Themes in To Kill a Mockingbird To Kill

Themes in To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird is about racism. n. To determine theme, you have to explain what it teaches about racism. n. OK… racism is bad. We knew that already. GO DEEPER.

Getting To Depth = WHAT ELSE? n Where does racism appear? n How does racism affect people? n How does racism affect a community? n How does racism against black people affect white people? n Are there different types of racism? n What is the human cost of racism?

Consider n Tom Robinson/ Tom Robinson’s death n What Calpurnia says about two languages. n First Purchase Church n Dolphus Raymond and his “mixed” kids n Ms. Merriweather’s comments at the tea party n How Bob Ewell perceives the events n Mayella’s “attraction” to Tom n How Miss Gates is hypocritical

Come up with a thematic statement about theme about racism in To Kill a Mockingbird.

Coming of Age/ Loss of Innocence n Scout and Jem grow up in this novel. We see each of them mature through their behaviors, actions, and the things they say. They lose their innocence. What do we learn about growing up from this novel? What happens as we grow up and get older, as demonstrated in this novel?

Courage/Integrity n. What are some events that are meant to teach us about courage or integrity?

Stepping into someone else’s skin n. Write a thematic statement about this topic.

Innocence n The mockingbird comes up several times in the novel. It does nothing to hurt anyone or anything, but they make music to enjoy. It’s a sin to kill a mockingbird. It is a symbol of innocence. Boo Radley and Tom Robinson are also innocent. What is the author trying to make us think about innocence from the events of this novel?

The Gothic Motif Harper Lee includes many Gothic elements in To Kill a Mockingbird. Why? What does it do to the story? How does it affect it? What was her purpose in including these elements? Where do we see the ribbon of the gothic throughout this novel?