How is the theme of belonging explored through people, places, or culture in To Kill a Mockingbird?

This theme is pertinent to several of the characters in To Kill a Mockingbird. Dill particularly suffers from a lack of belonging. His mother has little time for him, preferring to spend time for the various men in her life. Dill is sent to Maycomb to stay with his Aunt Rachel each summer, and his friendship with Jem and Scout becomes more important than any of his other relationships. Boo Radley is also an unwanted burden on his family. When his father dies, Boo's brother moves from Florida to take care of him. But nothing changes for Boo; he remains locked away in the house, and his brother picks up where his father left off, depriving Boo of his relationship with the Finch children by deliberately cementing the secret knothole. Dolphus Raymond is another example. When Raymond's fiance commits suicide after finding out about his black mistress, he retreats from white society and moves to the "other" side of town. He is scorned by Maycomb's white citizens, most of whom believe he is mentally unbalanced because of his choice of friends. Mayella Ewell is yet another character who desperately searches for a place in Maycomb's world. She is left to bring up Bob Ewell's brood of children by herself while he drinks up the family's welfare check. She is so lonely that she tries to tempt Tom Robinson--a married black man--for a simple kiss, something that she has never experienced before.

How does To Kill a Mockingbird convey a sense of belonging?

Although Maycomb is a sleepy little town with little to do, and it is filled with many citizens inflicted by "the ususal disease" (racism), it is a place where most of the people are happy to belong. Atticus has spent his whole life in Maycomb County, and he

... was related by blood or marriage to nearly every family in the town.

As the moral conscience of Maycomb, Atticus is, according to Miss Maudie, one of the

"... men in this world who were born to do our unpleasant jobs for us...
     "We're so rarely called on to be Christians, but when we are, we've got men like Atticus to go for us."

Dill is happiest when comes to stay summers with his Aunt Rachel, and he becomes fast friends with Jem and Scout. When he has problems at home, he runs away to Maycomb, where he feels most secure. Calpurnia, the Finch's black maid, is considered a member of the family, and Atticus vehemently defends her when his sister, Alexandra, tries to have her fired. Even when Alexandra comes to stay with Atticus,

     Maycomb welcomed her...
     When she settled in with us and life resumed its daily pace, Aunt Alexandra seemed as if she had always lived with us.

When Miss Maudie's house burns down, Miss Stephanie (with whom Maudie is often at odds) invites her to live in her home. Even Nathan Radley returns from his life in Pensacola to retain custody of brother Boo, and he settles in to Maycomb life in the usual Radley style.

What aspects of To Kill a Mockingbird influence Scout's sense of belonging?

Scout feels a sense of belonging because of two important aspects in her life: family and community. 

• Family

That family is important to Scout is evinced from the first chapter in which she describes her family lineage. After describing her ancestors and explaining that her mother died suddenly from a heart attack, Scout remarks that she and Jem find "our father satisfactory." And, although Scout complains of Calpurnia's "tyrannical presence" there is a hint of fondness for the black maid who has been around "as long as I couild remember."

Throughout Harper Lee's narrative, it is apparent that Scout loves her father, Atticus, dearly and is close to her older brother Jem. For instance, in an evening ritual, Scout sits with Atticus and reads the Mobile Register, and without fear Scout asks him about whatever troubles her. In Chapter 24, Scout observes, "I was at home in my father's world."

Important to Scout are traditional get-togethers, such as Christmas reunions with her Uncle Jack, who spends a week with Atticus's family. They are reunited at Finch's Landing where Aunt Alexandra is present with her grandson Francis, Scout's second cousin.  However, Scout does not develop a relationship with Aunt Alexandra until the trial of Tom Robinson, at which time Alexandra exhibits her concern for her brother. Because of the love that she demonstrates for her brother Atticus, Scout begins to view Alexandra with a different perspective. At the Missionary Tea in Chapter 24, Scout notices that her aunt gives Miss Maudie a look of "pure gratitude." She remarks,

...I was content to learn that Aunt Alexandra could be pierced sufficiently to feel gratitutde for help given....

There is no question that Scout's family provides love and stability in her life. She and Jem rush to protect their father when he is in danger such as the night that Atticus is posted before the jailhouse door. Little Scout remembers what Atticus has told her about entitlements and she individualizes Mr. Cunningham, asking him about his entitlements. This singling of him from the mob causes Mr. Cunningham embarrassment and he calls to the other men to leave with him, thus ending the tension of the evening. Likewise, Jem calls to Atticus when the men assemble oddly in the Finch front yard.

Further in the novel, as she listens to him and watches her father in the courtroom  during the trial of Tom Robinson, Scout's respect for Atticus grows as she analyzes her father's actions and words,

Slowly but surely I began to see the pattern of Atticus's question....Atticus was quiet building up before the jury a picture of the Ewells' home life.

The final paragraphs end with Scout's mention of her loving father, who pulls up the covers and tucks in his little daughter. Scout notices that he goes to Jem's room, where he will keep watch over his injured son until he wakes in the morning.

• Community 

In her neighborhood, Scout and Jem are very close to Miss Maudie, a friend of Atticus and a surrogate grandmother to the children, who provides loving advice and wisdom. 

During the trial, as they sit in the balcony with the black community, the Reverend Sykes keeps a fatherly watch over them. Similarly, Mr. Raymond consoles Dill when he cries about Tom Robinson's cruel treatment in court. After Tom's death, Mr. Deas gives Helen Robinson a job.

Boo Radley feels responsibility to the children, saving them from Ewell. Sheriff Tate, too, acts with the welfare of the town in mind.

How does To Kill a Mockingbird explore the theme of belonging through characters and setting?

