Gothic Elements

"We stood watching the street fill with men and cars while fire silently devoured Miss Maudie‘s house." - Scout (Chapter 8, p. 76)

• by interlacing her story with certain Gothic elements, the author Lee establishes drama, atmosphere and a specific sense of foreboding as well as tension
• traditionally, Gothic elements can include supernatural incidents, haunted settings, full moons; in general things that create a dark atmosphere
• elements that are out of place in the usually quiet town of Maycomb:
  
  • unnatural snowfall
  • Miss Maudie‘s house that burns down (the fire serves as a sign of the future conflicts and chaos)
  • the portrayal of Boo Radley as some kind of ghostly phantom
  • the Halloween night

Femininity

"[Calpurnia] seemed glad to see me when I appeared in the kitchen, and by watching her I began to think there was some skill involved in being a girl." - Scout (Chapter 12, p. 127)

• Scout claims that boys get to have all of the fun going on adventures for instance while girls are destined to wear dresses and do housework
  
  • does not want to act as a girl because she believes that behaving girlishly is bad and also because she fails to live up to Jem‘s standards of how a good (male) person should behave
  • Scout feels odd in dresses since they make her feel caged in
  • manages to find female role-models such as Miss Maudie and Calpurnia
  • Calpurnia‘s good-heartedness and skill in the kitchen make Scout think that being a girl might involve some positive traits
  • Aunt Alexandra is a dominating figure of her household and even though Scout perceives her as very conventional woman, she comes to respect her later in the novel when Aunt Alexandra faces a crisis during one of her tea parties, but regains her composure and thus handles it gracefully
  • Miss Maudie as always optimistic, facing every situation with practicality and unwavering positivity; also stands in contrast to the other gossiping ladies of the town since she is not afraid to voice her opinion or stand against the tide of popular attitudes

Walking in someone else‘s shoes

"Atticus was right. One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them. Just standing on the Radley porch was enough." - Scout (Chapter 31, p. 308)

• represented through Boo Radley, who is surrounded by mystery, gossips and prejudices
• due to that, Scout perceives him as some kind of monster but over the course of the novel, she grows fond of him since she realizes that he is a good person, leaving them presents, helping them out and ultimately rescuing them
• in the end, he is a friend to her and she starts seeing the world through his eyes, transcending into a more mature worldview
• Scout’s ability to empathize with another person’s perspective is the culmination of her development as a character and also, it is a message that Lee attempts to convey

Small-Town life

"Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired old town when I first knew it. [...] There was no hurry, for there was nowhere to go [...] nothing to see outside the boundaries of Maycomb County. - Scout (Chapter 1, p. 5f)

• small-town life contrasts the Gothic motif in the novel with its old-fashioned, traditional as well as predictable ways
• life in Maycomb is slow-paced and good-natured on a superficial level
• juxtaposition of the small-town values and Gothic elements serve as a way to depict the forces of good and evil
• when Miss Maudie‘s house burns down, the whole town bands together in order to save Miss Maudie‘s belongings
• Bob Ewell‘s attack on the innocent-looking and vulnerable Scout in her ham-costume pictures him as fundamentally evil