To Kill a Mockingbird
THEME
Friendship
Dill, Scout and Jem are all friends, but the friendship between Scout and Dill continues to grow while Jem and Dill's friendship dwindles because Jem is growing up, and is older than Dill.
Another example of friendship is the neighbors and the Finches. They all come together to help Miss Maudie when her house burnt down, and it just goes to show that in a small community your neighbors are you friends.
Boo Radley also help Jem and Scout get away from Bob Ewell, and Jem read to Mrs. Dubose to help her get over addiction to morphine.
Another example, which could be debated, is the friendship between Tom Robinson and Atticus. One could argue that Atticus was just doing what he had to to defend Tom. But, I think that Atticus believed in his innocence, and wanted to be a good friend to him. When the mob was coming to get Tom when he was in the county jail, any other lawyer that didn't care about his client would have let the mob get to him and kill him, but Atticus didn't. Atticus protected him and stood up for him and tried to prove his innocence. In my opinion, that is something I would do for a friend. I think that over the course of defending Tom, he and Atticus became friends.
For brother and sister, Jem and Scout have a really good friendship. They share things with each other that they don't tell anyone else. They both work together to see Boo Radley like good friends would. Jem tells Scout things, and makes her promise not to tell anyone else, especially Atticus, and like a good friend, she keeps those promises.
As you can see, friendship was a major theme in this book.
Dill and Jem pushing Scout down the sidewalk in a tire.
Dill, Scout and Jem after Atticus told them they couldn't play their Boo Radley game anymore.
Scout, Jem and Dill caught at Tom Robinson's trial.
Growing Up
Another theme in To Kill a Mockingbird is growing up.
Jem starts to really grow up throughout the book. He starts distancing himself from Scout because he thinks she thinks like a child, while he is starting to think like an adult. He tells her that she will understand more things when she's older, and he has a rough time with Tom Robinson's trial because he is old enough now to understand what is right and wrong.Another example of growing up is when Dill starts to cry when the prosecuting attorney questions Tom Robinson. He knows that the way he is talking to him is very disrespectful and Dill is old enough to realize it and form his own opinion.
Scout really grows up throughout the book. She finally learns to stop fighting, and to settle arguments with words instead of fists. She also agrees to wearing a dress, although she may not like it, and have dinner with her Aunt Alexandra, and her neighbors and Aunt Alexandra's friends. This took a great amount of growing up because earlier in the book, she wouldn't have willingly wore a dress.
So, as you can see, growing up was a theme in To Kill a Mockingbird.
Morals
Another example of morals is when Boo Radley helped Scout and Jem when they were being attacked by Bob Ewell. He couldn't let them get hurt while he knew what was going on, it would have been against his morals.
All the neighbors helped Miss Maudie when her house burnt down. They were trying to save her furniture by going into her house. It would have been against their morals if they were just to let the house burn down without trying to help Miss Maudie.
In my opinion, Atticus has the best morals out of all of the characters in the book. He raises his kids according to his morals. He raises them to believe that colored people are equal to whites. He wants them to know that all people are equal, no matter what other people in the south believe. These beliefs really rub off on Jem, who now has the same morals as Atticus, especially when it comes to equality.
Morals played a big part in this book, as you can see.