many points of evil that are discussed in Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird. In our world today, we are

stared in the face everyday with many facets of evil. These nefarious things come in several forms,

including, but not limited to discrimination of sex, race, ethnicity, physical appearance, and popularity,

alcoholism, drug abuse, irresponsibility, and even murder. The occurrences of evil and wrong-doing in To

Kill A Mockingbird further along Scout's maturation into a young woman. Three of the most important

instances of evil are those of racism, alcoholism, and gossip.

Dispersed within To Kill A Mockingbird are numerous illustrations of racism. Statements such as

"You father's no better than the niggers and trash he works for" (Lee 108) seem to be common through the

entire novel. This seemed to bother people of the common day, and this drove many people to deem Lee's

book "banned" from their school. If we look back to the times when the book was written, we can

understand the use of the "N-word." During the Great Depression, and at many times during the early

twentieth century, the "N-word" was used as commonly

lives with. Arthur (Boo) Radley was a victim of such evil. Scout's head was filled with gossip about Boo,

"His name's Arthur and he's still alive."

only on one person, but all people that the alcoholic comes into contact with. If anything, Scout learned the

Another evil present today, as well as in the 1930's, is one that we don't often think of, gossip.

as many people today use the word "work." It

seems as though people either didn't think, or didn't care, about how demeaning "nigger" was. Eventually,

throughout the book, and it was his daughter, Mayella Ewell, that pressed false charges against Tom

Some topics in this essay:
Kill Mockingbird, Tom Robinson, James Simpson, Boo Radley, Mockingbird Scout, Jem Lee, N-word Depression, Bob Ewell, Scout Jem, Harper Lee's, kill mockingbird, scout learned, scout jem, boo radley, harper lee's, person people, scout subjected, people didn't, evil racism, n-word commonly,