How does Harper Lee use humour in To Kill A Mockingbird?

Scout also mentions other childish comments later on when she starts to ask questions such as "What's a whore lady?". These questions you can tell give an amusing tone the book. Scout says other things, which to her she has no meaning of what she is talking about. For example the morphodite Incident. Scout calls Jem a 'Dammed morphodite' but for Scout she does not understand what she says which makes it amusing. Nearly half way through the book we find Dill in the Finches house and he has run away from his parents. Jem asks how he got here and Dill gives his answer in a fantasy detailed way, something that a child would do. 'How 'd you get here?' asked Jem.

Harper Lee doesn't just use childish comments to makes the book amusing. She uses irony to describe Maycomb. The irony is the contrast between Alexandria's feelings, that a fine family comes from the length of time a person's family has occupied a 'fine' location. "Aunt Alexandra was of the opinion, obliquely expressed, that the longer a family had been squatting on one patch of land the finer it was". The fact that the town was actually the site of two pig trails because the innkeeper got the surveyors drunk and persuaded them to change their plans so that the centre of the town was good for his business. It was actually too far away from transportation. This was ironic because his idea was to increase his trade but ultimately his trade was damaged because of the town's position being too far away from public transport.

Other signs of irony are also used. It is when Aunt Alexandra is criticising Miss Stephanie Crawford. "Once, Aunt Alexandra assured us that Miss Stephanie Crawford's tendency to mind other people's business was hereditary, Atticus said, 'Sister, when you stop to think about it, our generation's practically the first in the Finch family not to marry it's cousins. Would you say the Fiches have an incestuous streak?" Aunt Alexandra is saying that Miss Stephanie Crawford is being nosy and that she has inherited it from her family. But Atticus says that the Fiches have an incestuous streak. Meaning that the Finches also have hereditary. This shows that Harper Lee uses irony to make this amusing.

Humour affects the readers mind in this book, which makes it interesting. Harper Lee puts humour into this book to criticise some of the events in Maycomb. It is one of the reasons that makes 'To Kill a Mockingbird' such an exceptional piece of writing. The way Harper Lee brings irony into effect is great and the way it combines with the story line is brilliant. Humour is what makes this book worth reading.

By Lee Humphreys