Critical Analysis of To Kill A Mockingbird

The relationship between form and content in Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird can be analyzed by studying the narrative point of view, extended metaphor, tone, and irony. The novel tells a story through the eyes of a girl named Scout. The story takes place during the Great Depression. Morality and human dignity are examined.

Scout is the narrator of the story. Scout, being a child, makes the story truthful. Scout told the story as an adult from a child's point of view in the first person with the emotional response of an innocent child. Scout's innocence suspends the reader's disbelief and helps one relate to the story. Scout is innocent and harmless and yet she has t

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The profound insight of Scout establishes irony.

By Lee using Scout as the narrator, irony is established. Aunt Alexandra accomplishes damaging Scout's identity by attacking her behavior and manner of dress. Underwood compared Tom's killing to the killing of a mockingbird. Scout survives by rejecting her feminity. They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird" (90).

Scout is raised in a privileged environment but is confronted with prejudice. At the end of the novel after Boo Radley has saved Jem and Scout there is a discussion about whether or not Boo Radley should be prosecuted for killing Bob Ewell, and Scout says "Well, it'd be sort of like shootin' a mockingbird, wouldn't it?"

The form of the story is a novel. Mockingbirds are first mentioned when Scout and Jem receive air rifles for Christmas; Atticus tells them to "Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.

The novel's tone is light because of it being told by a child but the subject matter is serious. o cope with the inequities in the world around her. Tom is a metaphor for a mockingbird because he is a faultless man who is kind enough to help Mayella Ewell with chores for free. Scout receives repeated messages, primarily from her aunt, telling her that she is falling short of her assigned feminity.

Common topics in this essay:
Depression Morality, Miss Maudie, Ewell Scout, Aunt Alexandra, Kill Mockingbird, Boo Radley, Christmas Atticus, Mayella Ewell, Radley Tom, Scout Jem, kill mockingbird, boo radley, sin kill mockingbird, sin kill, it's sin kill, story scout, innocent harmless, it's sin, novel boo, scout narrator, novel boo radley,

Approximate Word count = 484
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)

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