On the other hand, there are a few people who treat black people as equals. The Finch family are very open-minded and recognise that the only difference between black and white people is the colour of their skin. Atticus defends black people in court and teaches Scout and Jem to respect everybody, no matter what colour or creed.
“Atticus says cheatin’ a coloured man is ten times worse than cheatin’ a white man… Says it’s the worst thing you can do.”
As a result of this the family are ostracised and criticized by certain members of the community because it is uncommon behaviour and society in Maycomb are ignorant to this manner of conduct.
Mr Dolphus Raymond is a middle-aged man who lives with the black community. He is also one of the few to treat black people as equals. He has a black partner but the community seem to find this inappropriate so choose to ignore him.
Atticus is subjected to prejudice from Scout and Jem because of his age. He is a slightly older father than most. Scout and Jem think of him as weak and, to some extent, useless.
“Atticus was feeble: he was nearly fifty…He was much older than the parents of our school contemporaries”
Their friends’ fathers all participated in activities like football games but Atticus always said he was to old and frail to join in. Scout and Jem were stunned when Atticus shot, Tim Johnson, a mad dog, with one shot. They had not heard of his shooting ability before so were amazed to find that Atticus was not as inept as originally thought.
Atticus also received prejudice for defending Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white girl. Mrs Dubose insulted Scout and Jem because of their father’s activities and taunted them whenever possible. She prejudged Atticus solely because of the work he was doing. When she died Atticus told Jem that she had been a morphine addict but that she was determined to die free and beholden to nothing and nobody. She had spent her dying months trying to wean herself off the morphine and that in the end she had won. Atticus explained that having a gun did not make you brave but that Mrs Dubose’s actions were more courageous than anything he, himself, could do.
“I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand.”
White people do not consider Mr Dolphus Raymond to be respectable because he is white yet prefers to live with the black community. In the thirties, in most white peoples eyes, this was unacceptable. He has mixed race children and spends his days happily living amongst black people. He does not desire attention or crave recognition for his doings, he merely aspires to live peacefully and be tolerated. To obtain this he allows white people to believe he is a drunkard so that they can deem him no good to be part of white society anyway. He does this to help people accept his status so that they will not trouble themselves with him and consequently he can achieve life in peace.
“It ain’t honest but it’s mighty helpful to folks. Secretly, Miss Finch, I’m not much of a drinker, but you see they could never, never understand that I live like I do because that’s the way I want to live.”
Scout, Jem and their friend, Dill, who comes to stay in Maycomb every summer, ask Dolphus some questions about the trial. He answers them with startling honesty. When asked why he is being so frank Dolphus replies, stating it is because they are children and children can understand. This clarifies the unfairness of the trial for the reader as well as the children because sometimes we need things spelt out in children’s language to clarify the meaning.
Dolphus appears to be one of the few adults who still know right from wrong. He can identify that the majority of adults in Maycomb are prejudiced and racist so chooses not to follow their actions but to decide for himself the moral way of life. He recognizes that the injustice suffered by the prejudged is wrong and thus determines to live a moral existence.
Prejudice is largely directed towards the Radley family. The Maycomb community consider them odd for not following local customs and traditions. They regard the Radleys as outsiders and outcasts. The children of Maycomb are fascinated by what lies behind their closed door. The family keep themselves to themselves and are seldom found participating in local events. Because of this they are the subject of adult gossip and childhood superstition.
Scout, Jem and Dill often act out fictional stories of the Radleys in play. They centre on Mr Arthur Radley, or Boo, the youngest son. Boo was arrested when he was a teenager and has been confined to the house ever since. What only helps to make the children more curious is the fact that they have never laid eyes on him. They hear so many fabricated tales of Boo’s supposed deeds that their image of him is twisted and misleading.
“Mrs Radley ran screaming into the street that Arthur was killing them all, but when the sheriff arrived he found Boo still sitting in the living-room, cutting up the Tribune.”
They believe him to be dangerous and threatening and, as they do not know him, they are ignorant of him. Subsequently they discriminate against him by holding these prejudices. This is a good example of how Harper Lee shows that prejudice arises from ignorance.
Aunt Alexandra’s missionary society hold ‘circle’ meetings to discuss, what they deem to be, matters of worldly importance. They believe that they are being supportive of people less fortunate than themselves but in reality they are just making unnecessary judgments. In particular, they are prejudiced towards Scout for the clothes she chooses to wear and her behaviour. They find it improper that she wears dungarees and jeans so they try to manipulate her into wearing ‘appropriate’ clothes like a ‘normal girl’ should wear.
