THEME in To Kill A Mockingbird

What is theme? THEMES are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work. Examples: Two themes in the Harry Potter books and movies are: the power of love, (Harry can love, which is what makes him more powerful than Voldemort) and the value of humility (Harry, who is humble and doesn’t brag about himself, is more successful than someone like Draco Malfoy who brags about his family and their money and power.)

Another example of theme… One theme of the “Star Wars” movies is good versus evil (the Jedi against the Sith). One theme of the “Twilight” books is choice (the Cullen family make the choice not to feed on humans, though it is in their nature as vampires to do so).

Good vs. Evil The Coexistence of Good and Evil: The novel shows the reader the transition of Scout and Jem from innocent children, when they assume that all people are good, to a more adult perspective where they encounter evil, prejudice and hatred. The character representing moral good is Atticus. The character representing moral evil is Mr. Ewell

Prejudice 2. Prejudice and Injustice. (Prejudice: forming judgement before knowing the facts; Injustice: lack of justice, wrong) . The book starts out cheerful and positive about Maycomb, but then as it goes on, Scout begins to see the cruel prejudice of the Maycomb people against blacks, and their disgust that Atticus is defending a black man in court.

Prejudice Scout and her brother begin to learn of how unfair society is, that a whole race of people can be mistreated because of the color of their skin, and some people are seen as less important because they don’t have much money.

Growing Up In the three years covered by To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout and Jem grow up. At the start of the book they are innocents, with an uncomplicated sense of what's good (Atticus, the people of Maycomb) and what's evil (Boo Radley). By the end of the book, the children have lost their innocence and gained a more complex understanding of the world, in which bad and good are present and visible in almost everyone.

Growing Up As the children grow into the adult world, though, they don't just accept what they see. They question what doesn't make sense to them—prejudice, hatred, and violence. To Kill a Mockingbird shows three children as they lose their innocence, it also uses their innocence to look freshly at the world of Maycomb and criticize its flaws. Create two parallel timelines showing the growth of both Jem and Scout simultaneously.

Courage Atticus says, ‘Courage is when you know you’re licked before you begin , but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what.’ Other characters in the novel show courage too. Miss Maudie during the fire Jem’s visit to Mrs. Dubose after he destroyed her flowers - Atticus says that MD showed ‘real courage’ in the way she dealt with her illness. Can you think of any other examples?

Symbolism The Mockingbird Symbolizes Everything That is Good and Harmless in This World The mockingbird only sings to please others and therefore it is considered a sin to shoot a mockingbird. They are considered harmless creatures who give joy with their song. The mockingbird image or symbol appears four times in the novel. Two characters in the novel symbolize the mockingbird: Tom Robinson & Boo Radley.

The mockingbird is a metaphor for the wrongness of harming innocent and vulnerable people. Tom is physically disabled, but his real weakness is his social position – he is a black man, to whom a white woman has made sexual advances, so he must be destroyed. Arthur “Boo” Radley is psychologically disadvantaged – he is very timid and almost incapable of being integrated into Maycomb’s society.

The Fire The fire symbolizes the closeness and courage of the community. First, the fire gives us a glimpse of the town in the face of a crisis it can directly confront.  It is easy to vilify the townspeople due to their treatment of the Robinson trial.  The fire demonstrates their protection of one another and courage in the face of physical danger.

The Fire Second, it shows us how close-knit a community Maycomb really is.  Everyone in the town shows up, and they risk bodily harm to rescue Miss Maudie’s furniture and belongings.   They struggle together to get the fire truck there when it won’t start. Miss Maudie is brave, as her house burns down.  Boo Radley demonstrates courage when he comes out of the house and puts the blanket on Scout’s shoulders. Everyone in Maycomb is there to support Miss Maudie, but also to view the spectacle.  Everyone knows what is happening to everyone else.

Tim Johnson aka The Mad Dog First, the mad dog represents the "madness" that Atticus has to face now that he has taken on Tom Robinson's case.  The community has rallied against Atticus because they believe that Robinson is guilty simply because he is black.  Throughout the book, the Finch family has to buffer themselves against this racism (i.e. fighting off the mob).  So the mad dog represents the community's madness that is based on racism. 

Tim continued… Further, the mad dog (and the scene surrounding him) is symbolic of Atticus's strength and resolve and his desire to protect his family.  When the mad dog threatens his family, he immediately grabs a rifle and shoots the dog.  The children are surprised by this because normally Atticus is very calm and laid back.  However, he is a good shot, and the dog dies quickly.  This scene shows that Atticus will do anything to protect his family from the madness around them.

Language Sometimes the language of Scout will be that of her as a child; other times, she will be speaking in the voice of an adult Atticus uses formal speech Calpurnia uses “white language” in the Finch house and switches to “black jargon” when amidst blacks The Ewells use foul words and obscenities Jem, Scout, and Dill will use slang words, typical of their age Tom Robinson uses language typical of the southern black such as “suh” for “sir” and “chillun” for “children” Various derogatory terms for blacks will be used such as “nigger,” “darky,” “Negroes,” and “colored folk” – Lee uses such language to keep her novel naturally in sync with common language of the times

Two Poor White Families: The Cunninghams The Ewells Poor white family Hard-working Honest Proud Survive on very little Always pay back their debts – even if it is with hickory nuts, turnips, or holly. Poor white trash Dirty Lazy Good-for-nothing Never done a day’s work Foul-mouthed Dishonest Immoral