to kill a mockingbird thesis statement prejudice

To Kill a Mockingbird

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Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird , Scout witnesses many different types of prejudice—and even promotes these attitudes herself—including classism, sexism, and racism. Regardless of the type of prejudicial worldview, each one treats people as stereotyped groups, demands conformity, and doesn’t give any credit to individuals. Over and over again, To Kill a Mockingbird illustrates how prejudice can be closed-minded and dangerous, as well as seemingly benign—but in all cases, it’s ridiculous and misguided.

Though racism is the type of prejudice that shines through the novel the most, Mockingbird is careful to show that this not the only kind of prejudice at work—and, at least for a white girl like Scout, it’s not even the most pressing issue in her life. However, it’s worth keeping in mind that racism isn’t Scout’s biggest issue exactly because she’s white, and what bothers her more is the sexism she experiences, and the classism expressed most often by her Aunt Alexandra . Scout is a tomboy and states clearly that she has no interest in being a lady, so she finds attempts by her Uncle Jack , Aunt Alexandra, and occasionally Jem to force her into acting more like a lady to be especially offensive, especially when this concerns wearing dresses instead of her preferred overalls. While certainly not a direct equivalent to racism, the sexism that Scout experiences at times impresses upon her just how silly prejudice is in general. Despite this, she still holds and espouses her own sexist views—she laughs when her cousin Francis says that Aunt Alexandra is going to teach him to cook, as she believes that boys don’t cook. To an outside observer, the juxtaposition of Scout’s annoyance with others’ clothing preferences with her own sexist ideas makes the point that anyone, even the victims of unfair treatment themselves, can hold questionable views.

Similarly, Scout gradually comes to the understanding that a person’s financial situation or family history shouldn’t have any bearing on whether or not they’re thought of as good people—though in many cases, she sees clearly that it does. While Aunt Alexandra outright forbids Scout from playing with Walter Cunningham , a poor farm boy at school, Scout sees that the only thing that separates her and Walter is that Walter has to miss school to work on the farm and his family doesn’t have any money—neither of which are things with which Scout (whose father, Atticus , is a lawyer) has to contend. Further, Scout feels especially warm toward the Cunningham family in general following Tom Robinson ’s trial, as someone in the family was on the jury and was the one who fought to acquit Robinson. For Scout, this is proof that Walter isn’t all that different from her, and moreover, is a good person deserving of respect and kindness. To Aunt Alexandra, however, the possibility of Scout being friends with Walter represents an existential threat to the Finch family name, as she believes that being anything but polite and detached toward poor individuals sullies one’s own reputation—again, something Scout sees as being ridiculous, misguided, and selfish.

While the existence of racism in Maycomb becomes clearest to Scout during and immediately after Tom Robinson’s trial, the novel goes to great lengths to show that the racism hurled at Robinson doesn’t exist in a vacuum—it’s a part of the way Maycomb operates. Scout learns in the year or so before the trial that segregation and a general dislike of black people isn’t something benign or normal: rather, it exists thanks to a strong undercurrent of hate on the part of white people in Maycomb. During and after the trial, Scout hears friends, family, and neighbors verbally attack Atticus for taking Tom Robinson’s defense seriously—in their opinion, Robinson doesn’t deserve a fair trial because of the color of his skin. She and Jem also suffer abuse for Atticus’s choice to defend Robinson, suggesting that in Maycomb, treating a black person with anything other than distant contempt is an unspeakable offense. Similarly, Atticus makes the case in his closing argument that the case, which relies on he-said-she-said argumentation rather than medical evidence or eyewitness testimony, asks the jury to believe that all black men are dangerous rapists—even if there’s no compelling evidence that Robinson raped Mayella Ewell , and even if there’s a very good chance that Mr. Ewell , Mayella’s father, was the one who beat her instead.

Through all of this, Scout gradually comes to the conclusion that prejudice of any kind is ridiculous and misguided—after all, she sees that the town becomes increasingly hostile toward Atticus, whom she believes is unwaveringly good, when he stands up against prejudice by defending Robinson. Further, she begins to interrogate her own prejudiced thoughts about Boo Radley , especially after he saves her and Jem’s lives. Scout’s gradual realization that it’s not fruitful or worth her time to dislike or fear people for their differences, no matter what they are, makes the case that it’s possible to move on from prejudice as people gain exposure to others who are different—especially when those seemingly different people turn out to be not so different from oneself.

