"To Kill a Mockingbird" Themes

Main Themes
Evil and good this is a huge theme which is sometimes unrecognized in this story, which is the
concept of good and evil. The novel had characters who represented the good in Maycomb like
Atticus, Boo Radley, etc. The novel also had characters who represented the evil in Maycomb,
like the Ewells. Atticus is a lawyer in Maycomb who fights against the evil in the town through
the Tom Robinson case. He shows his goodness through interactions with the world, and shows
his kindness through making a change. Boo Radley is the other good character mentioned above
which is hard to believe considering the fact he stayed inside for most of the story. It is for this
reason he is considered to be a good character, because he shows his goodness by not interacting
with the world unlike Atticus. Through not leaving the Radley Place he does not have the
opportunity to do anything evil in the town, therefore he is considered a good character. On the
other hand the Ewell's represent the evil in Maycomb, because of the way they treat other people
in Maycomb. This is first seen when they accuse Tom Robinson of raping Mayella, even though
most know that Tom Robinson is innocent. The Ewells are also just described as being unfair,
abusive, dirty, and disrespectful which perfectly characterizes them as being the evil in the novel.

Coming of Age this is a less noticeably theme of the story but it is still a very important one.
This theme focuses on Jem and Scout who throughout the story learn through experiences of
everyday life in Maycomb, which helps to mature them towards the end of the book. In the
begging of the book both kids see Maycomb as a simple town in which they live. However
through the events such as the Tom Robinson's trial, and interactions with their family, friends,
and neighbors they realize that there is more to Maycomb through discrimination, violence,
good, evil, etc. this is a part of the kids growing up in the novel and realizing that there is more to
their life than just the broad life which they think they were living.

Prejudice this is most likely the most popular theme in the book, considering the events which
took place. Prejudice can first be recognized when Scout, Jem, and Dill are talking about Boo
and they characterize him as a neighborhood "monster" because he never left his house. They did
this to him because they saw him as different compared to the rest of the people in the
neighborhood which made them discriminate him. The prejudice theme is also present during the
trial of Tom Robinson who lost the case because of his skin color. It is easy to see that some of
the white families in Maycomb wanted Tom to lose because they went as far as to try to kill him
the night before the trial. Prejudice can also be represented by Aunt Alexandria when she refers
to Walter Cunningham as "trash", and says that Scout cannot hangout with him anymore because
he is not in the same social class as the Finches, which is creating social barriers between the
people of Maycomb.