The hypocrisy of Aunt Alexandra and the missionary circle is that they profess to care so much for those in need but the irony of the situation is their ignoring the poverty on their doorstep.
Aunt Alexandra and her circle fail to see people as individuals. When they are looking at someone they cannot distinguish that person as an individual, they only see them as part of a group.
Tom Robinson is the black man, accused of raping a white woman, who Atticus is defending in court. Even before the trial Tom is perceived guilty because he is black and it is assumed that he took advantage of Mayella Ewell, the white woman, and not the other way around. The community of Maycomb presume that he is accountable for this crime simply because of the colour of his skin. They think that he is troublesome and blame him before the case has even started to be investigated.
Tom suffers greatly from the prejudice as he is charged with the offence even though he is, without question, innocent. Most of Maycomb consider him not worth defending as they have already made their judgment on his ruling. The jury are all white and all without a doubt that, because he is black, he is guilty. Tom is an intelligent man and knows what the jury will rule so holds no hope for his release.
On the night that he is returned to the Maycomb jail a mob of white males arrive to confront Tom. The gang is made up of angry residents, including Mr Walter Cunningham, the father of a friend of Scout’s that Atticus had helped in the past. When the group get there they meet Atticus who is sitting guard outside the cell, as if he was expecting this form of company. They demand that Atticus cooperates with them but before they can get to Tom, Scout, Jem and Dill appear. Scout notices that Mr Cunningham is there and remembers what she has been taught about making polite conversation so asks Mr Cunningham how his entailment is getting along.
“Hey, Mr Cunningham. How’s your entailment getting’ along?”
He seems to ignore her but she perseveres and asks him how his son is. Eventually he submits to her questions and decides that he and his gang should not be here while there are children present and departs with the men. Atticus is enormously relieved when the mob has dispersed. Tom had heard everything and, he too, was thankful that they had left.
“Mr Finch? They gone?”
The trial proceeds and it becomes evident that Tom Robinson is an innocent man. Atticus reveals that it was Mayella who molested Tom and that Mr Bob Ewell, Mayella’s father, saw her do this and beat her for it. He exposes their lies and shows that Tom is obviously not guilty but after all the evidence to support this is produced, the jury still find him responsible and charge him. This is an example of the erroneousness of the law and that even the authorities are bias. The black people of America feel wholly cheated and deceived by the establishment.
During the trial Tom admits that he helped Mayella with the odd jobs that she asked him to do because he felt sorry for her.
“Yes suh. I felt right sorry for her, she seemed to try more’n the rest of ‘em.”
At this there is outrage. White people cannot understand that a black person could feel sorry for a white person. They feel it is wrong and cannot possibly comprehend it. Tom is trying to be completely honest and says that he pitied her. White people think that they always have a better life than any black person could ever have so do not grasp how a black person could look down on a white person and have sympathy for them.
“You felt sorry for her, you felt sorry for her?”
'To Kill a Mockingbird' was written in first person narrative from the perspective of Scout. During the court case Harper Lee employs this narrative style with exceptional skill. The reader notices the childish innocence of Scout as she struggles to grasp the idea that Tom Robinson could be found guilty when he is, so clearly, innocent. Scout displays one angle that the court case is viewed from. It is a perception that we, as older persons, can see the innocence and naivety in. Lee succeeds to convince us that it is a young person speaking at the time but it comes across in the narrative that it is an adult trying to remember and recapture the thoughts and feelings of her youth.
“No, only last summer – no, summer before last, when…time was playing tricks on me. I must remember to ask Jem.”
Alongside this angle of the story, we also follow the perspective of various adults. We achieve, not only the child’s view but also a more mature understanding as well from the likes of Dolphus Raymond and the black vicar, Reverend Sykes. Lee uses these characters to aid us in our comprehension of the story. While Mr Raymond is explaining himself to the children we absorb some of the details and use them in our own assessment. This also happens while the children talk to Reverend Sykes on the balcony in the courtroom. He explains to the children, mainly Scout and Dill, the activities during the litigation and improves their awareness of the situation. Not only does this assist the children but it gives us the more established insight into the proceedings that we require to follow the story. It provides the reader with an evaluation.
