CERVANTES, GRACE MARIE S.

PAJO, AMELENE D.
DORSU-CEC
BEED 1A

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD BY HARPER LEE

LITERARY CRITICISM

Harper Lee’s “To Kill A Mockingbird” is a highly influential novel published in the United States in
1960. In April of 1926, Nelle Harper Lee was born in Monroeville, Alabama. Lee was the youngest of four
children, the daughter of a lawyer and a housewife, a lover of English literature, and a part-time law
student. Despite having only one book published, "To Kill a Mockingbird" was an instant success,
winning the 1961 Pulitzer Prize and selling more than 30 million copies during Lee's lifetime.

The novel was one of the initial works of its kind to address racial inequality and rape, and it is
still widely discussed in schools today. Harper Lee based the book on an incident that occurred in her
small southern town when she was a child in the 1930s. As a direct consequence, the book is classified
as Southern Gothic. The novel used the first-person point of view, as narrated by the protagonist Jean
“Scout” Finch herself.

Atticus Finch, Mrs. Dubose, and Boo Radley were all courageous characters in Harper Lee's "To
Kill a Mockingbird." Atticus defended a black man, Mrs. Dubose attempted to break her morphine
addiction, and Boo Radley ended up saving Scout and Jem from Bob Ewell.

In Alabama during the 1930s, this novel was a mishmash of sorrow and suspense. There were
many prejudiced people during this time period. It took real bravery and courage for some of these
people to do what they did in tough circumstances. Atticus, Mrs. Dubose, and Boo Radley were all
examples of courage. In our viewpoint, Atticus was the most courageous character in the book. He
defied the community by willingly defending Tom Robinson, a black man. Many of the people in town
mocked and remarked on Atticus. Despite the racism and hatred, he did his best to defend Tom. "I
couldn't hold my head up in town, I couldn't represent this country in legislature, I couldn't even tell you
or Jem not to do something," he explained.

Mrs. Dubose was another person who displayed exceptional bravery. She bravely tried to get rid
of her morphine addiction. Even though she knew her chances were slim, she still tried. Atticus
exemplifies her to be the most courageous person he has ever met. "It's when you're licked before you
begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what," he says of courage. Boo Radley,
along with Atticus and Mrs. Bubose, performed the final courageous deed. Boo saved Scout and Jem
from Bob Ewell on his own. He took the chance of being seen in public after many years of concealing
behind those murky walls. "All the ladies in Macomb, including my wife, be knocking on his door
bringing angel food cakes," Mr. Tate said. "To my way of thinkin', Mr. Finch, taking the one man who's
done you and this town a great service and dragging' him with his shy ways into the limelight—to me,
that's a sin. It's a sin, and I'm not about to have it on my head."

With Atticus, Mrs. Dubose, and Boo Radley's many acts of bravery, inspiration was added to the
noel. There was also a sense of mingled loyalty among the characters. In short, the valiant
representation of bravery and courage played a key role in the novel's overall moral, which is that to
hurt an innocent and good person is to sin because they do nothing to harm us.

Harper Lee wrote a remarkable novel that provides a great deal of moral insight for its readers;
through a use of history, moral instruction, and character development, Lee establishes a foundation for
how people in an often intolerant world should live peacefully together. Moreover, she reminds the
reader that regardless of socioeconomic status or race everyone deserves to be treated with respect
and kindness. The reader witnesses the desired response to Lee's message through the Finch children,
as Scout realizes that most people are "really nice [...] When you finally get to see them" (Lee 281). As a
result, Jem and Scout represent To Kill a Mockingbird's intended audience: those with eyes to see and
ears to hear a simple message of moral responsibility with an innocent protagonist approach. Jem and
Scout, and thus Lee's reader, learn to treat others well through Atticus' verbal and active examples of
moral ethic. Lee's adult narrator reminds her reader that in order to understand and treat others kindly
and respectfully, one must look at things from their point of view. It is important to use one's ability to
see with innocence eyes that all people are capable of coexistence and live in peace and harmony.