THEme
The theme of the novel To Kill a Mockingbird
is you should never judge someone until you have walked around in there skin. Paije and Katie believe that this is the theme of the book because there are several examples of this suggestion within the novel. Also, there are several events and people in this story that greatly support this theme.
In the story Jem and Scout developed a feeling of disgust for Mrs. Dubose. The children immensely hated the way she talked to them, and the way she constantly yelled at them when they would pass her house. One day Jem got sick of the way she treated them and he decided to destroy Mrs. Dubose's flowers. As a punishment Jem had to read to Mrs. Dubose for an hour a day for a whole month. As the days of him reading to her went on the hours got longer (literally) and so did the month. When Mrs. Dubose finally told Jem that he wouldn't be reading to her anymore, Jem went home considerably happy. It was later that spring that Jem found out from Atticus that Mrs. Dubose died, and that she suffered from a morphine addiction. This was the reason that she would have her little "episodes" as Jem and Scout would call them. Since Jem and Scout didn't know this about Mrs. Dubose they would always make silly assumptions that were childish and remarkably incorrect. They got an idea of what it was like to be Mrs. Dubose and "walk around in her skin".
Jem and Scout also had immature thoughts about Boo and the other Radley's. They acted as if the Radley house was a forbidden haunted house and Boo was the ghost inside. When they were young they would play games to act out what they thought it was like in the lives of the Radleys. The children would torment the poor Radley family by trying to see inside their house and constantly attempting to get a look at Boo. By the end of the book they realize that they didn't understand Boo because they didn't take the time to truely get to know him or think about the world from his point of view. They now know that Boo didn't come out of the house simply because he was shy and didn't want to be in the outside world. Jem and Scout also learned that through out the year Boo was looking after them instead of trying to hurt them. At the end of the story Scout says she can understand Boo and feels like has walked around in his skin just by standing on his front porch.
Tom Robinson is a major character in the story. He is a black man that was accused of raping a white woman. In society back in the 1930s (which is when the story takes place) it was nearly unheard of to have a black person having any sort of relations with a white woman. Mayella Ewell was the woman he was accused of raping. Nobody on the jury cared to begin understanding Tom Robinson's case. They were so racist they didn't care if he was telling the truth or not. Tom was pleaded guilty. About a week after the trial Tom was killed by the police because he escaped from jail. Nobody, accept the Finch family and some of the towns people, took the time to get to know Tom and understand his life or his side of the story, and Tom ended up paying the ultimate price because of this; death.
The novel To Kill a Mockingbird tremendously supports the theme of you never know someone until you have crawled inside their skin and walked around in it. This theme is supported by the situation with Mrs. Dubose, Boo Radley, Tom Robinson, and many other things throughout the story. We think that this is one of the best themes a book can have. Don't say anything until you have jumped inside that person's body and walked around if there skin. If you haven't done that, why judge?
is you should never judge someone until you have walked around in there skin. Paije and Katie believe that this is the theme of the book because there are several examples of this suggestion within the novel. Also, there are several events and people in this story that greatly support this theme.
In the story Jem and Scout developed a feeling of disgust for Mrs. Dubose. The children immensely hated the way she talked to them, and the way she constantly yelled at them when they would pass her house. One day Jem got sick of the way she treated them and he decided to destroy Mrs. Dubose's flowers. As a punishment Jem had to read to Mrs. Dubose for an hour a day for a whole month. As the days of him reading to her went on the hours got longer (literally) and so did the month. When Mrs. Dubose finally told Jem that he wouldn't be reading to her anymore, Jem went home considerably happy. It was later that spring that Jem found out from Atticus that Mrs. Dubose died, and that she suffered from a morphine addiction. This was the reason that she would have her little "episodes" as Jem and Scout would call them. Since Jem and Scout didn't know this about Mrs. Dubose they would always make silly assumptions that were childish and remarkably incorrect. They got an idea of what it was like to be Mrs. Dubose and "walk around in her skin".
Jem and Scout also had immature thoughts about Boo and the other Radley's. They acted as if the Radley house was a forbidden haunted house and Boo was the ghost inside. When they were young they would play games to act out what they thought it was like in the lives of the Radleys. The children would torment the poor Radley family by trying to see inside their house and constantly attempting to get a look at Boo. By the end of the book they realize that they didn't understand Boo because they didn't take the time to truely get to know him or think about the world from his point of view. They now know that Boo didn't come out of the house simply because he was shy and didn't want to be in the outside world. Jem and Scout also learned that through out the year Boo was looking after them instead of trying to hurt them. At the end of the story Scout says she can understand Boo and feels like has walked around in his skin just by standing on his front porch.
Tom Robinson is a major character in the story. He is a black man that was accused of raping a white woman. In society back in the 1930s (which is when the story takes place) it was nearly unheard of to have a black person having any sort of relations with a white woman. Mayella Ewell was the woman he was accused of raping. Nobody on the jury cared to begin understanding Tom Robinson's case. They were so racist they didn't care if he was telling the truth or not. Tom was pleaded guilty. About a week after the trial Tom was killed by the police because he escaped from jail. Nobody, accept the Finch family and some of the towns people, took the time to get to know Tom and understand his life or his side of the story, and Tom ended up paying the ultimate price because of this; death.
The novel To Kill a Mockingbird tremendously supports the theme of you never know someone until you have crawled inside their skin and walked around in it. This theme is supported by the situation with Mrs. Dubose, Boo Radley, Tom Robinson, and many other things throughout the story. We think that this is one of the best themes a book can have. Don't say anything until you have jumped inside that person's body and walked around if there skin. If you haven't done that, why judge?