To Kill A Mockingbird Essay Questions Essay

To Kill a Mockingbird is the story of the trial of a black man, Tom Robinson for the raping of a white woman, Mayella Ewell, in racist Alabama in the 1990’s.

1. Atticus and his sister disagree on many things, mostly the treatment of colored people and how important the reputation of the finch family is. Alexandra believe that she is above colored people, especially Calpurnia and that Atticus shouldn’t let his children go to church her because it’s a disgrace to their family. Atticus believe that colored people deserve the same amount of respect as white people and that Calpurnia is a member of the finch family and should be treated like one.

Understanding perspective is essential to understanding people. Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird presents this idea in multiple passages of her writing. It can be seen in the rough, unknown troubles that people face despite their wrongful actions. As well as the rumours that are untrue and give complete false impressions of people. Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird uses these topics to illustrate the dangers of judging others before getting to know them.

Jem starts to challenge the decision of the jury in the case his father took on. The case was where a black man, Tom Robinson, was convicted of rape with no hard evidence. Jem has a hard time understanding how racism can carry over in the courtroom and Atticus opens up and admits that "There's nothing more sickening to me than a low-grade white man who'll take advantage of a Negro's ignorance" (Lee 252). Atticus confesses his disgust for white men taking advantage of black people. Atticus teaches Jem and Scout to be kind and treat everyone the same no matter their skin color or financial situation.

Jem realized that his town was extremely bigoted, and no amount of proof in favor of Tom could change Maycomb’s ways. Jem described his loss of innocence as “being a caterpillar in a cocoon. . . Like something asleep wrapped up in a warm place. [He] always thought Maycomb folks were the best folks in the world, at least that’s what they seemed like [to him].” (288) Jem became acutely aware of Maycomb’s social conventions towards people of color. He had realized to an extent that his town was racist prior to the trial, but Jem had never thought that Maycomb would go as far as to kill an innocent man simply because he was white. Jem also proved himself mature because he stopped trying get Boo Radley to come out and saw him as a human being rather than a monster. He was “beginning to understand . . . [Boo] wanted to stay inside.” (304) and stopped disturbing Boo. All in all, Jem matured and lost his innocence after the jury convicted

Dolphus Raymond is one of the many victims of racism in Maycomb, as he is forced to live a life of false impressions. After Mr.Raymond let Dill take a sip of his drink, he discreetly said, “...if I weave a little and drink out of this sack, folks can say Dolphus Raymond’s in the clutches of whiskey...”(Lee, 200). Mr. Raymond is letting the people of Maycomb inaccurately believe he is a drunk to give them a reason to tolerate his decision to be in a relationship with an African American woman. Dill identifies Mr.Raymond in the crowd of colored people drinking out of his sack then commented, “‘Why’s he sitting with the colored folks?’ [Jem then replies]

Dill’s life in Meridian, Mississippi is not as great as he makes it out to be, as he feels unloved and insignificant at home. When Dill runs away he is able to make a special connection with Boo because Boo is thought of as insignificant in the town, like Dill is at home. Dill’s naivety is shown when talking to Scout and Jem after riding the train to Maycomb by himself. Dill is explaining to them he has just seen his father, the president of L&N Railroad, “Dill’s father was taller than ours, he had a black beard (pointed), and was president of the L&N Railroad. ‘I helped the engineer for a while’ said Dill yawning. ‘In a pig's ear you did, Dill. Hush’ said Jem” (Lee, 48). Dill’s naivety is shown because he lies to Jem and Scout about his father that he does not have, so he is able to fit in, “Dill’s father was taller than ours, he had a black beard (pointed), and was president of the L&N Railroad.” Dill lies about his father and tries to make his father sound interesting so Jem and Scout think of Dill as a significant person. However, when Dill runs away from home to come and live in the Finch home, Dill’s conversation with Scout shows that he understands how Boo Radley feels and how difficult it is to be ignored and not loved, “ ‘Dill?’ ‘Mm?’ ‘Why do

Although there were doubts regarding Bob Ewell’s testimony and Atticus pleads the jury to give Tom equal standing under the eyes of the law, the jury still convicts Tom as being guilty to rape of Mayella Ewell. This lead to Jem’s mistrust in the legal system as Jem was old enough to understand the events that were occurring, but he wasn’t old enough to understand the reasoning behind Tom’s conviction as nothing has yet

There are many different types of symbols in our world today; in English literature as well as all around us on a day-to-day basis. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird we follow a little girl, Scout, as she faces the truth about the world and its injustice. The central and most obvious symbol of this novel, as well as the title of the book, is the mockingbird. It represents the innocence and injustice in this story, represented by Tom Robinson and the events surrounding the trial, but also sets the theme of racial prejudice.

In To Kill A Mockingbird, Tom Robinson, an African American man, was on trial for raping a white girl. Atticus Finch laid out all of the evidence, proving Tom was innocent, but the jury decided he was guilty. On page 210 Scout observes, “I shut my eyes. Judge Taylor was polling the jury: ‘Guilty…

In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird a major theme is the loss of innocence. Whether from emotional abuse, racial prejudice or learning, Boo, Tom, and Scout all lose their innocence in one sense or another. The prejudice that each character endures leads to their loss. Through the responses of Boo, Tom, and Scout, Harper Lee shows how each character responded differently to their loss of innocence.

The valuable lessons that Atticus teaches and demonstrates to his children (Jem and Scout) in the novel To Kill a Mocking Bird are very crucial. Atticus teaches Jem and Scout to put themselves into other people’s skin before they pre-judge a person. Atticus also teaches the two children compassion and forgiveness. The children learn an important lesson not to kill a mocking bird during the novel from Atticus. Throughout the novel several incidents happen where Atticus teaches Scout and Jem these very valuable lessons.

“Mockingbirds don’t do one thing except 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. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” (page 103) Harper Lee explains that it is a sin to kill someone, (mockingbird) when all they do is sing and/or never harmed anyone. Single story is shown in To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, with the characters Tom Robinson, Boo Radley, and Dolphus Raymond. Tom was accused of beating and raping Mayella Ewell. The town looks at Boo Radley as the “killer of the night” when they don’t know anything about him, and it’s just an excuse. They look at Dolphus Raymond as the town drunk when really it’s just a cover up for hating the white society, and would rather live among the coloreds. Throughout To Kill A Mockingbird, a single story runs

“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”. Discuss this quote from Atticus in relation to 3 characters from the novel.

* Jem still thinks that juries are a crock of @#$%, and Atticus tells him that if the jury had been made up of Jem and others like him, Tom would have been acquitted. He goes on to say that the jury left behind the written law to follow the unwritten one – that the white man always wins.