Prejudice ThemeTracker

Prejudice Quotes in To Kill a Mockingbird

“There's some folks who don't eat like us," she whispered fiercely, "but you ain't called on to contradict 'em at the table when they don't. That boy's yo' comp'ny and if he wants to eat up the table cloth you let him, you hear?” “He ain't company, Cal, he's just a Cunningham—“ “Hush your mouth! Don't matter who they are, anybody sets foot in this house's yo' comp'ny, and don't you let me catch you remarkin' on their ways like you was so high and mighty!”

“There are just some kind of men who—who're so busy worrying about the next world they've never learned to live in this one, and you can look down the street and see the results.”

“If you shouldn't be defendin' him, then why are you doin' it?”

“For a number of reasons,” said Atticus. “The main one is, if I didn't I couldn't hold up my head in town, I couldn't represent this county in the legislature, I couldn't even tell you or Jem not to do something again.”

"Atticus, are we going to win it?"

“No, honey.”

“Then why—”

“Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win,” Atticus said.

“Atticus, you must be wrong…”

“How's that?”

“Well, most folks seem to think they're right and you're wrong…”

Lula stopped, but she said, “You ain't got no business bringin' white chillun here—they got their church, we got our'n. It is our church, ain't it, Miss Cal?”

When I looked down the pathway again, Lula was gone. In her place was a solid mass of colored people.

One of them stepped from the crowd. It was Zeebo, the garbage collector. “Mister Jem,” he said, “we're mighty glad to have you all here. Don't pay no 'tention to Lula, she's contentious because Reverend Sykes threatened to church her. She's a troublemaker from way back, got fancy ideas an' haughty ways—we're mighty glad to have you all.”

Somewhere, I had received the impression that Fine Folks were people who did the best they could with the sense they had, but Aunt Alexandra was of the opinion, obliquely expressed, that the longer a family had been squatting on one patch of land the finer it was.

“Well how do you know we ain't Negroes?”

“Uncle Jack Finch says we really don't know. He says as far as he can trace back the Finches we ain't, but for all he knows we mighta come straight out of Ethiopia durin' the Old Testament.”

“Well if we came out durin' the Old Testament it's too long ago to matter.”

“That's what I thought," said Jem, “but around here once you have a drop of Negro blood, that makes you all black.”

“If you had a clear conscience, why were you scared?”

“Like I says before, it weren't safe for any nigger to be in a—fix like that.”

“But you weren't in a fix—you testified that you were resisting Miss Ewell. Were you so scared that she'd hurt you, you ran, a big buck like you?”

“No suh, I's scared I'd be in court, just like I am now.”

“Scared of arrest, scared you'd have to face up to what you did?”

“No suh, scared I'd hafta face up to what I didn't do.”

“The way that man called him 'boy' all the time an' sneered at him, an' looked around at the jury every time he answered— … It ain't right, somehow it ain't right to do 'em that way. Hasn't anybody got any business talkin' like that—it just makes me sick.”

“They've done it before and they did it tonight and they'll do it again and when they do it—seems that only children weep.”

“Oh child, those poor Mrunas,” she said, and was off. Few other questions would be necessary.

Mrs. Merriweather's large brown eyes always filled with tears when she considered the oppressed. “Living in that jungle with nobody but J. Grimes Everett,” she said. “Not a white person'll go near 'em but that saintly J. Grimes Everett.”

Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men's hearts Atticus had no case. Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed.

“When they finally saw him, why he hadn't done any of those things…Atticus, he was real nice…” His hands were under my chin, pulling up the cover, tucking it around me. “Most people are, Scout, when you finally see them.” He turned out the light and went into Jem's room. He would be there all night, and he would be there when Jem waked up in the morning.

101 To Kill a Mockingbird Essay Titles & Examples

If you struggle to find “To Kill a Mockingbird” essay topics on prejudice, race, the characters’ courage, or any other issue, look no further. Our team has prepared a list of titles and essay writing tips for this book.

🏆 Best To Kill a Mockingbird Essay Topics & Examples

📌 most interesting to kill a mockingbird essay titles, 👍 good to kill a mockingbird research topics, ❓ to kill a mockingbird essay questions.

