Theme Of Inequality In To Kill A Mockingbird

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In Harper Lee's highly successful novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, the author explores the issue of inequality using the symbol of the mockingbird. Set in the 1930s Deep South - the novel unfolds as an account of injustice to the most gracious yet unjustly accused citizens of the town of Maycomb. The protagonist, Scout, learns many lessons throughout the course of the novel, they are partly learnt from her own experience, and partly from Atticus. Through, Atticus’ phrase “it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird”, Lee implies that it is immoral to be intolerant to those who are guiltless. Lee exposes this not only through the characters in the novel; but through both literal and metaphorical meanings. In the novel several people can be identified as mockingbirds: decent, innocent people who have been punished due to no fault of their own. To kill a…show more content…
This is seen by her attempts to bring something harmless into her world simply by planting bright geraniums and by trying to keep herself clean. She lost that innocence by essentially killing Tom Robinson in order to save her honour. "Atticus had hit her hard in a way that was not clear to me, but it gave him no pleasure to do so." This implies that he wishes to spare Mayella, as he sees some of the characteristics of a mockingbird in her. He says in his final remarks, "I have nothing but pity in my heart” once again showing that he feels for her. Atticus believes that once racial prejudice clouds a person's mind it quickly becomes impossible for that person to resemble a true mockingbird. This appears the essence of why Atticus knows he must try to protect the innocent because if he does not, he may lose the spirit of the mockingbird that lives in him. Liking characters to mockingbirds reduces them to the level of animals, but it also shows that even animals are worthy of sympathy and respect of being left alone, if they do the same in
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