as a ”n****r lover” which he truly is, and every other aspect of his character is public knowledge. In Maud...
Childlike Innocence
Childlike innocence is a powerful theme in To Kill A Mockingbird.Childlike innocence exposes the folly of racial and class prejudice exhibited by adults. And the irony is that the adults are the ones who should know better but end up being the ignorant ones. Scout as a child does not see any reason to discriminate against people because of gender and class and she becomes saddened by the realization that the society in which she lives has such prejudicial sentiments. We also see how the evil...
Two siblings, Scout and Jem live in a nice neighborhood with their widowed father Atticus Finch. The siblings only play with each other as there are no other children in the neighborhood to play wi...There is a house in the neighborhood that is always shut and never receives visitors. The occupants of the house are the Radleys and their son Boo Radley is never seen outside which makes children...The children devise various plots to see Boo Radley but never succeed.Atticus Finch’s sister Alexandra comes to live with them because she does not approve of Atticus’s unconventional parenting styleTo Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is told in the first-person narration. The story is a flashback to childhood days of the past and a narration of those events in retrospect. The current age of the narrator is not specified but we know that the narrator is older and has gained more wisdom with age as she narrates the events. Even though there are...
The Mockingbird
The Mockingbird is a symbol of goodness and innocence that should be allowed to exist and thrive but is unfortunately preyed upon and destroyed by the wickedness and injustice in the world. The character Tom Robinson is a mockingbird—an innocent man who works hard, takes care of his family, does not make any trouble, and renders assistance to those in need of it without asking for anything in return. But unfortunately, the unjust society in which he lives destroys him with a false rape allega...
The Rabid Dog
This symbolizes the unpleasant reality which looms in the South but that the average people would rather not confront. The rabid dog poses a danger to all but none of the people in the neighborhood take any decisive action to confront it, they rather retire indoors and shut their doors. Even the sheriff stalls and manages to place the task of killing the dog on Atticus Finch. The rabid dog is just as unpleasant and as dangerous as racism but even the good people in Maycomb County are afraid t...
The Refuse Dump
The refuse dump is the abode of the Ewells. Living in the refuse dump symbolizes that the Ewells are trash both literally and figuratively.
Nov 26, 2019 · In its outline the allegory is transparent: When a “good man” abandons his faith, he can expect to go to the devil. Hawthorne complicates his story by weaving into it all sorts of subtleties and ambiguities. Brown’s guide in the woods is simultaneously fatherlike and devilish.
Analysis of Literary Devices To Kill a Mockingbird Action: The main action of the novel comprises the children’s fascination with Boo Radley, Tom’s trial, and his final exoneration. However, the rising action is the fascination of the children, Jem, Dill, and Scout of Boo Radley.
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The action in this novel is narrated from the perspective of six-year-old Scout Finch, as she observes the changes that occur in her little Alabama town during a disputable case of rape in which her father consents to safeguard a dark man who is unjustifiably blamed for assaulting a white lady.
