Nancy Phan

Mr. Tarlton
H. English 1
Period 5
12/4/2011

Phan 1

To Kill a Mockingbird
In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, two main characters, Scout and Jem,
learn many life lessons from personal experience and knowledge of their surroundings that will
change their lives. The novel takes place in the little town of Maycomb, Alabama during the
Depression in the mid 1930s. The novel portrays both a happy and small town on its surface;
however, underneath it reveals the ugly division of the constant issues of racism. In addition to
learning how racist most people in Maycomb are, three of the most important things that Scout
and Jem learn by the end of the novel are to look further from the obvious of someone before
judging them; true courage does not come from holding a gun, and that it is a sin to kill a
mockingbird.
First, Scout and Jem learn by the end of the novel to look further from the obvious of
someone before judging them. Atticus teaches his kids this lesson by stating, You never really
understand a person until you consider things from his point of view [. . .] until you climb into
his skin and walk around in it. (Page 30) This quote can be one of the most important lessons in
this novel because it occurs through many examples and events in the book. It is vital because
this will help Scout and Jem understand more about someone before judging them based on
where they live or why they act the way they do. Sometimes you may have some similarities as
someone if you just get the time to see things from their point of view.

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Secondly, Scout and Jem learn by the end of the novel that true courage does not come
from holding a gun. After hearing about Mrs. Duboses death, Atticus wanted to prove to Jem
that real courage was instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand.
(Page 112) Even though Jem would have still been punished for ripping Mrs. Duboses flowers,
it was essential for Atticus to teach Jem this lesson because Jem thought that Mrs. Dubose was
just a cruel old lady that would criticize Atticus. Before, Jem had little to no respect for Mrs.
Dubose, but after learning about her morphine addiction, Jem learns that for all her faults she
also has courage and strength because she dies without taking morphine even though it was the
one thing that kept her alive. Being around a person for a short amount of time can reveal some
major things that can help you have a different view on them.
Third, Scout and Jem learn by the end of the novel that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird.
Scout and Jem learn from Miss Maudie that Mockingbirds dont do one thing but make music
for us to enjoy . . . but sing their hearts out for us. Thats why its a sin to kill a mockingbird.
(Page 90) Miss Maudies lesson for Scout and Jem was the most important lesson in their lives
for relates to the theme of racism that was continuously portrayed in the novel. Hurting someone
thats innocent is immoral because they might have the capability to bring beauty into the world
and chance of change others lives. Killing a hummingbird can be like hurting an innocent
person for the sake of them not belonging to a group of peoples personal opinions.
Although Scout and Jem had to go through many adversities to learn important lessons
such as; judging someone from their cover; what it means to have true courage; and hurting
people just because they do not fit into the norm, they were able to receive great knowledge from

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members of their community. By following the footsteps of their father, Atticus, Scout and Jem
also learned to be open-minded about people as well as complications that they run into in life.
This novel explains that something different on the surface but, when you dig deeper through all
the thick layers you may be able to see its true self. Likewise, someone may look unattractive
or different from the outside but if you dig deeper, you may find beauty. Maycomb seemed to be
a nice little town; however, because some of the residents ignorance and selfishness, it caused
division and negatively affected the innocent individuals in the community. Though everybody
have different opinions and backgrounds, even a small act of morality can change many peoples
minds about life and people.