The Characters of To Kill a Mockinbird,

A detailed Summary of The Characters of To Kill a Mockinbird,

The sea, farmed land, an imagined other world - often the setting of a prose work, takes on the importance beyond that of simply providing the characters with a background against which to act out their lives. In any prose work which you have studied show the importance of the writer's use of setting in the portrayal of character and or action

'To Kill a Mockingbird' by Harper Lee, is a novel based in a small town in Alabama called Maycomb. However, Maycomb is much more than just a background against which Scout and Jem, two white middle-class children play games and sleep. It is of great importance to the story, which helps the reader to understand the characters and events in Maycomb that are in this novel.

The story, written from the point of view of Scout, is set in Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s and is a small, safe, self-contained and isolated community in which Jem, an adolescent boy, and his sister Scout, a young girl, live. And through the setting the reader better understands the characters and themes of 'To Kill a Mockingbird'. The town is a microcosm of America and it's problems, values, and everyday life. Which in this novel includes Growing Up, Prejudice, and Courage.

The Blacks, who are automatically made the lowest class in social status.

Racial prejudice is an obvious example. Aunt Alexandra's attitude towards Calpurnia is one that Scout easily understands as it is very close to home. She treats Cal very differently than she would treat a white woman, but the fact of the matter is that Alexandra doesn't see Calpurnia as a woman, but sees her as a negro and this is shown when Alexandra tells Atticus 'She needs a female influence.' Mrs Merriwater at a missionary tea comments on their (the blacks) changing moods over the Tom Robinson affair. 'Just ruins your day to have one of 'em in the kitchen'

Prejudice is arguably the most prominent theme of 'To Kill a Mockingbird' as there are many examples, and shown towards individuals and groups in Maycomb.

There's the prejudice towards class, which Jem recognises as having four defined groups:

is the transition of innocence and experience, through learning and experiencing current events and in 'To Kill a Mockingbird' many lessons are learnt by both Jem and Scout. Both Jem and Scout learn not to judge others before 'climbing in their skins and walking about in it.' From Calpurnia, Scout learns 'that politeness should be shown to everyone even if their manners differ from your own' after having lunch with Walter Cunningham, the son of a farming family badly hit by the depression, in which Scout abruptly shouts out at Walter for his strange table manners. 'Walter poured syrup on his vegetables and meat with a generous han

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Approximate Word count = 1021
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English