Boo Radley Innocence

The Meaning of the Mockingbird Innocent people, expunged by the viciousness of the world. Starting to develop empathy for others is something that goes along with your maturity level, but a lot of people fail to learn it. In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the moral of the story was to show that the mockingbird symbolizes innocence and a lack of empathy. “Killing a mockingbird is a sin” (119). This basically means that harming something or someone that doesn’t do anything wrong, is a sin.

After childhood, people come to realise that the world is a cruel place. People misjudge others; thus, over time, people grow to accept the amount of brutality in the world. Parents often tell their children that first impressions count, mainly because others are quick to judge. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie, first impressions of people are never correct, as we judge people after mere seconds, and we are often incorrect in our assumptions of people. For instance, people often put up fronts, which then surprises others when someone’s true self is revealed.

This quote relates to discrimination of race which leads to unfair society because the trial hasn't started and Cecil Jacobs and the townsfolk already believe that Tom Robinson is guilty even though there is no evidence to suggest that he is guilty of the crimes placed against him. People are basing their opinion on their own racial prejudices/discriminatory, and are assuming that because he is a black person that he committed the act, although no evidence was presented. This leads to an unfair society because the towns folk do not know the full detail of the case and are leaning toward the Ewells side due to the fact Tom Robinson is a black man living in a white man’s world where his words and his side of the story is not heard because he’s black. Another reason why that discrimination of race can lead to unfair society directly leads to Tom Robinson for example Uncle Jack states: “The only thing we’ve got is a black man’s word against the Ewells’. The evidence boils down to you Did-I-didn’t.

In that time, there were many heavy social standards and one of those standards was accepting Jim Crow. One example of one person not being able to combat Jim Crow due to the social pressure was in the book To Kill A Mockingbird. One of the characters, Dolphus Raymond, liked hanging out with black people and was friends with them. He knew that there was pressure against it, so he took the cowardly way out by pretending to be drunk as an excuse to hang out with them. The fictional character of Mr. Raymond is a great embodiment of the mental state of the silent few in America that knew that Jim Crow was wrong, but didn’t have the means or willpower to end it.

“Prejudice: To Kill a Mockingbird” Why do we judge strangers so harshly? Why is it that, when we walk down the street, we look and treat ‘odd’ people differently? Instead of giving the homeless person a wide berth when he flashes you a hopeful smile, why not return the smile, just as you would for anyone else? In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the townsfolk of Maycomb treat ‘odd’ people and African Americans with no respect or kindness. Many people are aware that Lee teaches this lesson when she describes how the white people of Maycomb treat African Americans.

You may be surprised by how some individuals feel angry and offended at others simply because of the pigment of their skin. These individuals let their hatred of those that are different from them control their actions to the point that they bring harm and malice upon these people. This piece of writing showcases that and also addresses how racism in Maycomb is viewed and how the people in Maycomb feel about those with different skin tones as well. There are those individuals that do not intend to be racist but the way that their society is programmed they unintentionally contribute to the racist population. The racism that occurs in To Kill A Mockingbird is very present and normalized.

For instance, when Jem and Atticus were on private grounds Atticus tells Jem about mockingbirds by saying ,” I’d rather you shot at tin cans in the backyard, but I know you’ll go after the birds. Shoot all the Bluejays you want , if you can hit'em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird”(Lee 90). Atticus is showing that shooting birds are fine but mockingbirds who do nothing should never be shot because of their innocence. Using symbolism, the mockingbird can represent Tom Robinson and his innocence. Tom Robinson was innocent but they killed him when they called him guilty in his court case.

”He tries to explain the few people that still think independently make the rest of the people unhappy. The government brainwashed the society to the point to where “intellectual” is considered a swear word. People like Clarisse is considered to have psychological problems because they are different. He is saying that the world is perfect right now without conflicting theory and thought, and books will just make people unhappy in the end. But what is ironic about this is that people aren't actually happy, Mildred tried to kill herself.

Oxford dictionary defines deceptive as “easily mistaken for something else or as having a different quality.”(Oxford 299) The two characters; Boo Radley and Tom Robinson from Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird are both deceptive characters because the way they act and the things they do are misconstrued by the town of Maycomb. Boo Radley and Tom Robinson both display innocence, both are discriminated against by the people in their town and they are both people who do the morally right thing. Boo and Tom are alike because both characters are prejudiced against, therefore, they both demonstrate the theme of putting yourself in someone else’s shoes. Firstly, Boo Radley and Tom Robinson both display innocence. Boo Radley is judged for being an evil person who is said to eat children, but ends up being a good person who cares for and protects them.

“Do not judge my story by the chapter that you walked in on.” Nobody knows who wrote this quote however it is very good nonetheless. This quote shows that one should not judge another without first learning about their past and holds great significance in the novel To Kill a Mocking Bird. More specifically this pertains to Boo Radley. Over the course of To Kill a Mocking Brid Boo is seen as a maniac but as the story progresses the readers view of him changes from a crazed psychopath to simply a misunderstood boy. In the beginning of the story Boo is seen as crazed psychopath who eats cats and spies on people at night.