Before we will talk about the do’s and don’ts in essay writing, let’s clarify the types of essay.

When working on “To Kill a Mockingbird” essay thesis, you can focus on the facts of the book or concentrate on your attitude towards its key issues and characters. According to your approach, we can divide essays into two main areas:

• Objective essay: you set out your personal thoughts on a chosen issue and provide supporting arguments and evidence;
• Subjective essay: you express your point of view on a specific topic without claiming the truth and strengthening it with facts.

For example, when you choose a “To Kill a Mockingbird” essay topics on goodness, you will state that Atticus is a kind and fearless. No doubt that this character has a positive role.

On the other hand, when you describe Mayella, you will have to choose: will you condemn her or express pity.

As for the essay content, it can be divided into many subcategories:

• Philosophical essay
• Critical essay
• Literary analysis
• Historical essay, etc.

There are also a few key literary types:

• Feature article, etc.

Do’s & Don’ts When Writing To Kill a Mockingbird Essays

Now, it’s time to talk about what you should write and what to avoid in your paper. First of all, you have to remember that all “To Kill a Mockingbird” essay titles should reveal the essence of the issue.

Recommendations for essay writing:

• Do mark your essay subject at the beginning of the text. “To Kill a Mockingbird” essay hooks will help you to catch the reader’s attention. Don’t forget to emphasize the central issue in the conclusion.
• Do support the style of presentation by your emotions, vision, and opinion. Use the “question-answer” in paragraphs. Make the transitions between paragraphs harmonious and smooth.
• Do use quotes, historical facts, and observations to argue the thesis statement, solve the main issue, and describe the key subject of the paper.
• Do stick to the central thesis of your essay. Avoid deepen into philosophical reflections — tell about concrete facts and examples. Here’s an example: don’t include the facts from the author’s biography if you focus on the events of the book and factors that affect discrimination.
• Do proofread the paper. Read carefully your essay several times and think if your readers will understand your expressions.
• Do not use specific terminology in “To Kill a Mockingbird” essay. For example, when you write about discrimination, you don’t necessarily have to provide its dictionary definition or use complex law, historical and psychological literature, and samples. Just your own language. However, it doesn’t mean that your opinion should seem ungrounded.
• Do add your emotions to the paper. Let your readers feel that you believe in your ideas when defending the essay thesis.
• Don’t choose the header before you write an essay. First, you should write an essay, and only then compile the title of your paper.

Well, now you know about the essay types, what to do, and what to avoid in your essay. Of course, you may ask: “What to write in my own essay?”

The key to success is to start. Check “To Kill a Mockingbird” essay examples on our website to get inspiration. Even the topic seems to you too complicated, start your research, and then you will be able to express new and original thoughts.

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To Kill a Mockingbird

Introduction to kill a mockingbird.

To Kill a Mockingbird is a masterpiece written by Harper Lee . The novel was published in 1960 and became an instant hit. Since then, it has found inroads into schools, colleges, and libraries across the world. The novel presents the story of Lee’s hometown, Monroeville in Alabama, her family members, neighbors, and the events that took place in her life in fiction . The novel also deals with the issues of race and racial prejudice as well as racial segregation in the American South during the Great Depression.

Summary of To Kill a Mockingbird

The narrator of the novel is the six-year-old girl, Scout, who lives with her brother and father in Maycomb. Named as Scout Jean Louise Finch, the girl befriends Dill, a boy, who visits her town, Maycomb, each summer to pass his holidays with his aunt. Jem also joins them and the trio enjoy life but are terrified of the recluse, Arthur Radley, who lives in their neighborhood in Maycomb. Living in austerity, the recluse, termed Boo, in the neighborhood, who always stays away from the community . However, the children’s imaginations weave tales about the recluse, making him a butt of their rumors as well as tales. As the three enjoy each other for two summer breaks, they soon find out that somebody is leaving gifts for them in the tree outside the house of Radley, the recluse. Although he sometimes peeped through his door to have an affectionate look at the children, he never emerges out of his home, which terrifies them at first. Therefore, the speculations about him continue.

