When one witnesses the brutal act of harming someone or something that is innocent it leaves an indelible mark on her coming of age. This is done by overturning her naivement into maturity and encouraging her to form her own opinions on the world around her. In the book To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee these ideas are clearly portrayed. The ideas are demonstrated when the readers learn that killing a mockingbird in Maycomb is a crime due to the fact that it is immoral to harm something that is innocent. Tom Robbinson is symbolic of a mockingbird due to his innocence, and he facilitates Scout's coming of age by bringing out her maturity and showing her to formulate her own opinions about the world around her. “They’re burning all the witches even if they aren’t one.” -Taylor Swift Witch-hunts …show more content…
This quote is a perfect example of Tom Robinson, a black man who the people of Maycomb inappropriately label as a criminal and therefore act prejudiced against. Tom can be likened to a mockingbird in the sense that he too is innocent. Furthermore, it is a criminal offense to kill a mockingbird because everyone knows they are harmless creatures that do no wrong. Unfortunately for Tom, this precedent does not apply to black men in Maycomb even once they are proven innocent. This is seen during Tom Robinson’s trial just before Judge Taylor announces if he is guilty of asssuluting and raping Mayella Ewell. Bob Ewell says, “Oh, yes, that’d make it her right. It was her right eye, Mr. Finch. I remember now, she was bunged up on that side of her face…. ” (Lee 192). The fact that Mayella’s right eye was hit implies that her attacker is left handed. However, Lee’s audience learns Tom cannot be a lefty when Scout speaks about Robinson saying, “His left arm was fully 12 inches shorter than his right, and hung dead at his side. It ended in a small shriveled hand, and from as
Tom Robinson is on trial for the sexual assault of a white woman also known as Mayella Ewell. Tom Robinson had to experience injustice and was criticized just because he is black and black men are all “bad”. There was no proof that he actually raped Mayella, but he was accused and really innocent. At the trial, the witness said, “Mayella Ewell was hit on her right eye.” But, how could he hit her right eye when Tom’s left hand was completely impossible to use.
Mockingbird in Everyday Lives “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird. ”(119) In the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Atticus uses this quote to teach that it is wrong to harm innocent creatures.
The trial that was held two days ago included an innocent man, Mr. Tom Robinson, being tried in court for rape and abuse. Miss Mayella was badly beaten on the right side of her face. For Mr. Robinson to beat Ms. Ewell on the right side of her face it would require him using his left hand. When Tom was a boy, he got his arm caught in a cotton gin while working for Mr. Dolphin Raymond. When his arm got caught in the gin, it made his left arm twelve inches shorter than his right.
We know this because Mr. Tate says on trial ” Oh yes, that makes it her right eye. It was her right eye”. When someone is inflicting harm to the face using a fist by instinct you usually punch straight toward the face not diagonally. This is important to note because Tom Robinson didn't have a left arm as he told Atticus I can't “use my left hand at all.
‘Her left.’ ‘Wait a minute, Sheriff,’ said Atticus. ‘Was it her left facing you or her left looking the same way you were?’ Mr Tate said, ‘Oh yes, that’d make it right. It was her right eye, Mr. Finch.’”
Mayella's bruises showed mostly on the right side of her face. Commonly, if an attacker’s left hand is their dominant, they’d strike mostly on the right side, and vice versa. Tom’s left hand wouldn’t be able to cause so much damage, like the black eye found on her right side. If Tom’s not the attacker because he’s right handed, then who’s the left handed assailant? Bob Ewell was asked to write his name on a paper during the trial, he was found to be left handed.
It states ““Her father saw it, and the defendant has testified as to his remarks. What did her father do? We don’t know, but there is circumstantial evidence to indicate that Mayella Ewell was beaten savagely by someone who led almost exclusively with his left. We do know in part what Mr. Ewell did: he did what any God-fearing, persevering, respectable white man would do under the circumstances—he swore out a warrant, no doubt signing it with his left hand, and Tom Robinson now sits before you, having taken the oath with the only good hand he possesses—his right hand.” (To Kill A Mockingbird).
Dylan Bauer Ms. Crutchfield Silver 5 6 March 2023 To Kill a Mockingbird To Kill a Mockingbird's broad message and recurring theme throughout the book is good and innocence being interrupted or destroyed by evil, which is symbolic of the title because killing a mockingbird would be a sin because they are innocent and all they do is sing. Chapter 4 of To Kill a Mockingbird needs to stay because it is about scouts' first interactions with boo radley and how Atticus wants them to not bother them because bothering them would be for no reason as they mind their own business. Chapter 9 of TKAM needs to stay because it also symbolizes innocence being destroyed by evil as many people use racial slurs in disapproval of Atticus defending Tom Robinson.
‘Was your last sentence your answer?’ ‘Huh? Yes, he hit—I just don’t remember, I just don’t remember… it all happened so quickly.” As seen in this quote, it is obvious that Mayella is not confident in her idea of what had happened that day. There is a clear motive to why she may be lying though…
“Another reason, the simplest, the ugliest, was that this hitherto peaceful congregation of neighbors and old friends had suddenly to endure the unique experience of distrusting each other; understandably, they believed that the murder was among themselves…” (pg. 88) Holcomb have been described as a town out in the countryside in which everyone knew each other. Before the murders of the Clutter family, there was a sense of security and comfort among the people of Holcomb. The significance of this quote shows the people’s loss of innocence and the sheltered lifestyle they once had. After the tragedy, they are forced to realize the true nature of humans.
In the book To Kill A Mockingbird and Of Mice And Men, almost most of the characters lie about something. People lie even if they’re innocent because they want to protect themselves from being an outcast. Calpurnia lies about being able to read, Dolphus Raymond lies about being an alcoholic, and even worse, Mayella lies about Tom Robinson raping her. All of these false accusations lead to consequences and the only reason these people did this is because they’re too worried about their social standing in their community and they don’t want to be looked at any differently than anybody else.
The person that had raped Mayella had to have been left-handed; Jem was so sure of this that he "was pounding the balcony rail softly, and once he whispered, "We’ve got him"... make him out left-handed... His left arm was fully twelve inches shorter than his right, and it hung dead at his side. "It ended in a small shriveled hand, and from as far away as the balcony, I could see that it was no use to him" (Lee 238, 240, 248). Jem
Quote 1: “I felt like I was a king, like I was better than them.” –3rd-grader The quote is similar to something that happens in the novel: Both Jane Elliott and Harper Lee make a point. When two groups are separated in someway one always acts better than the other. In Jane Elliott's experiment she made the third graders believe that the blue eyed people were better,than the brown eyed people.
To Kill a Mockingbird When you think of innocence do you think of a mockingbird? Well, in her novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee foreshadows the loss of innocence through her symbolic significance of the Snowman, Mad dog, and the Mockingbird itself. First, Harper Lee uses the Snowman to foreshadow the loss of innocence. The Snowman was built out of mud and snow by two innocent children, Jem and Scout. Scout says, “Jem I ain’t ever heard of a nigger snowman” (89).
Jem is Shaped and Influenced by Society Jem, Scout's brother, from To Kill A Mockingbird is shaped and influenced by his society around him. Jem lives in the small town of Maycomb which is deeply rooted in racial injustices. Jem is initially unaware of the racial division but quickly sees the harsh reality of the world. Jem tells Scout, “There are just some kind of men who-who’re so busy worrying about the next world they’ve never learned to live in this one” (Chapter 23).