Key Issues

Tom Robinson's innocence: although the evidence clearly proved his innocence (the
one arm, his respectable personality, and his class difference) in the court case in which
he was accused of raping Mayella Ewell (Her father actually did it), the town would not
allow Tom Robinson to be set free, due to the town's racist mentality. Tom Robinson was
black.This is an example of racism in the book.

Atticus' hidden courage: Atticus was truly a brave man, although on the outside he
appeared to be a pacifist. He often encouraged his children to avoid conflict (Mrs. Dubose
is one example). When Atticus killed the rabid dog, his children gained a totally different
view of him. The whole town had revealed to them the secret of their father, that he was
an excellent marksman and a brave man. Scout and Jem saw the Atticus that was once
brave and daring. Thus, they became proud to model themselves after their own father,
once shunning him.

Mob mentality: Mob mentality is when a whole group of people, in this case, the people
of Maycomb County, is caught in one specific mind set, for or against something. The
mob mentality of the town allowed the residents to believe that Tom Robinson was guilty,
despite Atticus' excellent defense of Robinson in court. The town's mentality would never
allow them to set a black man free, so they were prejudiced against Tom Robinson from
the start. Tom Robinson had one arm, was a decent man, and never raped Mayella Ewell,
which would have been sufficient proof to set any other man free. Since Tom Robinson
was a black man, and since the town was prejudiced against him, the jury ignored all the
evidence on convicted Tom solely because he was a black man.

Social classes: The County of Maycomb was divided into strict social classes, with each
bearing animosity towards each one another. There were the black people, living in their
own section of Maycomb, the Ewells, which were a class unto themselves, and the middle
class of Maycomb County. Because of the great differences in the classes, Tom Robinson
never had a chance of being set free, since he is of a "lower" class in the eyes of most of
Maycomb county's citizens.

Mrs. Dubose's morphine addiction: Mrs. Dubose was an old lady who was very ill. As
such, she was put on morphine and had become addicted to it. Before she died, her one
wish was that she would conquer her addiction to morphine. So she spent her days and
nights in bed, suffering through morphine withdrawal. At one point, Jem was read for her,
as a punishment from his father for destroying Mrs. Dubose's flowers. It was at this point
that the magnitude of her sickness could be seen. Mrs. Dubose was a very sick old
woman. She could barely stay awake through Jem's readings. She would have fits of
coughing. This was all a result of being deprived of morphine. Still, she soldiered on, and
died shortly thereafter, having been free from the drug. She was no longer bound to
morphine, or the earthly realm, and had thus prevailed through adversity.

Jem's Maturity: Jem started out as a playful child who was often a companion to Scout.
Later on though, you could see his personality change from immature to mature. He grew
to understand the ways of life, racism, and toleration. His experience with Mrs. Dubose
was a learning one. He learned toleration, for by destroying her flowers after mere taunts
from her brought him nothing but grief. In addition, after Mrs. Dubose died, he learns of
her struggle and looks at her in a new light. This is an example of the ongoing theme of
maturity in the book.

Jem and Scout's experiences with Boo Radley: Jem and Scout's experiences with
Boo Radley allowed them to learn and accept those who are different from them. Boo
Radley was viewed as the town freak, because he was very reclusive. As a result, the
children are curious to learn more about him, so they launch a series of covert operations
to penetrate the outer layer of the Radley house. They are scared off by someone, and
are terribly afraid of that house from that day on. Still, Boo Radley comes to their aid
when Scout and Jem are attacked by Bob Ewell, showing that the rumors were untrue.
They gain a newfound respect for Boo Radley, and learn to accept him though he may be
a little different from them. This demonstrates the theme of respect.

The Cunningham's Financial Status vs. The Ewell's Financial Status: The
Cunninghams were just as poor as the Ewells, yet they dealt with their poverty in a
different manner. They did not suck money from the state through welfare as the Ewells
did, and paid for what they could. They would not take handouts. An example of this is
when Walter Cunningham was offered lunch money by his teacher. he wouldn't take it
because he knew he would never be able to repay it. Poverty reduced the Ewells to an
animalistic style of life, where fathers rape their own daughters. The Ewells also never
attended school, aside from the first day, whereas the Cunninghams were faithfully
attending school. In addition, the Cunninghams remained honorable despite their
situation, while the Ewells didn't. The Cunninghams and the Ewells are two examples of
how different people deal with the same situation of poverty.