Meanwhile, an African-American man, Tom Robinson, is accused of committing the crime of molesting a white lady, Mayella Ewell, for which Atticus is appointed by the judge, Taylor, as a defense attorney. Despite disapproval from the Maycomb public about Tom’s defense, Atticus takes up the case and tries to protect Tom from the legal folly of sentencing a black without having committed a crime. It happens that his children Jem and Scout become the butt of jokes and taunts of the children of the town. They call their father, Atticus, as n**-lover, and so on. Even though Scout thinks of standing up to the bullies, her father does not allow it to her and pacifies her rather. When a group thinks of lynching Tom to death, Atticus confronts them. Scout, meanwhile, talks to the father of her friend in an unexpected manner, who happens to be present in this group of the people, and the situation is defused as the people disperse.

Despite his daughter’s fearless support, Atticus does not want his children to involve in the saga or join the trial . However, the Reverend Sykes takes Jem, Dill, and Scout to watch the trial and they see that Atticus confronts Bob and Mayella about their testimony, saying that they are entirely liars. It then becomes clear that the animosity of Mayella is on account of the rebuff she faced from Tom for her sexual encounters, while Bob is already nobody in the eyes of the public, for he is the least-trusted person in the city. Despite these two witnesses having the shady background, the jury sentences Tom which jolts the conscience of the children. However, Atticus’s optimism about the final justice led him to go for an appeal. Tom, in the meanwhile, tries to flee the jail and is shot dead as a result.

On the other hand, Atticus does his best to make the witnesses feel the guilt. He even plays havoc with Bob’s reputation that he has already lost, while he spits on him and tries to bully the judge as well as the widow of Tom, the poor victim. However, he rather takes a long route of avenging by attacking the children of Atticus when they are at the Halloween pageant. Jem’s arm is broken while Boo Radley, as it appears later, jumps in and rescues the children. In the meanwhile, the police arrive and discovers that Bob is dead through his own folly, or as it seems though Boo kills him with his knife. However, there is confusion about his killer as being Boo or Jem. The sheriff, though, decides to frame Bob for attacking them and falling on his how knife. Then Boo begs Scout to walk up to his home that she does, and then he disappears never to come back again.

Major Themes in To Kill a Mockingbird

• Conflict between Good and Evil: To Kill a Mockingbird shows the conflict between good and evil through the characters of Scout, Jem, Atticus, and Tom. Whereas Atticus tries to save Tom, it becomes clear that the witnesses are hell-bent on getting him awarded a sentence or even lynched to death. Scout appears at that moment to save him as well as her father to show that goodness wins by the end.
• Ambition: The theme of ambition in the novel has been shown through the legal commitment of Atticus Finch who is determined on saving the poor man, Tom Robinson. On the other hand, the society of Maycomb is entirely against this new custom that Atticus is going to impose upon them through legal means. Therefore, the novel shows his ambition of equality in the society that the society refuses.
• Education: Education is another important theme in that it is Atticus who instills this education in his children that they should be just and fair in their dealings come what may . The positive thinking and unbiased approach are the hallmarks of this new system instilled by the parents into the minds of their such as Atticus.
• Prejudice: Prejudice has been shown in the novel through the character of witnesses as well as the entire Maycomb . It has been proved through the false statements of witnesses that Tom is innocent, yet the jury reaches the verdict of incarcerating him merely due to the innate prejudice. Aunt Alexandra’s suggestion of teaching children the significance of class is the worst type of prejudice shown in the novel.
• Moral Complexity: Moral complexity is another theme shown through the character of Scout and Jem who thinks that there is no standardized yardstick to measure good and bad acts. They think that human beings are innocent but then Tom’s trial makes them aware of this flawed notion. Finally, when the Maycomb community reacts to the just and unjust through the racial prism, they see that it is a very complex thing to see morality from a single perspective .
• Innocence: The theme of innocence has been demonstrated through the character of Scout and Jem who see that Tom is being tried for none of his crimes, while their father has been demonized merely because he is helping an innocent person. Another theme of innocence is depicted through the character of Arthur ‘Boo’ Radley.
• Racism: The theme of racism has been shown through the prejudicial view of Tom’s crime and Atticus’ assistance. Scout and Jem, too, face difficulties at school merely because their father is helping the poor young man, a fact which emerges from this racial prejudice.
• Laws and Codes: The novel shows that a society must have a good legal code to punish the criminals. However, it dawns upon the people that even a system must have good upholders, too, for, despite the credibility of the witnesses, an innocent person is punished for none of his crimes.
• Knowledge: The theme of knowledge emerges through the character of Scout and Jem, who come to know that even if they help an innocent person, the community could become their enemy on account of race and gender.

