To Kill a Mocking Bird Analysis free essay sample

In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee emphasizes the theme of inequality and prejudice through metaphors, tone and characterization. My first piece of evidence to support the theme of prejudice in the town of Maycomb is when Aunt Alexandra was talking to scout about inviting Walter Cunningham (Jr. ) over for dinner and Scout is complaining why Aunt Alexandra wont let her play with him and she says, â€Å"I’ll tell you why†¦Because—he—is—trash, that’s why you cant play with him. † This is an example of a metaphor used to describe that Walter is â€Å"Worse than them† essentially. This supports the theme of inequality by showing that Aunt Alexandra doesn’t want Scout playing with Walter because she believes they are in some sort of higher â€Å"social class†. For my second piece of evidence I have another quote from Aunt Alexandra. This time she is speaking with Atticus about getting rid of Calpurnia because she is black. We will write a custom essay sample on To Kill a Mocking Bird Analysis or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The quote reads, â€Å"You’ve got to do something about her†¦You’ve let this go on too long, too long. † Aunt Alexandra is suggesting to Atticus that they get rid of Calpurnia. She wants her gone not just because she takes the kids places but because she’s black and this shows her prejudice. This is an example of tone used by the author to make that part of the story feel darker and show how strongly prejudice Aunt Alexandra is. My final piece of evidence is a quote by Tom Robinson himself and it reads, â€Å"Yes, suh. I felt right sorry for her, she seemed to try more’n the rest of ‘em-â€Å" This is during the case when he is being questioned by Mr. Gilmer the prosecutor. This is an example of characterization used by Lee to show that Tom is just a normal caring person who was just trying to help Mayella. This is and extreme example of inequality in Maycomb because even though Tom is a nice person everyone in Maycomb treats him horribly. He is called guilty not because he actually did it but because he is black. The book To Kill a Mockingbird is not just a good book it is a lesson to show how it is wrong to be prejudice towards others. How Aunt Alexandra acted towards Walter and Calpurnia shows that the presence of inquality is big in Maycomb and it’s not going anywhere. Tom Robinson’s case was another large example of this because though it was an air tight case somehow he was found guilty. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird Lee emphasizes the theme of inequality and prejudice through metaphors, tone and characterization.