to kill a mockingbird

to kill a mockingbird Essay Examples

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Published: Friday 25th of January 2013

How to Write a Good Essay on to Kill a Mockingbird: Topics, Tips and Example

Symbols and Themes Encountered in the Novel “To Kill a Mockingbird”

The American literature would have never been the same without the contribution of the worldly-famous Harper Lee. One of her greatest novels that was published back in 1960 and that also won a Pulitzer Prize is “To Kill a Mockingbird”. Sold in more than 30 million copies and translated in over 40 languages, this fictional novel is considered one of the best in the American literature. And even now, after so many years, the novel continues to enthral those reading it. The novel presents the story of a six-year-old girl nicknamed Scout, her older brother nicknamed Jem, and their widowed father named Atticus. The events take place during the Great Depression (1933-1935). What makes this novel so highly appreciated is the way the author chooses to emphasize complex social, ethical, and moral issues, all in a simple narrating style. She tackles subjects such as injustice, racism, and oppression and exposes them in a manner that can be understood and recognized even by the youngest readers, as these examples are both naïve and simplistic. The combination of symbols and motifs present in this novel is the thing that makes it a moving and thoughtful sequence of events. The theme that is the most present in the Harper Lee’s book is the permanent fight between good and evil. The first time this issue is brought forth is when the author discusses the changes that both Jem and his little sister Scout encounter when going from their childhood innocence to their adulthood experience. At first, they are of the opinion that all people they know are good, but this is because they haven’t met other people outside this setting. The moment they have to confront evil, their opinions with respect to the world surrounding them significantly change. Probably because she’s younger, Scout still manages to keep her faith in humanity, but her older brother, Jem, is convinced that human nature and honesty are more filled with evil than he imagined. Atticus Finch, their father, is the embodiment of high moral tone in the novel, because even though he has encountered evil many times before, he still managed to preserve his faith in goodness. He is of the opinion that people have both bad and good qualities and he stresses the importance of appreciating the good qualities as well as accepting the bad qualities in each person and treating everyone with sympathy. He shares his opinions with his children, lecturing them over good and bad qualities and letting them understand that it’s not impossible at all to live their lives without losing their faith in humanity or becoming sceptical over everything. Moral education is another aspect that makes an important theme of the story and it’s highly present in nearly each discussion Atticus has with his children. One significant scene that marks the importance of moral education and that is considered a counterpoint with respect to Atticus’ education happens at school. There, Scout has many discussions with her teachers and confronts them, as she believes they are not concerned about neither her nor her colleagues’ needs. While Atticus is capable of understanding his children by putting himself in their shoes and does this without having deep background knowledge in teaching, Miss Caroline is unable to attain the same success, not even with all her years spent in college learning pedagogy.