Why Is To Kill A Mockingbird Relevant Today

Harper Lee’s book, To Kill A Mockingbird takes place in the difficult times of the Great Depression in the early 1930’s. The novel surrounds the life of a young girl named Scout Finch, along with her brother Jem, and their friend, Dill. Who are forced at a young age to watch the people of their small town of Maycomb not only receive, but also give prejudice to numerous, harmless people. Whether it be Boo Radley, a shut in who falls victim to the town’s gossip, even though he is constantly showing acts of kindness towards the Finch children. Or it be Tom Robinson an innocent man that Atticus, Scout’s father must defend be accused rape, and be convicted of a crime he did not to just because of the color of his skin. Throughout the novel, the people of Maycomb deal with prejudice in the forms of sexism, intolerance of differences, and in racism.

The book To Kill a Mockingbird is historical novel that takes place in the 1930’s. In the book the author, Harper Lee, uses three characters to show how many hateful and racist people are in the town of Maycomb, Alabama. These three characters show how the town is racist and hateful towards them or their way of life. Tom Robinson is one of the three characters that was treated hatefully because he was african american.

Throughout the novel Scout was faced with many gender prejudice. Because she was a tomboy, Aunt Alexandra told scout that she can even hope to be a lady if she wore trousers. She expects Scout to play with stoves necklaces and tea pots. Aunt Alexandra wasn't the only person being prejudice against women. Atticus was also prejudice against women, even though he doesn't judge people. On page 221, he told Jem that women are not allowed to serve on juries in Alabama because the court might never get a complete case because the women would interrupt just to ask questions. Scout also showed gender prejudice to Francis. Francis told Scout that his grandmother was going to teach him how to cook and Scout said boys are not suppose to cook.

Scout is considered a tomboy because she does not wear dresses because she can “do nothing in a dress” (Lee 92) so instead she wears overalls or pants. She also goes to Finch’s Landing and starts to cuss around her Uncle Jack; when he asks her does she want to “ Grow up and be a lady,” (Lee 90) she tells him “ Not particularly.”(Lee 90) When she does wear a dress for Aunt Alexandra and the missionary circle; she gets ridiculed because she tells them she wants to grow up

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a multi-faceted novel which explores the principles and morals of people in the South during the 1930s. Mockingbirds are symbolic of the people that society abuse. Lee narrates the events of the novel using Scout’s voice and uses this technique to add emotional context and develop themes. Themes of racial and classist prejudice are developed by Lee to challenge the reader. These techniques are all powerful ways to alter the views of the reader.

The novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee shows the racism and prejudice that occurs in America during the Jim Crow era. The story is told by Scout who grows up noticing how unfair the world can be. It takes place in Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s, when blacks were commonly discriminated against. Throughout this book the reader is reminded of how a little courage goes a long way. The theme for To Kill A Mockingbird is courage because Jem, Atticus, and Ms Dubose demonstrate courageous acts throughout the novel.

To Kill a Mockingbird, a novel written by Harper Lee, tells the story of a little girl named Scout. Set in Alabama in the 1930s, Maycomb county, Scout’s home, is a sleepy place, that hides a dark streak of racism. Maycomb gets pulled into a whirlwind court case of sexual assault consisting of an African American man getting accused of beating and raping a white girl. Scout, whose father defended the African American, learns of the deep problems in society. Still in the mindset of constant racism, the jury ruled against the black man, even though the evidence clearly proved that the girl’s father beat her. Unfortunately, this racism survives today, and one only has to take a peek at the news, or a glance outside to notice it. Racism still exists today, as seen through brutality against

In addition, another example is when Aunt Alexandra tells Scout that she is supposed to be in a dress because she is a girl instead of spending time around with Jem when she said "I wasn't supposed to be doing things that required pants"[p.108]. Sexism is a problem and that time and now the story portrays and like racism, sexism is still a problem. Even though it has also improved some people believe boys are supposed to be unemotional and work and girls are supposed to cook and clean.

