The Journey In To Kill a Mockingbird

A detailed Summary of The Journey In To Kill a Mockingbird

The idea of the "journey" is a recurring theme within American literature. The novel "To Kill A Mockingbird" by Harper Lee is a piece of literature that addresses the theme of the journey (though it is more of a psychological and emotional journey than a physical one). In "To Kill a Mockingbird", the journey takes the form of a young girl's (Scout's) realization that the world is not as nice of a place that she thinks it is.

Scout's self-enlightening journey begins when her father, Atticus takes Tom Robinson's case. Tom Robinson is a black man who has been accused of raping a white girl (Mayella Ewell). Mayella and her family are the outcasts of Maycomb (the small Alabama town where the town takes place) mainly because of the way they live and their unconventional behavior (i.e. the children only attend the first day of school: " 'He's one of the Ewells, ma'am, whole school's full of 'em. They come first day every year and then leave.' (27)") Most of the town knows that Tom didn't really rape Mayella, but they can't admit this to themselves because if they did, they essentially would be admitting that Mayella, a white girl, was lying and that would not have been acceptable. They would rather accuse Tom, a black man, because tha

The townspeople are ruthless when it comes to reminding Scout of their opinion of Atticus and what he has done. Scout's first experience with their animosity happens at school. "He[Cecil Jacobs] had announced in the school yard the day before that Scout Finch's daddy defended niggers. I denied it but told Jem. (74)" Scout does not really understand what Atticus is doing or the gravity (during that time period, the 1930's) of what he is doing. Scout even faces ridicule from family. At Christmas, Scout, Jem, and Atticus go to Finch's Landing to spend it with Aunt Alexandra, Atticus' sister. It is there that Scout finds that even her own family disapproves of her father's doings. Her cousin Francis says " I guess it ain't your fault if Uncle Atticus is a nigger-lover besides, but I'm here to tell you it certainly does mortify the rest of the family- (83)" Scout demands to know what he means but all Francis continues to do is call Atticus a 'nigger-lover'. Scout's response is " I don't know what you're talkin' about, but you better cut it out this red hot minute! (83)" Even the adults in the neighborhood take their turn needling Scout and her brother. Mrs. Dubose tells the children "Your father's no better than the niggers and trash he works for! (102)" From all of these comments, Scout realizes that all of these people have turned against her and her father. This is very confusing for her because she had had a friendly (or at least somewhat indifferent) relationship with most of them. This is when the realization that the world is not really a very friendly place starts to sink

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Approximate Word count = 1070
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English