The accounts from the witnesses in the court case are well thought out by Lee. They show several different characters react to the same things in many different ways. They develop and uncover the underlying plots that the reader had not imagined yet. The glimpses of additional storylines are brought out and the original ones are explained with each of the witnesses’ statements. Lee uses this opportunity to verbalize some of her numerous beliefs.
Another large theme behind 'To Kill a Mockingbird' concentrates on the concept of injustice. A current definition of injustice is the violation or withholding of another’s rights or due’s. The fact or act of being unjust.
The difference between prejudice and injustice is one is an action and one is a feeling. Prejudice is when someone decides what they think about a person or a group before they have reason to think that, whereas, injustice is where someone, undeservedly, treats a person or group in a certain way because of a preconceived idea.
Boo Radley has suffered injustice all his life. His parents have kept him imprisoned for a mistake of his youth. It was intended for him to be sent to a young offenders institution for a few years but his parents promised the law that they would keep him out of trouble eternally. He has been treated unjustly since he is paying for more than he should be. He has lost out on a significant proportion of his life. The citizens of Maycomb think him different because they do not know him and are ignorant of him. Boo is discriminated against through no fault of his own. The town have no regard for him and he is either gossiped about or forgotten. This injustice links to prejudice because the town’s actions are a result of their prejudgments.
It could be said that Scout and Jem thought wrongly of Mrs Dubose. It was through their lack of knowledge that they judged her before they knew the whole story. They were prejudiced towards her and were wrong in their image of her. It was only after she had died that they found out the truth behind her behaviour.
“Mrs Dubose was a morphine addict, she took it as a pain-killer for years…She said she meant to break herself ofit before she died. And that’s what she did.”
They had been unfair to her because of their ignorance and they felt mortified. Their prejudice was their merciless feelings for her and their injustice was not giving her a chance.
Atticus experiences discrimination from two main fields. From his children because of his age and from some of the public for his job. Many people think that he is corrupt because he is not like the standard white person. They think that because he defends black people and treats them as equals that he is criminal and should not be accepted by the white people of Maycomb. The injustice endured by Atticus is in the forms of names people call him in the street and the abuse his children receive. The injustice and prejudice Atticus experiences are closely related. Like most cases, the injustice has formed from the prejudice. This is similar to the circumstances of Dolphus Raymond as he is also prejudged for his choice of associates, black people. People see him in a similar way to that of the way they see Atticus because the two men have chosen a different stance from most of Maycomb’s white community.
Atticus is also affected by what his children think of him. Scout and Jem have an opinion of him, formed before they realised that it is actually incorrect. They see him as old and unskilled, because they do not recognize that just because he does not brag about his talents, he must not have any. This is more prejudice than injustice as Atticus does not know of their assessment and so does not suffer.
On Scout’s first day at school she is told off for already knowing how to read and write. Her teacher tells her that Atticus is a bad tutor and that he must not educate her anymore.
“Miss Caroline told me to tell my father not to teach me any more, it would interefere with my reading.”
Scout is very upset by this and does not see why it is wrong that she is ahead of her peers. Her schoolteacher says it is because they are starting a new teaching program and that all the pupils should be at the same level. This is undeserved by Scout and she feels discriminated against. The teacher has the preconception that Atticus has taught Scout literacy in the wrong way.
When they took a day trip to the family home, Finch’s landing, Scout hit her cousin, Francis, because he had taunted her about Atticus’s job. Her Uncle Jack appeared on the scene and severely told her off. Uncle Jack’s conduct was unreasonable because he had not been there but only took Francis’s version of events. Later Scout told Uncle Jack how she had felt discriminated against and that his treatment was unjust. He resolved the situation and admitted that he had been prejudiced.
Mayella Ewell could be described as a slave to her father. She stays in the house each and every day to look after the children and does all the household chores. She does not have a life outside of the home because her father forbids her to go out. The storyline in 'To Kill a Mockingbird' unfolds to find that she is abused by her father, Mr Bob Ewell. The family live, squashed behind the town’s rubbish dump, in filth and squalor. They have no money but are disdainful to their black neighbours who appear to be no different from them other than the colour of their skin.
“All the little man on the witness stand had that made him any better than his nearest neighbours was, that if scrubbed with lye soap in very hot water, his skin was white.”
Mayella is prejudged for where she lives and the reputation of her family. The injustice disturbing her is the way her father treats her and the rules she has to abide by. She is forced to live the way she does by her father who has taken all of her rights away. She lives a victimized existence.
