To Kill a Mockingbird: Literary Analysis Essay on Courage, ENG 102

This essay provides a literary analysis of Harper Lee's 'To Kill a Mockingbird,' focusing on the evolving understanding of courage by Scout and Jem Finch. It examines how the children's initial perceptions of bravery transform as they encounter the complexities of their community and the trial of Tom Robinson. The essay delves into the themes of societal hypocrisy, racial inequality, and the loss of innocence, highlighting how the events in the novel, particularly in Part One, prepare the children for the harsh realities of the adult world. The analysis considers the roles of Atticus Finch, the children's interactions, and the impact of their experiences on their moral development and understanding of justice. Furthermore, the essay uses the novel's setting of Maycomb, Alabama, during the Great Depression to discuss the societal context and the challenges faced by individuals who stand up for their beliefs. The conclusion summarizes the significant themes and the novel's lasting impact as a piece of children's literature.

Running Head: ANALYSIS ESSAY
ANALYSIS ESSAY
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note:

1ANALYSIS ESSAY
Introduction
Reviewing of the plot, the storyline of the novel describes about Scout Finch living with
her brother. The novel is set on the background of Alabama town of Maycomb (Kkoworld.com,
2020). The setting includes the great depression of the society and the Finch family lives with
well comparison with the rest of the community. Hence, the paper aims to describe the hidden
theme of the novel about the issues of human inequality along with the division within the
human society.
Discussion
Johnson and Claudia Durst (2018) mentioned that the novel is an appropriate example of
children literature. It orients the children with the theme of inequality. It introduces the racial
relations between the different classes of the society prevalent during the time of 1930s. sexual
bonding between a black man and a white woman somehow became successful for breaking the
sexual taboos of that period. Many of the critics finds the novel as offensive for this reason. On
the other hand, Macaluso and Michael (2017) mentioned that, if the incident happened in the real
world, the black man accused for rape would have to terror attentive retribution. The theme of
social inequality is present throughout the entire novel. For an example, the remarkable saying of
Atticus to Scout at the time of getting along with the teacher should be mentioned – “First of all,
he said, if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks.
You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view.”
However, the book also picturized the changed notion of the South during the sixties.
Generally, the book to kill a mocking bird is based on the exploration of the morality of human
beings, considering the good and evil prospective of the human nature (Bond and Cynthia).

2ANALYSIS ESSAY
Scout and Jens transition from the innocent perspective of childhood in to adult hood is the way
the novelist dramatizes the issue of humanity. On the other hand, Atticus Finch is the virtual and
unique presentation in the novel with the capability to understand the evil without compromising
the faith on the kindness of human being. He understands that, majority of the human being
possess both of the good and bad qualities (Johnson and Claudia Durst). However, the
prospective was changed during the course of the novel. It is worth mentioning in this regards
that Atticus is highly ambitious to support the innocent and revolts against the community by
following his own view point against the issues of human inequality.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it can be said that, the novel To Kill a Mockingbird is a justified text to be
considered as children literature. The expansion of the novel’s extended moral and social issues
is conveyed through the prospective of children. Difference in the communal status is
demonstrated by the over complicated authority of Maycomb society with its constant ins and
outs of the baffling conditions of the children.

3ANALYSIS ESSAY
References
Bond, Cynthia D. "To Kill a Lawyer-Hero: Atticus Finch in the Law School
Classroom." Rutgers L. Rec. 45 (2017): 191.
Johnson, Claudia Durst. Reading Harper Lee: Understanding To Kill a Mockingbird and Go Set
a Watchman. ABC-CLIO, 2018.
Kkoworld.com (2020). [online] Kkoworld.com. Available at:
http://www.kkoworld.com/kitablar/harper_li_masqarachini_oldurmek-eng.pdf.
Macaluso, Michael. "Teaching To Kill a Mockingbird Today: Coming to Terms With Race,
Racism, and America's Novel." Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 61.3 (2017): 279-
287.