Chapter 1 Summary Jean Louise Finch, nicknamed Scout, narrates this story and it is told during the great depression of the 1930's. She lives in the town of Maycomb, Alabama with her widowed father Atticus, and her older brother by four years, Jeremy Finch (called Jem). Scout tells us about her ancestors who originally fled England to escape religious persecution and they established a large ... dishes out the punishment before the trial has even commenced. We now get an explanation of the book's title To Kill a Mockingbird'. When Atticus gives the air guns to Scout and Jem for their Christma...

• Word Count: 10075
• Approx Pages: 40
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... through with students the host of messy and complicated issues in which difference, as perceived by both the societally empowered and dispowered, now embroils us. I believe that To Kill a Mockingbird, with its vivid descriptions of a particularly grim historic movement, would be a Catalyst for such conversations" (Ricker-Wilson). Reading books that have questionable contents also allows insight into the way that ... readers of today have often learned about the issues facing life after slavery and during the Great Depression, very few of them have read anything that resembles the depth...

• Word Count: 1207
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

To Kill A Mockingbird To Kill A Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee takes place in Maycomb county, Alabama in the 1930's. In a time when black people did not have the same rights as the white people. The story ... 't count." (page # 194) The jury's verdict is guilty and then later when he was in jail he tried to escape but did not get over the fence and died. The only person who broke the law was Mayella. She tempted a blackman. In To Kill A Mockingbird Atticus told Jem "I"d rather you shot at tin cans in the back yard, but I know you"ll go after ... birds. Shoot all the bluejays want, if yo...

• Word Count: 590
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... attitudes and actions of people living in a typical southern town during the 1930s. Among the themes presented, racism, education, and bravery stand out as the fundamental themes in To Kill a Mockingbird. Racism is the most prominently significant theme in To Kill a Mockingbird. Prejudice was at the core of Maycomb society; the citizens" thoughts, words, and actions revolved around the idea that the white race was superior ... trusted around our women" (Lee, 204) basically summarizes the attitude of the citizens of Maycomb toward a race they consider far beneath them. Education is also ...

• Word Count: 591
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... title "To Kill A Mockingbird" by Harper Lee is the representation of the most meaningful statement produced in the novel. A mockingbird is a harmless bird that makes the world more pleasant with its song. In the novel, the mockingbird symbolises Boo Radley and Tom Robinson, who were both peaceful people who never did any harm. To kill or harm them would be a sin. Miss Maudie explained this statement to Scout ... . They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do but one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird." In the ...

• Word Count: 816
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... although he was innocent. The jury who had listened to his trial was made up of all white men. A major theme in To Kill A Mockingbird is racism. The town of Maycomb was filled with racism, which is why Tom Robinson was convicted of rape. The setting of To Kill A Mockingbird is a small, southern town in the 1930's. ... This setting is the most important fictional element that affected the theme of racism in To Kill A Mockingbird. The early 1900's were a hard time for negroes. The Thirteenth Amendment was ratified ... they lost the war. They were still stubborn in their actions toward bl...

• Word Count: 531
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... . Many trials became famous and turned into stories and books because of the prejudice against blacks. Although the Tom Robinson trial didn't actually happen it closely related to trials that occurred. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee shows how prejudice and racism affected black people. A perfect example of this, the Tom Robinson trial, demonstrates how unjustly a black can be tried by white ... the same characteristics. Miss Maudie says: 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...

• Word Count: 433
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... courage in their own way. Courage can come in many different forms: physical, mental, emotional and moral. Courage is not the only main theme displayed in To Kill a Mockingbird; prejudice and education are also very important themes exhibited throughout the progression of the novel. Through the eyes of Scout Finch, a bright, sensitive and intelligent little girl, these themes ... family. Prejudice is a strong opinion an individual may possess for or against someone without knowing all the facts about them. It can be passed down from generation to generation. In the novel To Kill a Mock...

• Word Count: 1064
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... story. Although the town, Maycomb, portrays both a happy community and a pretty little town on it's surface, underneath it exposes its ugly division formed by the sad, ongoing issue of racism. To Kill a Mockingbird is set in a small, southern town in 1930's America. This is a period after the civil war, during the depression. It was during this time period that the townsfolk were going ... . The setting of the novel also emphasizes how split the town is between the whites and the blacks. The Negroes are shunned to the outskirts of the town, deprived of an education and even made to atten...

