Final Test Not Beauty But Power - John Hersey

After he kills Duncan, he feels very guilty. When Macbeth said, "Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather the multitudinous seas incarnadine, making the green one red," it shows that he felt that he will never be freed of the guilt from killing Duncan. The images of the bloody hand and the ocean powerfully impact the reader, expressing the magnitude of his guilt. Strong images, like those found in Macbeth, allow readers to picture the scene in their minds to help the writer convey his or her idea with a powerful impact.
             The themes in To Kill A Mockingbird are part of what makes the novel the powerful work of literature it is. One of these themes is the coexistence of good and evil. As children, Jem, Scout and Dill had the innocent outlook on the world that everything is good. As they grew older, life experiences taught them that this is not true. Tom Robinson's trial was a vital point in Jem's life because he was exposed to the evil of racism in the Maycomb society when Tom was found guilty, and once again when he was shot seventeen times. The characterization of Atticus Finch shows him to be a moral character. He based his decisions on what was right and just. He understood that all people had good and bad qualities, and he tried to emphasize appreciating the good qualities and trying to see things from the perspective of others. Mrs. Dubose was mean to Atticus and his children, but he admired her for her courage in fighting her morphine addiction. He tried to pass this understanding on to his children. The theme of racism is much of what makes this novel so powerful. Tom Robinson's trail is a fictional example of what was a fact of life in the South. Maycomb represents the average southern county. African Americans were considered the lowest social class. The novel contains many examples of racism. Dolphus Raymond is rejected from society because he chose to marry an African American woman, and the people of Maycomb are unable to understand why a white man would marry a black woman.