Major Characters in To Kill a Mockingbird

• Scout Finch: Daughter of a successful lawyer, Atticus. Scout is portrayed as a tomboyish type of girl who stays a symbol of purity and innocence in the society of Maycomb. When she faces racial slurs on account of her father’s legal assistance to Tom, she bears these insults with a heavy heart and comes to know the toxicity of the racial hatred. She even rebuffs the mob by identifying the father of her friend when they are fixed on lynching Tom.
• Atticus: A lawyer and good-hearted person, Atticus is also the father of Jem and Scout, two very good children. Leading a successful life in Maycomb, he invites social prejudice and hatred by deciding to help Tom Robinson, a black accused of a crime on false grounds. Despite dangers and insults being hurled at his children, he does not budge from the stand that wins him the respect of his children.
• Jem Finch: He is the old brother of Scout and son of Atticus. He makes the trio with Dill and Scout who get gifts from Radley. He knows that his father is helping a black, the reason that the children are teasing them as a “n*** helper.” However, he shows this sense through his courage to stand up to these insults.
• Arthur ‘Boo’ Radley: A recluse, Boo, has been portrayed as the mockingbird who is rumored about his reclusive life. He seems quite mysterious who does not stay in the public and yet has the gift to change public thinking. When Tom is redeemed by the end due to Atticus’ determination, Radley, too, seems redeemed for his reclusive lifestyle.
• Dill: Dill is a curious friend of Jem and Scout who questions the Maycomb public’s racial prejudice present even in its justice system. A very sensitive child, he lies about his father and tries to get Boo out of his house to enjoy him in the public.
• Miss Maudie Atkinson: The old widow stays busy in her yard, tending her garden but stays indifferent to the general public behavior. Despite this indifference, she is optimistic about the public.
• Calpurnia: The Atticus caretaker, Calpurnia, brings up Scout and Jem in proper values. She is very kind and generous even to animals and ensures that the children are understanding and caring for others.
• Tom Robinson: A honest and hardworking African American, Tom becomes the victim of racial prejudice and is discriminated against even in the judicial system on account of the color of his skin. Despite the flaws in the witnesses’ accounts, he is thrown behind the bars to be hanged.
• Myella Ewell: She is a witness who accuses Tom of rape and yet could not conclusively prove it. Although she does not have any witness, she easily uses mob psychology and turns the entire community against Tom. Hers is an opportunistic nature.
• Aunt Alexandra: As the aunt of Scout and Jem, Alexandra is the sister of the lawyer, Atticus. Although she resents Scout’s Tomboy attitude , she tries to educate Calpurnia about treating and bringing the children in a proper manner.  

Writing Style of To Kill a Mocking Bird

Although most of the novel is written in conversation, it sometimes takes a humorous turn according to the characters. The direct and straightforward approach of Harper Lee in telling a story that seems suavely deceptive. The story, at times, uses very complex and higher-level language to engage its readers. However, once the narrator sets the stage, she starts using a childlike narrative style . All the characters use the language that suits them such as Scout misuses it to pretend that they are guessing its true meanings, while Miss Maudie turns to the elegance of the sentences. This style also shows how Atticus and Tom are different in their language and style and how Calpurnia and Aunt Alexandra are different in their conversation.

