To Kill a Mockingbird is set in Maycomb County, a southern community in Alabama. The story is set in the poverty-stricken 1930s, when most of Maycomb's population was still suffering from the Great Depression. The film To Kill a Mockingbird is narrated by a young girl named Jean Louise, (better known as Scout), when she was six to eight years old. She and her brother Jem were the only children of a widower Atticus Finch, a respected gentleman, who was one of the few lawyers in Maycomb County. However, even though he always tries to make room for the children. Harper Lee's Maycomb County confirms many of the stereotypes commonly attributed to the South and Southerners regarding race relations and the portrayal of negative attitudes and prejudices. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Harper Lee uses symbolism to explore racism, innocence, and discrimination. First, Harper Lee uses symbolism to explore racism. The rabid dog is the key symbol of racism in To Kill a Mockingbird. Atticus is seen as a hero when he is brave enough to stand up for his beliefs against racism. He is lauded as a Southern representation of the ideal man (Moss 298). He is recognized for his courage when he stops in the path of the rabid dog and kills it with a shotgun blast (Telgan 293). By shooting the rabid dog, he proves that racism is wrong and that blacks and whites should be equal. The citizens of Maycomb County completely change their perspective on him when he stands up for his beliefs and shoots the rabid dog. He went from being a quiet, book-loving father to a courageous and greatly admired father (Moss 393). Atticus states, “True courage is not a man with a gun, but someone who is licked before he begins, but begins anyway and sees it in…middle of the paper…it is little matter of The true value of individual You shouldn't be judged by your appearance, but what's inside Boo and Tom were both judged by their outward appearance, not their true worth Jem and Scout discover that people shouldn't be judged by to their skin color their outward appearance and that everyone should be equal. In conclusion, Harper Lee does a great job of exploring symbolism through racism, innocence, and discrimination rabid dog represents racism, the thrush represents innocence, and the snowman represents discrimination. It shows how southerners commonly viewed racism and represented prejudice throughout the novel. People should be treated equally and not based on their outward appearance, but instead what is on the inside.