Comparing Themes of To Kill a Mockingbird and A Raisin in...

To Kill a Mockingbird and A Raisin in the Sun are books both written during a time of racial tension and inequality. Harper Lee and Lorraine Hansberry lived through the civil rights movement and saw the physical and verbal harassment against African Americans. This experience is evident in both works as the theme of fighting prejudice shines through. The goal of this paper is to compare and contrast the theme in both books and how it affected both of the families. Also, throughout the paper I will examine the themes of innocence and fighting prejudice. In order to analyze each section thoroughly, I have divided my paper into many sections. My sections will include the summary of the book by Harper Lee followed by a theme analysis.†¦show more content†¦The Finch family comes under scrutiny as Atticus prepares to fight for racial equality, and the children continuously stand up for him. After Mrs. Dubose criticized Atticus for defending a negro, Jem decides to stick up for his father by cutting the tops off of her flowers. Atticus punishes Jem by making him read to her every day and later defends the woman after her death and praises her for her courage as she tried to fight a morphine addiction. The trial of Tom Robinson came and Jem and Scout had to sneak into the upper balcony to watch. Even though the lack of evidence clearly favored the defense winning, the all white jury found Tom Robinson guilty. After trying to escape the prison, Tom Robinson gets shot and killed. Even though Bob Ewell, Mayella’s alcoholic father, gets the outcome he wants in the trial, his reputation was damaged severely as it became evident he was the one who really abused his daughter. To get back at Atticus, Bob attacks Scout and Jem with a knife after a Halloween event. He breaks Jem’s arm and Scout is defenseless because of her costume. Just as Scout thinks she is surely going to die, a mysterious figure jumps in and turns the knife on Bob, stabbing him in the chest and killing him. This person carried Jem back to the Finch house with Scout following. It wasn’t until they got to the house that Scout realized her savior was actually Boo