To Kill a Mockingbird clearly portrays three very important themes. Prejudice is very prevalent in this novel, including social and racial prejudices. Another theme shown is heroism, including an unlikely character. Education is a central theme in the book, as Atticus clearly suggests to his children. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee powerfully portrays themes such as prejudice, heroism, and education in ways the reader does not expect. “The simple hell that people give to other people without even thinking about it” is how prejudice is described in this novel. Tom Robinson is a perfect example of how prejudice is shown. Tom was accused of a rape he didn't commit, and despite Atticus' best efforts, Tom was convicted based on Mayella's clearly false testimony and because of the anti-black prejudice of the time. In his closing arguments Atticus states how ignorance and prejudice blind people: “The State Witnesses have come before you, gentlemen, with the cynical confidence that their testimony will not be doubted, confident that you gentlemen will follow them in bad road. assumption that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are fundamentally immoral beings, that all Negro men cannot be trusted with our women, an assumption one associates with minds of their caliber.” What Atticus means by this is that the jury reached its verdict based not so much on actual testimony or evidence but on the belief that all niggers lie and are immoral and can't be trusted, basically convicting Tom not on the facts but almost blindly on prejudice. Social prejudice is another theme present in the novel. "Every nighttime noise I heard from my cot on the back porch was amplified threefold; every scrape of feet on the gravel was Boo Radley searching... middle of paper... teaches moral education to Scout and Jem through searching to get them to think that blacks are equal to them. Jem begins to understand this towards the end of the novel. The title To Kill a Mockingbird to me portrays a theme of heroism through Boo Radley is as innocent as a mockingbird nothing to anyone. He helped Scout and Jem a lot, like leaving them presents, putting the blanket on Scout during the fire, and most importantly, everything Boo Radley did was good, but he was prejudiced for staying. at his house and it's like killing a mockingbird, which is a shame. Boo Radley is the perfect example of a mockingbird because he just wanted to help but was "killed" (disrespected) by everyone else in Maycomb county for being different her prejudice about Boo has blinded her from Boo's true humanity.