To Kill A Mockingbird themes

Task T: How are the themes of the novel revealed to the reader?
In To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee employs a variety of narrative tools to reveal the themes of the novel. It is through the insightful reactions of characters to situations that affect them physically or emotionally that give us a deep understanding of the themes that Lee is conveying. It is also through the setting of the novel in the fictional town of Maycomb and in the nonfictional southern state of Alabama in the US that we comprehend the themes. The time period also plays a part, as in the 1930s Maycomb’s society was full of fear, ignorance and intolerance. Each of the themes have been developed through narrative and language techniques such as dialogue, symbolism, irony, hyperbole, and the point of view of an innocent child. The themes which I will be exploring in this essay are racism and prejudice, hypocrisy and empathy.
The overarching theme throughout To Kill a Mockingbird is that of racism and prejudice. It is displayed by numerous characters in conjunction with the trial of Tom Robinson. Atticus Finch has a strong belief in racial equality, which was rare in the 1930s, and as Maycomb was a southern state its citizens were very racist towards African-Americans at that time. The southern states exercised greater racial discrimination because they were not opposed to slavery and did not hold the same ideals as the free, northern states. Atticus chooses to defend Tom Robinson, despite criticism from the public. In many cases he was referred to as a ‘nigger lover’ and in particular by Mrs Dubose, a neighbour of the Finch’s. She would not insult Atticus directly, instead choosing to insult Scout and Jem from her porch, with dialogue such as “your father’s no better than the niggers and trash he works for”. Another example of racism would be regarding the jury at Tom’s trial. Even though Atticus provides an excellent defence for Tom Robinson, and destroys Bob Ewell’s credibility by proving him a liar, the jury still concludes that Tom is guilty. Atticus explains to Jem that “those are twelve reasonable men in everyday life, Tom’s jury, but you saw something come between them and reason.” By this he means that racism came between the jury and reason, as they were never going to accept a black man’s word over that of a white woman.
There are many cases of prejudice evident in To Kill a Mockingbird. Firstly Aunt Alexandra is very prejudiced towards Walter Cunningham, telling Scout that she cannot be friends with him. This decision was based on Aunt Alexandra’s aversion to the Cunningham family, saying that “he is trash, that’s why you can’t play with him, picking up his habits and learning Lord-knows-what.” Furthermore, Aunt Alexandra was very much a believer in class distinction and thought that it was not suitable for Scout, a middle class child, to play with someone like Walter, from an impoverished background. Another reference to prejudice in the novel would be that of Boo Radley. Many people had never seen this man before and so made assumptions about his character such as Jem’s hyperbolic metaphor about Boo that he; “was six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that’s why his hands were blood-stained- if you ate an animal raw you could never wash the blood off. There was a long jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten; his eyes popped, and he drooled most of the time.” In this way both he and the townspeople were prejudiced because almost none of them had actually seen Boo and so their descriptions of him where not factual, but rather mythical. A reason for this fear of Boo by the townspeople would be a fear of the unknown. They could not think of a suitable reason for his odd behaviour such as never leaving the house, so out of prejudice and suspicion they were left to fill in the blanks with grandiose lies.
The second theme that I will be analysing in To Kill a Mockingbird is hypocrisy. Although evident throughout the novel, it is very prominent at the Missionary Society’s afternoon-tea. Through the characterisation of Mrs Merriweather we see that the Missionary Society is extremely devoted to helping the less fortunate Mrunas, who lived in squalid, poverty-stricken conditions. The hypocrisy is clear here because the Missionary Society was raising funds and helping these people in another country, while turning a blind eye to the negroe’s suffering in their town and indeed the whole country. They claim to be Christians but their attitudes contradict them. Mrs Merriweather says; “Hypocrites, Mrs Perkins, Born hypocrites. At least we don’t have that sin on our shoulders down here.” This is an example of dramatic irony as the women in the Missionary Society do not realise how they are contradicting themselves. A second case of hypocrisy is that of the jury. They also claim to be good, Christian men, but with Tom’s case they are ruling against their Christian consciences. Here the mockingbird is symbolised, as it is an innocent bird, which does nothing but make music whilst Tom Robinson is an innocent man who did nothing but help Mayella Ewell. In Mr Underwood’s editorial he reinforces the mockingbird symbol by stating that in the courtroom “it felt like the mockingbirds had stopped singing”.
Empathy is a recurring theme in the novel, and the phrase “climb into their skin and walk around in it” in Atticus’ dialogue is used to express this theme. When Scout stands on Boo Radley’s porch in the last chapter of To Kill a Mockingbird she visualises how Boo would have seen Jem and Scout and how events in the neighbourhood would have unfolded over the past years, from another perspective. Scout realises how Boo Radley cared for herself and Jem and expressed this with actions such as wrapping a blanket around Scout, fixing Jem’s pants, and leaving trinkets in the tree for the children. It is with this event at the end of the novel that we see how Scout’s attitude has evolved. Lee has used Scouts point of view as an innocent child for the basis of To Kill a Mockingbird, and in this instance we see that Scout’s perspective has changed into one with more maturity and understanding of the concepts in this novel. Another instance of empathy is Jem inviting Walter Cunningham back to their house for dinner. Jem understands that the Cunningham’s are suffering from the Great Depression and is also apologetic for Scout fighting him, so he provides Walter with a proper meal. Scout develops her empathy from this event when Calpurnia takes her into the kitchen and explains the Cunningham’s situation.
The themes of To Kill a Mockingbird have been revealed through the characters and the many obstacles they have been presented with, the time period and setting of the novel. The themes of racism and prejudice have been exposed through Tom Robinson’s trial and the way characters have reacted to this, and also through many characters ungrounded aversion to Boo Radley and the Cunningham family. The theme of hypocrisy has been presented through the Missionary Society’s ironic Christian values and also Tom Robinson’s jury’s attitude. The theme of empathy has been displayed through Boo Radley and his surprising affection for the Finch children, and also Jem’s understanding of Walter Cunningham. All of these themes have been developed through the use of narrative and language techniques and Lee has utilised each technique to its fullest potential. The symbolic image of the mockingbird has been carried throughout this novel which gives us a deeper understanding of the issues of intolerance, ignorance and racial discrimination. "Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy... but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."