To Kill a Mockingbird Lessons Essay Rough Draft free essay sample

As children grow up, they often learn many lessons about life. Life lessons may be positive or negative, but all children are exposed to those as they mature to adulthood. Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, reveals those lessons through Hem and Scout finch, children of Atticus Finch, a lawyer. Set in the 1930’s, Depression in Maycomb, Alabama, Scout and Jem gain many insights about life as they interact with the town’s various citizens. The life lessons they learn include showing courage in the face of difficulties, not judging others, and fighting against racial prejudice. To start with, a major life lesson Scout and Jem Finch learn is not to judge others until you step into their shoes and see life how the other person sees it. Jem and Scout learn this important lesson from Atticus. An example of this is when Scout was making the new teacher irate because Scout already knew how to read. We will write a custom essay sample on To Kill a Mockingbird Lessons Essay Rough Draft or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Scout knew how to read because she read with her dad almost every night. Miss Caroline, the teacher, told her to tell her dad to stop reading with her. Scout loved to read with Atticus, which in turn annoyed Scout. Atticus steps in, however, and says to Scout not to judge someone until you see their side of the story. Atticus says â€Å"’You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view†¦ until you climb into his skin and walk around in it. ’† (Lee 22). Atticus explains to Scout that it was Miss Caroline’s first year teaching and that she had just been taught a new way to teach things, the Dewey Decimal System. A different example of how not judging others is a life lesson is at the end of the novel when Scout is on Arthur Radley’s porch, and she realizes what life is like for Arthur Radley. She realizes that Arthur Radley can see the entire neighborhood, and that he doesn’t need to go out, because he can experience the feeling of living in the neighborhood just by looking out of his front window. Next, another life lesson that Jem and Scout learn is that it is good to fight against prejudice. The main example from whom Jem and Scout learn this is when Atticus is defending an African American, tom Robinson, in court because tom is accused of raping a white girl, Mayaela Ewell. Atticus is a courageous man who does not judge a man by his skin, and can take all the nsults thrown at him. In the court, Atticus says â€Å"’You know the truth, and the truth is this: some Negroes lie, some Negroes are immoral, some Negro men are not to be trusted around womenblack or white†¦ There is not a person in this courtroom who has never told a lie, who has never done an immoral thing, and there is no man living who has never looked upon a woman without desire’à ¢â‚¬  (Lee 173). After losing the trial, Jem was â€Å"hit real hard†. He didn’t understand why his dad had lost because Atticus had more evidence that the crime was not committed by Tom. Jem realizes that the only reason his dad lost the case was because of the influence of racism. Another, less important way that fighting against racism is taught to Jem and Scout is how Jem learns about how Hitler is persecuting the Jewish population in Europe, and tells Scout about it. He wanted to know why someone was doing such a thing and both Jem and Scout make the connection that what was happening in Germany was kind of like how people looked down upon the African American population. Lastly, and most importantly, showing courage in the face of difficulties is a major life lesson Scout and Jem learn. The main way courage is exemplified In front of Jem and Scout is how their dad defends Tom Robinson in court. Everyone thinks Tom, is guilty, just because he is an African American. Atticus and his kids have to deal with many insults, but Atticus tells Jem and Scout not to fight back. Another example in which courage is shown is when Mrs. Dubose has Jem read to her. This is because as he reads to her, she is trying to wean herself off of her Morphine addiction. This shows courage because Morphine is extremely addictive, and she wanted to die without the addiction, which she succeeded in. Miss Maudie shows courage in front of Jem and Scout because when her house burns down, she doesn’t act afraid. Instead, she shows anticipation when she explains how this is good because she can now have a bigger garden for her extravagant flowers. In conclusion, fighting against prejudice, showing courage in the face of danger, and not judging others are the few most important examples of lessons in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird. This story is read in most schools as curriculum these days because of the lessons that Jem and Scout learn can apply to the lives of most teens. However, the lessons have changed targets over the years. For example, now a days African Americans aren’t judged, but its socially awkward kids and To Kill a Mockingbird helps show the wrongs of doing that. This novel will be taught in English classrooms for many years to come.