• Word Count: 1969
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

... . Robinson is falsely accused of having raped a white man's daughter. A racist, all-white jury convicts the innocent Robinson, despite Finch's heroic and impassioned defense. Harper Lee's message about fairness in To Kill a Mockingbird is that societies views and actions towards a person, are based on their skin color, who they are, and their personal image. This is shown through the characters Tom, Jem, and ... Scout. The theme of fairness in To Kill a Mockingbird broadens to a further extent than just the situation of racial discrimination between the blacks and the whites. Although, t...

• Word Count: 1230
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... Scottsboro Case: A Comparison On July 1, 1960, J.B. Lippincott published Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. In its first year of publication, To Kill a Mockingbird created one of the most extraordinary records in publishing history. It was chosen by three book clubs: Reader's Digest Condensed Books, the Literary Guild and Book-of-the-Month Club. ... is still read by high school students throughout the United States. Although this is a fictitious novel, it bears great similarities to the events that occurred in the South during Lee's childhood. However, research indicates that Harper L...

• Word Count: 1415
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

The Ewells play a significant part in this story of "To Kill a Mockingbird". In the first chapter, Scout mentions the Ewells to us that the "Ewells started it all". Scout means that the Ewells had an affect on the residents of Maycomb. The story will involve an allegation ... no mother and Mayella Ewell brings him up. From the very beginning of the story, the Ewells are portrayed badly. Scout learns from her father that she had to go to school but the Ewells do not. Atticus explains that the Ewells are not regular people and this goes back three generations: "None of them (Ewells) had done ...

• Word Count: 1378
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

To Kill a Mockingbird Essay In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, there are many themes present. One theme is that sometimes people are judged before they are known. Another theme is ... that he is a bad person because he spends all his time with black people. They think he does it because he is always drinking. When the kids get to know him, they find out that he is a good, sweet person who drinks coca-cola all the time, not alcohol. One quote that shows this is, " ... this is Tom Robinson. He is accused of rape, even though he did not do anything but things that are nice. He we...

• Word Count: 623
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

Prejudice in to Kill a Mockingbird Prejudice is arguably the most prominent theme of the novel. It is directed towards groups and individuals in the Maycomb community. Prejudice is linked with ideas of fear superstition and injustice. Racial prejudice consumed the mob (pg 166), which wished to prevent Tom even gaining a court hearing, the most basic form of justice. This is probably the fiercest form of ... of Finch (family name significant: Atticus could view the Mockingbirds as part of his family that he ought to protect). First shown in Chpt 10 where Atticus says "shoot all the bluejays y...

• Word Count: 1462
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• Grade Level: High School

To kill A Mockingbird The themes of racism and prejudice in 'to kill a mockingbird' by Harper Lee. A novel I have read recently and thoroughly enjoyed is 'To Kill A Mockingbird' by Harper Lee. It portrays a life and the role of racism in the 1930's. In this essay I will talk about the themes of racism and predjudice. I will also look at the characterisation to ... show the contrast of how it affects all of the characters and the use of symbolism of the mockingbird representing different characters. The theme of prejudice in "To Kill A Mockingbird" is much more than just a case of ... think A...

• Word Count: 1400
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... , living in the corners of the ghetto, neither trustworthy or accepted, all because of your skin color. Racism was an influential part of society in the 1930s' as seen in To Kill a Mockingbird. In this story, racism kept the black poor and the white wealthy, the black community was not considered as trustworthy as the white and black people weren't considered as high ... Tom innocent. The fact that the jury took so long meant that they were debating it seriously, for a prolonged period. A large step in the fight against racism. The racism in To Kill a Mockingbird was ridiculous, not in t...

• Word Count: 1244
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Robert Mulligan's film classic, "To Kill a Mockingbird" is based on the celebrated novel of the same name, by Harper Lee. The film is set in the 1930's, the era of Lee's childhood. Harper Lee ... one's head", was a concept that was picking up speed in the Civil Rights Movement of the 60's. Much of "To Kill a Mockingbird" takes place in the local courtroom, and it's evident that most of the townspeople have lived a lifetime of deeply ingrained racist hatred. The moral Atticus Finch clearly ... proves that Robinson was innocent of any wrongdoing - despite the color of his skin. Robinson expla...

