Themes in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee :: To Kill a Mockingbird Essays

Some books are written to prove a point or some sort of idea. The novel, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, is an excellent example of proving a point or a theme. Themes in the book include courage, lady, standing in another man's shoes, it's not time to worry, education, and trash. All the themes stand out, however, three in particular are exemplified in the book. The three main themes in To Kill a Mockingbird are courage, lady, and standing in another man's shoes. The first theme is courage. Courage is apparent in the seemingly wicked Mrs. Dubose. It is also courage for Jem to strive against Mrs Dubose. According to Atticus, the children's father courage is, "...when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what."(p112) Mrs. Dubose had great courage trying to get over her morphine addiction and, even though she would have trouble doing it, bumped the addiction for the rest of her life. In the beginning of the book, when Dill, Scout, and Jem were still hyped up over Boo Radley Jem showed the ultimate courage by venturing into the spooky dwelling place inhabited by Boo Radley. Jem went through the gate and touched the house. One time, all three went into the Radley yard to simply look inside Boo's window. However, the children were frightened near death by a warning shot from Nathan Radley. The real courage comes after that when Jem goes to reclaim his pants, facing a possible confrontation with Boo or Nathan. Another example of courage is Atticus defending Tom Robinson, a black man who is innocent of rape but is tried because Bob Ewell said Tom did it. Atticus knew he would be defeated but he tried to win the case anyway. Also, though the book doesn't really mention the way Scout is not happy in school, it requires great courage for Scout to continue to go to school even though she has to deal with a bad first grade teacher. Lee's point in courage is a person is not defeated until the person loses faith and gives up. The second theme in the book is lady. One of the people of this theme is Scout's Aunt Alexandra, who is constantly scolding Atticus for allowing Scout to do unladylike things. Miss Maudie, the town's resident botanist, is a lady who Scout's uncle is always after. Once when Scout is being asked what she thinks her occupation would be, she answers, "Just a lady."(p230) Being a lady also has to deal with the types of clothes worn by the lady.