After Tom Robinson is found guilty he is sentenced to prison without bail. Atticus is preparing an appeal for him but Tom has given up hope. He knows that the only way he is ever going to leave prison is if he escapes. He is caught, by prison officers trying to climb over the barbed fence. To stop a prisoner from fleeing they shoot at them but in Tom’s case they did not only shoot once to spoil his efforts, there were seventeen bullets found in his body. Most people would agree that there was no need for this number of shots to hinder his escape and that sixteen of them were fired unnecessarily seeing as he is physically impaired anyway. This is an example of the type of discrimination Tom received. The officers assumed that he had committed the crime he was charged with and that he was better off dead so committed a major injustice by shooting him seventeen times.
Also most of the people of Maycomb hold the prejudice that because he is black he must have be guilty of the accused offence. This leads to the injustice of him being sentenced with the naked knowledge that he did not commit the crime. So this proves that the prejudice of humans is directly linked to the injustice they perform.
Throughout the novel, Scout’s simplistic questions and opinions help the reader to obtain a wider understanding of the meaning behind the story. From this the reader does not only see the events in the plot but what they represent and their connotations. Lee uses many themes with significant implications. These can be difficult to recognize but to assist us are Scout’s innocent remarks. As she is the narrator, we see the account through her eyes. This is particularly beneficial to us as the plot is simple and unadorned.
Nevertheless, there are also advantages of the book being written while Lee was an adult and could look back on her adolescence with more awareness and insight into the situations. We receive the tales with added adult hindsight. This also supports our understanding as we witness the situations from a more mature perspective. Lee has almost certainly forgotten particular details but can summarise the circumstances with a more developed comprehension because the proceedings have been completed and it is not an account of the events whilst they are progressing. The reader achieves a dual perspective of the story as we translate from the child’s outlook but with adult discernment.
Another of the tools Lee utilises to aid our understanding is the way Miss Maudie, the Finch’s next-door neighbour and family friend, simplifies Atticus’s explanations to the children. When the children have a query they turn straight to Atticus because they know he will always have an answer. However, this answer might not always be comprehensible to young children such as Scout and Jem so they ask Miss Maudie to simplify it for them.
“It wasn’t that I did not understand Atticus, just that ol’ Miss Maudie was always clearer.”
She not only helps Scout and Jem grasp the meaning, she clarifies it for the reader too. Atticus’s responses are always complicated and in very adult language. Miss Maudie is useful, not only, for the children to make sense of what they have heard from Atticus but also to elucidate the situation for us.
During the time that the book, 'To Kill a Mockingbird', has been read the characters in it have grown by some years. At the beginning of the novel Scout is five and Jem is nine but by the conclusion she is nine and he is twelve. We witness the two of them grow up and so we develop an understanding of them and can empathise with them. We are introduced to the characters as we first meet them but we cannot yet identify with them. The novel is set over four years so we grow with the individuals and can sympathize with them as we form a rapport. We become so familiar with the characters, predominantly Scout and Jem, that we feel we know them. We have an insight into their life as they mature and develop. In particular, we relate to Jem as a brother because we see the story through his sister who portrays him in the same manner in which we would illustrate our own kin.
'To Kill a Mockingbird' is divided into two sections. Part One and Part Two, though connected with events and actions, have separate identities. Part Two is mostly concerned with Tom Robinson’s trial and is well unified, whereas, part One contains several episodes that are relevant to the issue dealt with in Part Two. Part Two focuses on the main theme, racial prejudice still prevalent in the South.
Part One concentrates on the characters of Jem, Scout and Atticus. Depicted in the first few chapters are Scout’s sense of equality, for example the fact that she invites Walter Cunningham for tea, and Jem’s admiration for his father. The main incidents in Part 1 are Miss Maudie’s house catching fire, the shooting of the rabid dog, and the children’s encounter with Mrs Dubose.
The Ewells are introduced in the part One, so that the reader can fully get to know them before the trial. This enables them to see through the act of Mayella and Bob Ewell. The typical characteristics of southern tradition and culture are also depicted in the first part, to allow the reader to understand why Tom Robinson’s case was futile from the start.
It is noticeable that certain incidents and events take place in the first part to prepare the children for what is going to take place in the second part of the novel. The unifying element of both the parts is the unseen presence of Arthur Radley. He occupies the main interest of the children, which shifts away once the trial begins. At the end of the novel, the attention is brought back to Boo, when he rescues the children from the clutches of Bob Ewell.
