The theme of good versus evil is central to the novel and the main plot is based around the discovery of evil and also the acceptance of it. The acceptance of evil happens gradually as the children grow up and unearth the reality of an adult world. The children are introduced at a young age and are pre-adolescent; they are innocent to evil as they have never witnessed it. There is a however a transition that takes place between both Jem and Scout; a transition from innocence to experience as they grow up together. It is during this transition that the children come to realise that they must include an understanding of evil to gain true knowledge in the world because evil is all around us.
For example, both Boo Radley and Tom Robinson are both threatened by evil and cannot prepare themselves for the evil that they will encounter. The novel witnesses the evil destroying them. Tom Robinson’s character highlights the stark reality of racism in South America in the 1930’s. Lee grew up in Monroeville, Alabama in the mid 1930’s so she would have been all too familiar with the hardship of racism and the novel is undoubtedly autobiographical to some extent. It has been suggested by Joyce Milton that the novel is in fact autobiographical and explains how ‘interviewers who met the author often felt as though they were coming face to face with a grown up version of Scout Finch’ (Milton, 1984, pg. 1). For modern readers, it is hard to grasp and understand the severe racism, but it is important that we remember the time in which the novel was set. We witness the racist treatment Tom receives and we also witness Jem fall victim to evil as he becomes familiar with racism during the trial. Tom has all the odds against him in the society they live in and Jem gets caught up in the controversy of his father’s lawsuit. Scout maintains her faith in humanity whereas Jem is badly affected by what he has seen and his faith is left damaged. It is arguable that Jem’s loss of faith in humanity is due to his age and understanding, as he is older he understands the forms of evil more than Scout does.
It is true that evil plays a huge part in the novel, however, Atticus Finch acts as a beacon of hope. He explains to them that in life, most people have both good and evil in them. Terry Gadd explains how Atticus ‘tries to teach his children that courage is not a man with a gun, that he cannot be considered courageous for shooting a dog’ (Gadd, 2000, pg. 26). Atticus makes a valid point in both the novel and reality; he is actually highlighting the real evil to the children.
The forces of evil appears to be greater than the small town that the family live in. The Finch’s live a small-town life, and knowing that the threat of evil, or anything could upset this, is worrying. In addition to this idea of racism being an overpowering force of evil, Boo Radley is also seen as a form of evil. He is a misunderstood character and has three facades in the novel; monster Boo, fantasy Boo and the real Boo. Scouts description of Boo as the monster is quite comical in some ways, indeed we feel that he’s an odd character, but we see how a child could view him. A child’s perspective is what gives the novel an element of comic relief; something much needed after the discovery of racism. For example, Scout describes him as tall and says that ‘he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that's why his hands were blood stained’ (Lee, 1960, pg. 14). Scout and Jem’s ideas about Boo are typical of thrilling ghost stories you would expect from children of their age. As such, Boo becomes a kind of myth or fantasy. As a fantasy figure, the children aren’t just afraid of Boo, they are obsessed by him and almost long for a meeting or friendship with him, it’s the thrill of the unknown that drives their obsession.
Finally, the real Boo Radley is understood and as the children have made the journey from ignorance to knowledge, they understand that the real evil is the racism involved in Tom Robinson’s trial, not Boo. Jem says "Scout, I think I'm beginning to understand something. I think I'm beginning to understand why Boo Radley's stayed shut up in the house all this time... it's because he wants to stay inside" (Lee, 1960, pg. 251). It can be said that Jem is referring to the reality of racism again by suggesting that staying inside allows you to avoid seeing the evil of the world, and furthermore, maybe he thinks that Boo has the right idea and they’ve had the wrong idea; he now understands why Boo is a recluse. It is at this point that there is a creation of a whole new perspective. Scout looks around and sees things from Boo’s perspective, she reiterates Atticus’ voice of reason and quotes ‘Atticus was right. One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them’ she adds that ‘Just standing on the Radley porch was enough’ (Lee, 1960, pg. 308).
The novel is very much a journey from discovery to acceptance. Boo Radley has undergone a transformation and is now seen as normal and society is unnatural. The children have discovered the true reality of evil and matured in the process. It is interesting how at the beginning of the novel, the evil comes in the form of Boo Radley, and towards the end, the evil is more real and is portrayed through the whole idea of racism and how prominent it is in the 1930’s American society. Perhaps the most upsetting thing for the reader is knowing that the novel tells a story of the many cases of racism that were untold in the 1930’s, we too undergo a transformation upon completion of the book just as Scout and Jem did. We feel grateful for the novel and moved by it.
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