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"To Kill a Mocking Bird” by Harper Lee is based on a narration by a young girl, Scout about her family and neighbors as well as on a memorable event that happened in her town when she as around ten years. The story takes place in the tired, old, southern town of Maycomb, Alabama. Scout lives with her widowed father Atticus who is a lawyer and her older brother Jem. The children perspective of things completely changes when a controversial case is held in the town. Tom Robinson is accused of rape, but these allegations are not true. Scout’s father is named to represent the accused, and he tries to his best to defend Tom. Though there is sufficient evidence to prove his innocence, the jury still finds him guilty as he was black (Sova 94). The major themes in the story were racial prejudice, courage, and compassion among others. Racial prejudice runs throughout the story. According to the town’s people, blacks had no right to justice. They were viewed as lesser beings that had no significance in the town. Any white sympathizing with them was viewed as a traitor or one who did not respect the community’s view. Tom Robinson was under trial not because he had committed any crime but because he was of an inferior color. Mayella and her father Bob Ewell blatantly lie before the jury and are confident that their false admissions would be considered. Though Atticus tried his best to destroy all the credibility of Ewell’s story, his efforts came to naught. The jury chose to conclude that the black man was lying. Atticus faced serious disapproval from the town’s people for taking the case as he was not expected to sympathize with a black man. He was called a nigger lover
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