It is certainly apparent that 'To Kill a Mockingbird' is a well-structured, well-knit, unified work of fiction, with both the parts skilfully interlinked through characters and events. Harper Lee has left no thread loose at the end of the novel, and each episode is written to contribute firmly to the entirety of the book.
The chief theme of the novel is that of the mockingbird. One of the most important references in the story is to this. Atticus gave Jem a gun but forbid him to shoot mockingbirds, he says,
“I’d rather you shot tin cans in the backyard, but I know you’ll go after birds. Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”
He says this because mockingbirds do no harm, all they do is make music for people to enjoy. This corresponds with many of the characters, including Tom Robinson, Mayella Ewell, Boo Radley, Atticus Finch and Dolphus Raymond. All these people are the victims of prejudice and injustice but do not perform much purposeful damage. They are alike to mockingbirds.
Tom Robinson helped Mayella Ewell out of the kindness of his heart but paid for it with his life. He was nothing but benevolent. Tom was of no harm or hinder to anyone and could not do anything wicked unless his life depended on it. He did not deserve to be punished and should not have been dealt with in the awful manner that he was. Tom relates to the mockingbird theme because he is an innocent creature doing nothing but good in this treacherous world.
Mayella Ewell may seem like an unlikely candidate to be linked to the mockingbird theme but in reality she has done nothing sinful except for lie in court and that was because her father forced her to. She is a devoted mother to her younger siblings and runs the family home single-handedly. She has hardly any money to feed the family with but if she can scrape together a little she will treat the children. It was not her choice to accuse Tom of rape but was forced to by Mr Ewell. Therefore, she is linked to the mockingbird theme because she is a good person at heart.
Boo Radley made a mistake when he was young but since then he has caused no further mischief. He is confined to the Radley’s house and has not stepped out of it in daylight for many years. He is similar to a mockingbird in the sense that he does no wrong. He helps out when he can, for example, on the night of Miss Maudie’s house-fire he wraps a blanket around Scout when he sees that she is cold. Also at the end of the book, when Scout and Jem are attacked by Bob Ewell, Boo rescues them. So, Boo can be related to a mockingbird because he is a worthy character and does not sin.
Close examination of the text reveals that Tom Robinson and Boo Radley have much in common. Both are innocent, harmless human beings, yet both are persecuted by the society: Tom for being black, and Boo for being unusual. Harper Lee shows her readers how wrong the society was by scorning such individuals.
Dolphus Raymond shows some mockingbird qualities in that he goes about life quietly and tried not to offend or distress in any way. He does not concern himself with anyone else’s business and endeavours to live a moral, happy life without disturbing anyone else.
Atticus is another that fits into the mockingbird category. He treats all beings as equals and does not differentiate between colours, races, or ages. He is atypical of Maycomb citizens and is conspicuous in society. Atticus is decent and loving but is discriminated against for being so. There is scarcely anything that he does wrong. He helps so many people, in court and in life, thus he can be referred to as one with mockingbird characteristics.
There are many lessons learnt and taught in 'To Kill a Mockingbird'. The majority are by Scout in all aspects of her life. She learns these important lessons through teachings of others, especially from Atticus, and through mistakes of her own. She learns how to treat everyone as equal and not to carry prejudgements or discriminate against anybody. She discovers how to be a mockingbird character in life, for example, how to get the most out of life but cause no damage on the way. Scout is taught to survive without being greedy, dishonest or immoral. 'To Kill a Mockingbird' revolves around lessons learnt and taught and wrongs that should be put right.
'To Kill a Mockingbird' incorporates many different and diverse kinds of prejudice and injustice. Harper Lee conveys these to the reader in numerous forms, presented using a number of different methods and techniques. She displays the many prejudices of the South of America by examples of cases and circumstances. This is extremely effective as it is possible to see where the prejudice has become injustice and how it can be impeded and ceased.
Lee shows that people are prejudiced because they are ignorant and they do not know or understand the people they are prejudging. She employs many tactics to present her grief and sorrow over the continuing injustice in the South. She uses different characters to exhibit each of her arguments and statements.
It was extremely bold of Lee to write this book about the South as this part of the country had not adapted well to the changes in law regarding civil rights, therefore, would not have been pleased with the complaints made. ‘To Kill a Mockingbird' was written to dramatise Harper Lee’s views and beliefs of the errors in 1930’s to 1960’s American society.
