To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, contains several concepts. This essay will analyze the three, main
concepts of conflict, compassion and prejudice, which are presented throughout the whole novel.
Conflicts exist throughout novel, whether it is black vs. white, rich vs. poor, or educated vs. non –
educated. But there is an even bigger conflict throughout the whole book. Scout Finch deals with
internal conflict. In the beginning of the book, Scout was a very sheltered girl who found the life of her
next-door neighbor, Boo Radley, very fascinating. When she started school, she began to get exposed to
Maycomb, and she experiences that life isn’t fair. Scout has difficulty understanding this. For example,
when Miss Caroline told her she can’t read anything (a daily tradition she was used to by her father) she
wanted to give up. I didn’t know better than not to read to her, and she held me responsible-listen
Atticus, I don’t have to go to school! Although, her decision to go back to school was a climax of dealing
with conflicts that are not fair. Another example of her inner conflict is the Tom Robinson Case. This hit
home for her, because her father was the attorney for Tom. She received a lot of ridicule from her
family and friends about her father defending a black man. On page 83, Scout gets repeatedly teased by
Francis, that Scout’s Father is a N word-Lover. She proceeds to punching him in the face, but not
understanding what exactly made her angry. Throughout the time period of the Tom Robinson trial, she
discovers how prejudice is wrong, whether it is based upon race or class. By the end of the book, she
may have never succeeded by changing ALL the people’s opinions of prejudice, but her perseverance
changed throughout the whole book. Instead of giving up, and assuming racism and classism is not
present (like Aunt Alexandra’s Missionary Group), she continued to stay on the side of her father when it
came to the trial, even if it meant constant ridicule from her family and friends. Scout could have just
given up, saying that it just wasn’t fair that this was happening, but she stood by her father throughout
the whole trail. Scout learns by the end of the book, that conflict may bring some difficulties, but
perseverance will help you get through it.