• Word Count: 473
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... of the characters as individuals and together as a community. She uses simple ideas and situations to influence the reader's perception. She dictates to the reader the model perfection of "most" characters but also indicates that they have their faults. Harper Lee allows the reader to understand from the novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" whether or not most people are "real nice". The aspect of innocence and the ... rarely win, but sometimes you do." Through the use of this technique Harper allows the reader to see Atticus as "real nice" due to his going out of his way to help Tom Robinson ...

• Word Count: 1011
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

Topic: To Kill A Mockingbird is a book about courage. To what extent do you agree? To Kill A Mockingbird is not strictly about courage, although it is one of the themes explored in the book. The book deals with many aspects of human ... the disgraceful Ewells. Below them all lie the Negroes, rejected from Maycomb society. It is because of these strong social divisions that the Ewells are able to prosecute Tom Robinson. The reader and townsfolk can clearly see that Tom Robinson was not at fault, but the jury of the Tom Robinson case are pressured ... them about the racism, leads them in the rig...

• Word Count: 951
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

Critical Essay on "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee "To Kill a Mockingbird" is a fictional story set in a small Southern town, Maycomb, in the early 1930. The story is told through the life of a little girl, ... that took place during the latter part that same decade. The unequal distribution of wealth created an unstable economy. The excessive speculation in the stock market eventually lead to large market crashes. These market crashes, combined with the unequal distribution of wealth, caused the Great Depression. A theme that is affecting the United States today ... bushel. Farmers, mo...

• Word Count: 1892
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

... the status quo of social inequality can be seen in To Kill A Mockingbird and Separate But Equal. Fear is the motivating factor that causes these groups or individuals to keep the races separated. In the movie Separate But Equal you can sense the strong fear that white people have. Whites were ... that would mean that blacks and whites would be considered equal. The white people had a status quo of keeping everything the same; they did not want anything to change. They had a strong fear that is the races were considered equal that the blacks would become a higher class than the whites. ...

• Word Count: 545
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... for the sake of singing, and an innocent child possesses an innate joyfulness, as natural as instinct. Yet a mockingbird's song dies as easily as innocence. In the beginning of the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, Scout and Jem are portrayed as innocents, uncorrupted by our world of prejudice and racism. Their world is simple, sensible, a child's world. However, by the end of the novel, their ... world has expanded to enclose the irrational nature of humans. Jem and Scout's growing up is portrayed by a series of ... events that shatters their innocence as easily as a mockingbird can be si...

• Word Count: 1230
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

To Kill a Mockingbird In Harper Lee's book, To Kill A Mockingbird, there are many examples of racism and injustice. During this time in history, racism was acceptable, and injustice was a problem in which everyone faced. Nobody likes to suffer from injustice, yet they do it to others. Racism and injustice were key themes in her ... mocked when she didn't make the perfect cup of coffee. "She [Calpurnia] poured one tablespoon of coffee into it and filled the cup to the brim with milk. I [Scout] thanked her by sticking out my tongue?." One character in the book that suffered from injustice was B...

• Word Count: 566
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

Harper Lee's novel, To Kill a Mockingbird is known throughout the country as a classic story depicting racism in a fictitious town in the heart of the South. The novel becomes so powerful mainly due to the characters and the role they play in their society. The reader follows a chain of events, showing the rise and fall ... of a community when confronted with issues such as racism, abuse, a coming of age, and a loss of innocence. Scout is the narrator and protagonist of To Kill a Mockingbird. She lives with her father, brother and cook, Calpurnia in Maycomb, Alabama. Scout isn't like most lit...

• Word Count: 1317
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... it's the slow realization of the way the world really works that prevents one from ever being able to go back to a time of such innocence. In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the reader walks alongside Jean Louise Finch (otherwise known as Scout) throughout the journey ... of her childhood. Her brother Jem and herself are put through a series of events which teaches them, whether they like it or not, an awful lot about the way society works. As they grow older, Jem and Scout begin to ... Jem and Scout's childhood was full of many life lessons that stripped away their chil...

• Word Count: 1706
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School