Published in 1960 by acclaimed author Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird obtained immediate success and received the prestigious Pulitzer Prize, an accolade for accomplishments made in the arts one year after the novel had been published. Told through the eyes of a young girl named Scout Finch, To Kill A Mockingbird follows the story of young children who grow up in the 1930s within the Southern United States who undergo inconceivable circumstances. As the story takes place over a three year period, the main characters take on many compelling changes and personal growths. As observed by many people over the years, Harper Lee and the main character within the classic novel have many similarities as many characters and events parallel those of
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In the novel there are two characters that can be looked at as pretty similar and as victims to injustice. Tom Robinson, an African American man targeted for allegedly raping a white woman, and Boo Radley, a man who is a victim of many rumors throughout Maycomb, are both people in their town without a voice. As Atticus tells Jem and Scout, “I’d rather you shoot at 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.” (Lee,69) This seems to be references to both Tom and Boo due to their inability to have their own voice or ‘song’ which is very similar to a mockingbird while on the other hand, bluebirds are known to be very loud. Due to mockingbird’s not having their own song, they mimic other songs. Due to this, birds judge the mockingbirds based off of what they are hearing but not what is true to the mockingbird. All in all, Atticus is saying that it is wrong to judge a person based off of what other’s say. Therefore, Scout and Jem are being taught that judging Tom and Boo based off of rumors or the opinions of others is wrong and something to be looked down upon. As stated previously, Harper Lee used the events that took place in and around her hometown when she was young and worked it into the story. This caused injustice when it came to race to be a central plot throughout the story. Scout and Jem both
In the novel there are two characters that can be looked at as pretty similar and as victims to injustice. Tom Robinson, an African American man targeted for allegedly raping a white woman, and Boo Radley, a man who is a victim of many rumors throughout Maycomb, are both people in their town without a voice. As Atticus tells Jem and Scout, “I’d rather you shoot at 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.” (Lee,69) This seems to be references to both Tom and Boo due to their inability to have their own voice or ‘song’ which is very similar to a mockingbird while on the other hand, bluebirds are known to be very loud. Due to mockingbird’s not having their own song, they mimic other songs. Due to this, birds judge the mockingbirds based off of what they are hearing but not what is true to the mockingbird. All in all, Atticus is saying that it is wrong to judge a person based off of what other’s say. Therefore, Scout and Jem are being taught that judging Tom and Boo based off of rumors or the opinions of others is wrong and something to be looked down upon. As stated previously, Harper Lee used the events that took place in and around her hometown when she was young and worked it into the story. This caused injustice when it came to race to be a central plot throughout the story. Scout and Jem both