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. The falling action is of Bob Ewell’s threats to Atticus for supporting Tom, while Boo, the recluse, saves the children from Bob in his final action.
• Allegory : To Kill a Mockingbird shows the use of allegorical points as Tim Johnson has been shown as the bird dog of the Maycomb public, Boo is shown as a recluse who shuns society, while Tom is shown as a person who is to sacrifice himself to remove the prejudice prevalent in the society.
• Antagonist : Bob Ewell accuses Tom Robinson of raping his daughter, although he has been drunk at the time when, it is stated, the act has taken place. However, the primary conflict is that Tom is an African American and can be easily accused of a crime that he has never committed. As Bob accuses him falsely and frames him in the rape, he is the main antagonist of the story.
• Allusion : There are various examples of allusions given in the novel. Thus, we came to know Dill as a pocket Merlin, whose head teemed with eccentric plans, strange longings, and quaint fantasies . (Chapter-1) Hours of winter -time had found me in the treehouse, looking over at the schoolyard, spying on multitudes of children through a two- power telescope Jem had given me, learning their games. (Chapter-2) Miss Maudie’s face likened such an occurrence unto an Old Testament pestilence. (Chapter-6)The first example shows the use of the allusion of Merlin, the legendary King Arthur’s adviser as well as a magician. The second is an allusion to “Blind Man’s Bluff” a sort of game of children. The third reference alludes to the Plague of Egypt that has been referred to in the Bible.
• Conflict : There are two types of conflicts in To Kill a Mockingbird. The first one is the central conflict that is going on between the African American and the white of Maycomb. The second conflict is going on between the white who wants their children to treat all people equal sans the color of their skin such as Atticus. The others are the people who think that Atticus is leaving his section of the white people and joining the African American (black). Therefore, he should be taught a lesson to stay within the social limits.
• Characters: To Kill a Mockingbird presents both flat as well as round characters. Atticus is a round character who shows various aspects of his individuality during his drive to save Tom’s skin. Scout and her brother, too, are round characters. However, Bob and Mayella Ewell are both flat characters , as they do not change, neither they want to change themselves even by the end of the novel. They are as prejudicial and unforgiving in the end as they are in the beginning.
• Climax : The climax in To Kill a Mockingbird arrives when all the conflicts reach the final moment. Bob Ewell attacks Scout and Jem and breaks the arm of Jem when Boo appears and saves the children. This is the moment when finally Scout finds Radley to speak to him, who has been a mysterious figure for the children for so long. The moment of an anticlimax, however, arrives, when the rumor spreads around that Tom is shot down when fleeing from the prison. Also, Bob tries to intimidate Atticus who does not seem to accept his threats.

“Cry about what, Mr. Raymond?” Dill’s maleness was beginning to assert itself. “Cry about the simple hell people give other people—without even thinking. Cry about the hell white people give colored folks, without even stopping to think that they’re people, too.” “Atticus says cheatin‘ a colored man is ten times worse than cheatin’ a white man,” I muttered. “Says it’s the worst thing you can do.” (Chapter-20)

This is the example of dialogue between Raymond and Dill in the 20 th chapter of the novel. They are talking about

I wouldn’t be so sure of that, Atticus . . . His kind’d do anything to pay off a grudge. You know how those people are. (Chapter-23). “ Ruth Jones, the welfare lady, said Mr. Ewell openly accused Atticus of getting his job. She was upset enough to walk down to Atticus’s office and tell him about it. (Chapter-27) High above us in the darkness a solitary mocker poured out his repertoire in blissful unawareness of whose tree he sat in, plunging from the shrill kee, kee of the sunflower bird to the irascible qua-ack of a bluejay, to the sad lament of Poor Will, Poor Will, Poor Will. (Chapter-28)

The first example of foreshadowing shows that Alexandra warns the lawyer, Atticus, that Bob is a revengeful person and will always try to avenge his insult. It proves that she is true. The second example occurs in the 27 th chapter where Scout thinks that these three ordinary things have something special in it that Bob is revengeful. The third example occurs in the 28 th chapter, where Scout again tells that Boo is the mockingbird.

• Hero : Although Boo and Scout seem, protagonists of the scenes where they appear, Atticus Finch is the real hero who fights for Tom to end racial prejudice.

A day was twenty-four hours long but seemed longer. There was no hurry, for there was nowhere to go, nothing to buy and no money to buy it with, nothing to see outside the boundaries of Maycomb County. (Chapter-1)

It is hyperbole in that a day cannot be longer than 24 hours. Yet it seems that the author wants to stress upon the fact that it could be otherwise in Maycomb.

• Irony : Irony in the novel occurs when Scout and Jem try to bring mysterious Boo Radley out of his hiding and another irony is about Bob that he tries to exonerate himself but is killed in his own action.

Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired old town when I first knew it. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view -“ “Sir?” “- until you climb into his skin and walk around in it. One time (Atticus) said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them.

These beautiful metaphors show the comparisons ; first of Maycomb to an old town, of a person to another person, and then the same again.

