Don't Kill Mockingbirds.
"I'd rather you shoot at tin cans in the backyard,but I know you'll go after birds. Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.
That was the first time I had ever heard Atticus say it was a sin to do something, and i asked Miss Maudie about it.
"Your father's right." she said. "Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. 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.
Treat Everyone Equally.
This theme is illustrated throughout the book by Atticus and a few other characters. This mainly ties in with the underlying racism encompassing the citizens of Maycomb. Atticus does his best to try and explain to his children that everyone is equal, it's just a matter of when we will start treating everybody equal.
The Ewells are the prime example of racism throughout the story; they take advantage of the Negroes, they insult them, and they cheat them, even though they themselves have less respect for themselves than the Negroes. They ultimately pay the price at the end of the book when they lose whatever reputation they had at the end of the book for taking advantage of Tom Robinson.
The Ewells are the prime example of racism throughout the story; they take advantage of the Negroes, they insult them, and they cheat them, even though they themselves have less respect for themselves than the Negroes. They ultimately pay the price at the end of the book when they lose whatever reputation they had at the end of the book for taking advantage of Tom Robinson.
To Understand Someone, Put Yourself in Their Skin.
"First of all," he said, "if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you'll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view-"
"Sir?"
"-until you climb into his skin and walk around in it."
Scout does her best to understand this concept but only actually gets what Atticus is saying until the end of the book. When Scout walks Boo Radley home and stands on the front porch, she sees herself playing for the past years from Boo Radley's view.
Atticus was right. One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them. Just standing on the Radley porch was enough.
Keep Fighting Even if You Know You Will Lose.
"I wanted you to see something about her- I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win but sometimes you do. Mrs. Dubose won, all ninety-eight pounds of her. According to her views, she died beholden to nothing and nobody. She was the bravest person I ever knew."
This theme is one of the most important in the entire book and is the underlying motivation for Atticus' determination in defending Thomas Robinson. He explains the theme at the end of Part 1 when explaining why he respected Mrs. Dubose so much. Even though Mrs. Dubose was going to die soon, she still wanted to die free. Breaking her addiction would have no effect on her even if she was dead, but she still pained through every day in doing so. She knew that she was going to lose, but she broke it anyways.
The next instance of this theme was the Tom Robinson trial. Atticus knew he was going to lose because no white jury would ever let a black man go free against a white person's word. Even though he was going to lose, he still did his best and tried his hardest to defend Tom Robinson.
The next instance of this theme was the Tom Robinson trial. Atticus knew he was going to lose because no white jury would ever let a black man go free against a white person's word. Even though he was going to lose, he still did his best and tried his hardest to defend Tom Robinson.