Themes | TKM | Joseph Huynh # 3

Themes—

In short, To Kill a Mockingbird is about various events throughout Scout’s childhood. Tom Robinson was an African American living in a society where racism and discrimination is prevalent. Tom is accused of raping a white woman. In the bigoted society Tom resides in, there is little hope to clear his name because any white man will be believed any day than a black man. Boo Radley is seen as a mad, anti-social man by the neighborhood children, but Scout and Jem find that he is a kind man that has made mistakes in his past. Scout sees the evil and unfairness of the world, but on the same token she gets to find out that there is the same number of good people and things that balance things out. There is a constant theme of good and evil throughout the book. Bob Ewell, daughter of said rape victim, Mayella Ewell, falsely accuses Tom of raping her. Although Bob’s accusations are false, everyone in the courtroom believes him because he is a white man despite his abusiveness and drinking habits. Bob represents the evil or the bad of the South. Atticus fights for justice and has no discrimination toward African Americans. He strives to set good, non-bigoted examples for his children and done his respect to earn and keep their respect. To Kill a Mockingbird also expresses the them of the presence of racial inequality and the importance of moral education. If people knew that racial inequality was bad then they would soon come to realize that they must treat others as they want to be treated. In my opinion, To Kill a Mockingbird stands out as a noteworthy novel because it educates readers the cruelty of racial inequality and inspires us, as citizens of the twenty-first century, to do something about it. People of our time need to read about how racial inequality was a serious issue of history and the mistake must never be repeated. If every person was morally educated in their tender years and realize what racism truly does to people, then I guarantee that racism would not exist in the world.