In Harper Lee's novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, the experiences of belonging through characters and setting is seen in the small town of Maycomb and through the presence of "family" throughout the story.

First, we see examples of "belonging" with regard to people throughout the community of Maycomb, the fictitious town Lee creates as the backdrop (or setting) for the story.

The people on the block where Scout and Jem live are part of a microcosm within their community (except for the Radleys who choose not to associate with their neighbors). For example, the Finches are friendly with Miss Maudie. The children have a close relationship with her: she bakes for them, and talks to them about important issues. For example, it is Miss Maudie who discusses "religion" with Scout, though Scout seems not to fully understand the reasons for Miss Maudie's difficulty with the "foot-washing Baptists" (or the foot-washers' lack of tolerance) who bother Miss Maudie. It is also Miss Maudie who tries to get Scout to be more understanding and compassionate regarding Boo Radley by addressing foolish rumors that gossips (like Stephanie Crawford) spread. Miss Maudie explains that Boo is really just a result of the house he has grown up in:

"No, child," she said, "that is a sad house. I remember Arthur Radley when he was a boy. He always spoke nicely to me, no matter what folks said he did. Spoke as nicely as he knew how."

"You reckon he's crazy?"

Miss Maudie shook her head. "If he's not he should be by now. Things that happen to people we never really know. What happens in houses behind closed doors, what secrets—"

There are other forms of family where characters feel they belong, even if they are not a "functional family." Mayella Ewell is mistreated by her father, but she staunchly defends him in court, even though she is black and blue from being beaten at his hands.

"When he's—riled, has he ever beaten you?"...

"My father's never touched a hair o' my head my life," she declared firmly. "He never touched me."

The neighbors in the town are a part of the setting: depicting older days when families watched out for each other, knew each other like family and were a part of the everyday landscape, giving the novel a feeling of "small town."

The characters also provide another aspect to the setting, which is very much a part of the plot: the separation of whites and blacks within the community. The whites very much "belong" within Maycomb's town limits, but the blacks live on the fringes of town—barely tolerated by some...not at all tolerated by Bob Ewell, where Tom Robinson is concerned.

However, even though the blacks are relegated to a segregated church and positions of servitude to the whites, they are another form of community and family. They find strength with each other, and quibble with each other. When Tom is in jail, the church takes up an offering for his family so they can eat. The black community takes care of its own, like family:

Reverend Sykes emptied the can onto the table and raked the coins into his hand... "This is not enough, we must have ten dollars....You all know what it's for—Helen can't leave those children to work while Tom's in jail. If everybody gives one more dime, we'll have it...Alec, shut the doors. Nobody leaves here till we have ten dollars."

In this story, the setting and the characters provide examples of the experience of belonging.

How does To Kill a Mockingbird explore the theme of belonging through characters and setting?

To Kill a Mockingbird novel of formation and education, truly a work that focuses upon the journey of Jem, Scout, and Dill from the subjectivity of children to the objectivity worthy of adults.

• Scout

Early on Scout is very childish and subjective; viewing her father as an "old man" she is dubious about some of his advice such as the importance of understanding a person by "climb[ing] into his skin and walk[ing] around in it." Instead, she finds her new teacher, Miss Caroline, an outsider and disparaging of her father, saying that Scout should

...tell my father not to teach me any more, it would interfere with my reading.

Scout also calls Malevolent a "malevolent phantom." And, she mitigates the worth of Walter Cunningham, telling Calpurnia, "He's just a Cunningham" when Calpurnia scolds Scout for making fun of the boy.

Yet, through her encounters with the vituperative Mrs. Dubose and the hypocritical Mrs. Merriweather, the affection and influence of the irreverent and often sarcastic Miss Maudie, and her exposure to such self-serving people as Bob Ewell and his daughter Mayella against the kindness and humility of Tom Robinson at his trial, Scout gains much worldly knowledge; she learns that there are people who are gratuitously cruel and malicious. She also learns that some people may be poor or social outcasts, but they have values. For instance, Mr. Cunningham honors the friendship shown him by Atticus; he leads the mob away from Atticus, who sits before the jailhouse. And, Mr. Dolphus Raymond, the social disgrace, yet understands man's inhumanity to man, displaying much kindness to Dill who weeps for Tom Robinson.  He explains the nature of people to the children, thus enlightening them to the unreasonable cruelty of humans.

Moreover, when Boo Radley risks his life to save Scout and her brother, Scout realizes the import of her father's words as she stands on his porch,

you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them.

Having done this for Boo Radley, Scout realizes his bravery. And, she reaches maturation as she no longer believes in childish delusions.

• Jem

Like Scout, Jem learns not to prejudge people. For instance, he, too, is taught by Atticus to leave Boo Radley in peace; he learns that Mrs. Dubose is, as his father says, a brave woman, and he witnesses Calpurnia's courage at her church. In addition, he apprehends with his sister and Dill that people are judgmental, envious, and cruel. Jem attains greater maturity since he is older than Scout; when Dill sneaks away from home and travels to Macomb, hiding under one of the children's bed, Jem informs Atticus because he is aware that Dill's mother will be worried. Certainly displaying his love for Atticus, Jem insists upon going to the jailhouse on the night the mob comes. 

At home, the logical Jem questions the injustice of the verdict as Tom is convicted, and he has great difficulty reconciling the "secret courts of men's hearts" with the verdict of the real court.  Atticus tells Scout that Jem will simply have to "think about it and sort things out."

• Dill

At first, Dill is inconsiderate of Boo Radley, exploiting him for his and the other children's delight and fears. Because his mother is preoccupied, he runs away from home; Dill's feelings are strong.When he weeps at the verdict of the trial, Mr. Raymond tells him to cry,

"Cry about the simple hell people give other people--without even thinking.