• Mood : The novel uses a serious mood in the beginning when Jem is shown through the narrative of Scout. Then it becomes light and humorous but very profound and somber at times when incidents of racial prejudice, hatred, and discrimination take a serious turn.
• Motif : Most important motifs of the novel, including the character of Boo Radley, the darkness that is quite real, night , and gothic jail.
• Narrator : The novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, has been narrated by a first-person narrator. It happens to be the hero as well, for it is the girl Jean Louise Scout Finch who narrates the story from her own perspective and tries to eliminate the wall of the racial hatred.
• Protagonist : Scout Finch is the main protagonist of the story, as it is she from whose point the story has been narrated. However, Boo Radley is also the protagonist, as he saves the children from Bob by the end of the story.
• Paradox : To Kill a Mockingbird shows that justice is a paradox in the regions where white and black people try to come to terms with each other through the rule of law.
• Resolution : The conflict of To Kill a Mockingbird, seems to resolve when Boo Radley becomes a hero by saving Scout Finch and Jem. Earlier, he seems to be a mystery for the children.

What was the evidence of her offense? What did she do? What did her father do?

These examples show the use of rhetorical questions mostly used by Atticus to make the jury aware that actually there is no such case for want of evidence of the offense against Tom Robinson.

• Theme: It is a central idea that the novelist or the writer wants to stress upon. The novel, To Kill a Mockingbird’s core themes are good versus evil, racial discrimination, injustice, class difference, racism, bravery, etc.
• Setting : The setting of the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, is a fictional town of Maycomb in Alabama in the United States.

He was as good as his worst performance. (Chapter 4). The tire bumped on gravel, skeetered… and popped me like a cork onto pavement. (Chapter-4)

The first simile compares Dill to his worst performance and the speaker to a cork.

• Symbol: The mockingbird is a symbol of innocence and vulnerability, Atticus is a symbol of justice and fair play, while Boo Radley is a symbol of loyalty and love.

Related posts:

• To Kill a Mockingbird Themes
• To Kill a Mockingbird Quotes
• To Kill a Mockingbird Characters
• To Kill a Mockingbird Racism
• Nelle Harper Lee 

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To Kill a Mockingbird Essay Thesis

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Published: Mar 5, 2024

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Atticus's moral principles, counterarguments.

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How the moral lessons of To Kill a Mockingbird endure today

Assoc. Professor, School of Culture and Communication, The University of Melbourne

Disclosure statement

Anne Maxwell does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

University of Melbourne provides funding as a founding partner of The Conversation AU.

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In our series, Guide to the classics , experts explain key works of literature.

Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird is one of the classics of American literature. Never out of print, the novel has sold over 40 million copies since it was first published in 1960. It has been a staple of high school syllabuses, including in Australia, for several decades, and is often deemed the archetypal race and coming-of-age novel . For many of us, it is a formative read of our youth.

Read more: 'Great books', nationhood and teaching English literature

The story is set in the sleepy Alabama town of Maycomb in 1936 - 40 years after the Supreme Court’s notorious declaration of the races as being “separate but equal” , and 28 years before the enactment of the Civil Rights Act . Our narrator is nine-year-old tomboy, Scout Finch, who relays her observations of her family’s struggle to deal with the class and racial prejudice shown towards the local African American community.

At the centre of the family and the novel stands the highly principled lawyer Atticus Finch. A widower, he teaches Scout, her older brother Jem, and their imaginative friend Dill, how to live and behave honourably. In this he is aided by the family’s hardworking and sensible black housekeeper Calpurnia, and their kind and generous neighbour, Miss Maudie.

It is Miss Maudie, for example, who explains to Scout why it is a sin to kill a mockingbird: “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us.”

Throughout the novel, the children grow more aware of the community’s attitudes. When the book begins they are preoccupied with catching sight of the mysterious and much feared Boo Radley, who in his youth stabbed his father with a pair of scissors and who has never come out of the family house since. And when Atticus agrees to defend Tom Robinson, a black man who is falsely accused of raping a white woman, they too become the target of hatred.

A morality tale for modern America

One might expect a book that dispatches moral lessons to be dull reading. But To Kill a Mockingbird is no sermon. The lessons are presented in a seemingly effortless style, all the while tackling the complexity of race issues with startling clarity and a strong sense of reality.

Read more: William Faulkner diagnosed modern ills in As I Lay Dying

As the Finches return from Robinson’s trial, Miss Maudie says: “as I waited I thought, Atticus Finch won’t win, he can’t win, but he’s the only man in these parts who can keep a jury out so long in a case like that.”

