To Kill a Mockingbird
Topic #1
The title of Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, reveals the central theme of the book: it is a sin to harm the innocent. Atticus Finch teaches his children that it is a “sin to kill a mockingbird” because they “don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy” (90). Lee develops this theme as Jem and Scout Finch encounter several symbolic mockingbirds and begin to understand the mockingbird rule.
At the beginning of the novel, Jem and Scout have no idea what their father means when he instructs them: “Shoot all of the blue jays . . .
Topic #2
Harper Lee concludes To Kill a Mockingbird with the story of “The Gray Ghost” in order to encapsulate a central theme of her novel: quick judgments are almost always wrong. Lee develops the theme throughout the entire novel as Jem and Scout Finch learn for themselves that they have judged incorrectly. Their father, Atticus Finch, tries to teach his children to understand others by standing in their shoes, but Scout and Jem do not truly understand the importance of seeing from another point of view until the end of the novel.
The final scene of the novel reveals Scout’s understanding of . . .