Authors always have a purpose when writing a piece of literature. It is often to move a powerful and important message. "To Kill a Mockingbird" is an inspirational and thought provoking book. Harper Lee used this work to work to convey several different messages. Courage, understanding, and prejudice are three topics which the author brings the reader to comprehend, and then attempts to move a message. Throughout the entire course of the novel, Lee uses the power of literature to move numerous strong messages to her audience. .
Courage plays a strong role in the novel. There are numerous instances in which Lee attempts to convey the significance courage. We are shown this mainly in the trail portion of the novel. Atticus shows a great deal of courage when defending an African American man. He has full knowledge of the risks that are posed by defending Tom Robinson. Not only is he risking losing the respect of those in the town, but he is risking his life. However, he knows what the correct thing to do is, and the pros do outweigh the cons. The life of Mrs. Dubose is another instance when the reader is exposed to the power of courage. Mrs. Dubose has a powerful addition to morphine which a weaker person would not be able to overcome. However, she shows courage and is able to overcome her addition. Atticus explains her position by saying, "Mrs. Dubose won, all ninety-eight pounds of her. According to her views, she died beholden to nothing and nobody. She was the bravest person I ever knew." This piece of dialogue is a full-fledged example of how much courage plays a role in this novel. Courage is the most underlined message Lee covered in this work.
Understanding is made to be understood in many different ways in this novel. The most prominent way this message is brought across is in the trail of Tom Robinson. In the trail, we are not shown understanding, but rather the lack of it.
