The Co-existence of Good and Evil

The theme which i thought was a very key aspect to this novel was, the Co-existence of Good and Evil. I felt this theme was used really well and it really helped us to understand ourselves as we are right now and the characters as they are in the book.

The first example of this theme is when Atticus says to Scout, "...its never an insult to be called what somebody thinks is a bad name. It just shows you how poor that person is," (Lee, 30). I chose to use this as an example of the Co-existence of Good and Evil because Atticus makes a strong point. He says when someone calls you a bad name, it just makes them look bad, mean and a very poor type of person. Atticus says this because he is explaining to Jem that you can be labeled with bad names but it shouldn't matter as you know you are the good person but the individual who called you that name is the bad person. He is teaching her a valuable lesson about how to be kind and to others, instead of being mean and evil.

"He slowly squeezed the breath out of me. I could not move.

"Suddenly he was jerked backwards and flung in the ground, almost carrying me with him, I though Jem's up," (Lee, 151). This is an example of the co-existence of Good a nd Evil because Jem and Scout are about to be faced with evil as Mr. Ewell is nearly about to kill him. Though, they are saved by Mr. Radley which becomes a good thing as Scout and Jem are now under protection.