Despite the tragedy of Robinson’s conviction, Atticus succeeds in making the townspeople consider and struggle with their prejudice.

The effortlessness of the writing owes much to the way the story is told. The narrator is a grown Scout, looking back on her childhood. When she begins her story, she seems more interested in telling us about the people and incidents that occupied her six-year-old imagination. Only slowly does she come to the events that changed everything for her and Jem, which were set in motion long before their time. Even then, she tells these events in a way that shows she too young to always grasp their significance.

The lessons Lee sets out are encapsulated in episodes that are as funny as they are serious, much like Aesop’s Fables. A case in point is when the children return home from the school concert with Scout still dressed in her outlandish ham costume. In the dark they are chased and attacked by Bob Ewell the father of the woman whom Robinson allegedly raped. Ewell, armed with a knife, attempts to stab Scout, but the shapeless wire cage of the ham causes her to loose balance and the knife to go astray. In the struggle that ensues someone pulls Ewell off the teetering body of Scout and he falls on the knife. It was Boo Radley who saved her.

Another lesson about what it means to be truly brave is delivered in an enthralling episode where a local farmer’s dog suddenly becomes rabid and threatens to infect all the townsfolk with his deadly drool.

Scout and Jem are surprised when their bespectacled, bookish father turns out to have a “God-given talent” with a rifle; it is he who fires the single shot that will render the townsfolk safe. The children rejoice at what they consider an impressive display of courage. However, he tells them that what he did was not truly brave. The better example of courage, he tells them, is Mrs Dubose (the “mean” old lady who lived down the road), who managed to cure herself of a morphine addiction even as she was dying a horribly painful death from cancer.

He also teaches them the importance of behaving in a civilised manner, even when subjected to insults. Most of all Atticus teaches the children the importance of listening to one’s conscience even when everyone else holds a contrary view: “The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule”, he says, “is a person’s conscience.”

The continuing value in Atticus’ belief in the importance of principled thinking in the world of Black Lives Matter and the Australian government’s rhetoric of “African gangs” , is clear.

Atticus’ spiel on “conscience” and the other ethical principles he insists on living by, are key to the enduring influence of the novel. It conjures an ideal of moral standards and human behaviour that many people still aspire to today, even though the novel’s events and the characters belong to the past.

Lee herself was not one to shy away from principled displays: writing to a school that banned her novel, she summed up the source of the morality her book expounds. The novel, she said, “spells out in words of seldom more than two syllables a code of honor and conduct”.

Fame and obscurity

When first published the novel received rave reviews . A year later it won the Pulitzer Prize for Literature, followed by a movie version in 1962 starring Gregory Peck . Indeed, the novel was such a success that Lee, unable to cope with all the attention and publicity, retired into obscurity .

Interviewed late in life, Lee cited two reasons for her continued silence: “I wouldn’t go through the pressure and publicity I went through with To Kill a Mockingbird for any amount of money. Second, I have said what I wanted to say, and I will not say it again.”

The latter statement is doubtless a reference to the autobiographical nature of her book. Lee passed her childhood in the rural town of Monroeville in the deep south, where her attorney father defended two black men accused of killing a shopkeeper. The accused were convicted and hanged.

Undoubtedly influenced by these formative events, the biographical fiction Lee drew out of her family history became yet more complex upon the publication of her only other novel, Go Set a Watchman, in 2016. Critics panned it it for lacking the light touch and humour of the first novel. They also decried the fact that the character of Atticus Finch was this time around a racist bigot , a feature that had the potential to taint the author’s legacy .

Read more: Review/ Has Go Set a Watchman helped topple the notion of the white saviour?

Subsequent biographical research revealed that Go Set A Watchman, was not a sequel, but the first draft of To Kill a Mockingbird. Following initial rejection by the publisher Lippincot, Lee reworked it into the superior novel many of us know and still love today.

Lee gave us the portrait of one small town in the south during the depression years. But it was so filled with lively detail, and unforgettable characters with unforgettable names like Atticus, Scout, Calpurnia and Boo Radley that a universal story emerged, and with it the novel’s continuing popularity.

• To Kill a Mockingbird
• Go Set a Watchman
• Guide to the Classics

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