Themes in To Kill a Mockingbird

Major Themes Race (Racism) Justice Understanding (Compassion & Tolerance) Morality & Ethics (Good v. Evil) Family Fear (Courage v. Cowardice) Major Themes

Lesser Themes Women & Femininity Religion Educated v. Uneducated Youth (loss of innocence) Prejudice Lesser Themes

Race How does the novel portray its African- American characters? Are there elements of racism in these portrayals? How might Maycomb, and the events of the novel, be different if there were more than two races represented in the town? Does the novel seem to think that racism will eventually be overcome? Or will there always be an element of racism in Maycomb? What effect does the use of the N word have on the characters? The reader? To Kill a Mockingbird suggests that racism is learned, so it can be unlearned.

Justice Atticus believes that everyone deserves a fair trial. Is that the case for Tom Robinson? Why or why not? Would having an all- black jury have resulted in a different verdict? According to the novel, is it ever justified to act outside the law in order to ensure justice? If so, when is it justified? If not, what do you do when the law allows injustice? What's the novel's take on the American legal system? What are its strengths, and what are its weakness? To Kill a Mockingbird contrasts court-justice and vigilante-justice to show that they both have strengths and weaknesses.

Is compassion learned or innate in the novel? Or both? Understanding Is there anyone who the novel suggests isn't deserving of compassion and forgiveness? If so, who and why? If not, why not? Lots of characters feel pity and compassion for other characters. What does the object of a character's compassion reveal about that character? Is compassion learned or innate in the novel? Or both? Compassion can sometimes be dangerous: Tom's compassion for Mayella and Atticus's compassion for Ewell gets both of them into trouble.

Morality & Ethics What do individual characters in the novel base their ideas of right and wrong on? How does the community work to enforce collective standards of morality? Where do those collective standards come from? What moral principles does the novel suggest are desirable? Does anything in the novel undermine these moral principles? Are there times when the novel appears to be hypocritical? Does Bob Ewell have bad morals or no morals? What's the difference? While the novel in general presents honesty as a virtue, it also suggests that honesty is not always the best policy.

Family To Kill a Mockingbird What's the effect of having the Finch children call their father by his first name? What does that suggest about their characters? Their relationship? Do you know anyone who calls their parents by their first name? Why is Aunt Alexandra so obsessed with Old Family and Finch pride? How does family intersect with class in the novel? How does Maycomb's African- American community think about the idea of family? To Kill a Mockingbird  suggests that family matters: individuals can't overcome being born into bad families.

Fear For Scout, growing up means losing her fear of the unknown. Why is the Radley house so fearful to the children? Tom is disabled and seems like a nice, unthreatening guy. So why is Maycomb so scared of him? Why is Mayella so frightened on the witness stand? Who is frightening her? Who do you consider “fearless” characters? What makes them so brave? For Scout, growing up means losing her fear of the unknown. Is this really a sign of maturity?