To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee"It is not what an author says, but what she whispers that is most important. In others terms, you have to read between the lines to Discover the more subtle meaning of the novels This is true of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Understanding the many themes of To Kill a Mockingbird is only achieved by reading between the lines. One of these major themes is dignity, as Harper Lee presents a clear picture of which characters are worthy. She does not clearly state which characters are worthy, but she uses actions to differentiate the worthy from the unworthy. , the Cunninghams have dignity and the Ewells lack it He turned the racist crowd away from Atticus and Tom Robinson another almost voted for Tom's innocence at his trial. are worthy While the Cunninghams' good deeds demonstrate their dignity, the Ewells' actions prove them unworthy. They live unhealthily on city welfare and the father, Bob Ewell, selfishly causes the death of an innocent man and attempts to kill two innocent children. Among Maycomb's rich, Atticus holds dignity while Miss Stephanie lacks it. Miss Stephanie lies, exaggerates and gossips about town affairs. Harper Lee murmurs about Miss Stephanie's lack of dignity through her undignified actions, but never calls Miss Stephanie unworthy. Although the author does not portray him as worthy, Atticus is an amoral man who considers all possible implications. before he acts. He also discussed... in the middle of the article... some similarities between Mrs. Dubose overcoming her morphine addiction and Atticus defending Tom Robinson. "It's not what an author says, but what she whispers that is most important." This is true of To Kill a Mockingbird. It contains themes like dignity that are not evident in the text, but which Harper Lee implies. She also does not clearly state the connection between Mrs. Dubose overcoming her morphine addiction and Atticus defending Tom Robinson, but she whispers the metaphor through the characters' similar qualities and motivations. Another implicit aspect of the book is the subtle relevance of its title to the text. To kill Tom Robinson or Boo Radley is to kill a mockingbird because they are metaphorical mockingbirds. None of these ideas are explained in the text; Harper Lee whispers softly to them.