In The Novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, By Harper Lee, The Author Comment

In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, the author comments on life. Specifically, Harper Lee comments on racism and true courage. Racism is the first subject that the author comments on. It is obvious from her writing that she feels racism is that it is wrong. This is displayed in several ways. The best example of racism is the trial of Tom Robinson. Tom received a guilty verdict even though he was innocent. The white jury convicted him for the sole reason that he is black. Another example of racism is that fact the black children were not educated. Only the white children of Maycomb were granted the right to go to school. Another example of racism is the way people acted at Calpurnia's church. Unlike the other examples of racism described, this is not white vs. black discrimination, but black vs. white racism. Lula, a member of the First Purchase Church, thought that Jem and Scout should not be there because of the fact that they are white. She was very open about expressing this opinion. True courage is another aspect of life that Harper Lee comments on. Her comment is that true courage is when a person begins something, even though they are already licked. True courage is displayed by Atticus Finch. Atticus showed this by the fact that he defended a black man to the best of his ability, even though the majority of people in the town were against him. He defended Tom and created reasonable doubt. He put his reputation on the line for what he believed. Mrs. Dubose, an elderly neighbor, also displayed true courage. She demonstrated true courage by the fact that she tried to beat her addiction even though it meant dying in pain. As can be seen, the author comments on racism and true courage. Her comments are that racism is wrong and true courage is beginning something even though you are guaranteed a loss.