Throughout the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, there is a strong sense of gender discrimination. First, Scout is mocked against for being a Tomboy. Women in the story are believed to need to act, speak, and dress a certain way to be considered a lady. Scout shies away from the perceived ways a lady needs to act and therefore is not considered to be a lady. Characters in the story like Aunt Alexandra and Ms. Stephanie give Scout a hard time for not acting a way a lady is supposed to act in Maycomb, and they make it their mission to fix it. They say things like “It would be best for you to have some feminine influence” (Lee 140) and “Don’t talk like that in front of

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee has become a mainstay in American high-schools. This is a classic novel that has inspired many people of all ages. It had a big impact on how people viewed and treated each other. This is a story that teaches everyone about the value of honesty, love, friendship and trust. Every word written in this book has a truly deep meaning to it. The time period that the book was written in was during the Great Depression in the 1930’s. This setting was in a small town in Maycomb, Alabama with people who did not get along. During this time there was a lot of segregation within America and different races. To Kill a Mockingbird is about a family who believes in doing the right thing and being honest. There was a

‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee explores several different issues which are still relevant in today’s society. Harper Lee uses conventions within the novel to convey these ideas. The three main issues Lee explores are; Importance of Moral Education, Prejudice and Bravery and Courage.

In To Kill A Mockingbird I found that Scout was very harshly judged on they was she acts and dresses. “What are you doing in those overalls? You should be in a dress” (page 135) This scene was when Mrs.Dubose was screaming at Scout for not wearing a dress. I see that not only kids are telling Scout to change but that almost every adult is telling Scout to change and that she shouldn't be wearing that i the first place. Even if it's a different time period, and every girl was expected to be wearing a dress at all times, Scout at a young age of 6 is confident enough to keep on wearing a dress after everyone told her to change how its not ladylike. “If your scared go home, Scout when did you start acting like such a girl.” (Movie) This is when Scout and Jem were Going to Boo Radley's house, Scout was scared and Jem sees Scout are more like a boy than a girl, so when 6 year old scout got afraid Jem's first reaction wasn’t to go comfort her but to ask her when did she start acting like such a girl. I see this as the opposite of Mrs.Dubose, because instead of someone telling her to be like a girl it so someone telling her to be more like a boy. This puts a lot of pressure on Scout, who is only 6 years old! Weather it being make almost everyone in the town happy with her decision and make Jem sad, or make Jem happy and almost the whole town sad and maybe even a little

'To Kill a Mockingbird' is a novel that was written in the 1960s, but Harper Lee decided to set the novel in the Depression era of the 1930s in a small town in Alabama. Lee provided her readers with a historical background for the affairs of that time and in doing so she exposed the deeply entrenched history of the civil rights in South America. Like the main characters in this novel, Lee grew up in Alabama; this made it easier for her to relate to the characters in the novel as she would have understood what they would have experienced during the period when racism, discrimination and inequality was on the increase within the American society.

“To Kill a Mockingbird” is a novel written by Harper Lee. It is set in America in the 1930s during the Great Depression, a time of economic decline after World War II. The novel follows a young girl called Scout Finch and her brother Jem as they learn about the prejudice and racism within their society of Maycomb County. The children and their widowed father, Atticus have a unique relationship that includes the teaching of valuable life lessons and unusual, maternal nurturing.

To begin with, gender bias becomes an apparent problem in Scout’s life due to the setting, when her Aunt Alexandra moves in. Aunt Alexandra constantly criticized her niece about her choice of attire saying, “What are you doing in those overalls? You should be in a dress and camisole young lady”(Lee 117). In Alabama, during the 1930’s women were thought of as inferior to men and they were expected to act in a “ladylike” way. While men wore pants, portrayed as masculine , women wore dresses and skirts. There was a strong wall between the habits of women and men in the 1930’s. It is clear