Thursday, March 16, 2017

What is a (clean) song that describes the theme of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird?

One of the central themes in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird is the need to be able to see from others' perspectives. We see the theme first expressed when Atticus gives Scout the following valuable lesson, a lesson that serves to help her develop all throughout the novel:


You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view ... until you climb into his skin and walk around...

One of the central themes in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird is the need to be able to see from others' perspectives. We see the theme first expressed when Atticus gives Scout the following valuable lesson, a lesson that serves to help her develop all throughout the novel:



You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view ... until you climb into his skin and walk around in it. (Ch. 3)



The lesson stems from the famous Indian proverb that teaches us to never judge a person until we've "walked a mile in his moccasins," which we have also turned into the adage teaching never to judge until we've "walked a mile in his shoes."

Once we figure out a central theme in the novel, we can easily find a suitable song by googling the theme plus a word like song or lyrics. One result the search yields is a song titled "Walk a Mile In My Shoes," performed by the 1970s rock band Grand Funk.

The song is a perfect fit because it argues for getting "inside / Each other's mind" and getting past our egos to see our blindness. It also speaks out against "throwing stones" at each other in judgement and reminds us that there are people "on reservations /And out in the ghettos" who are all our brothers.

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