In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, there are many situations where a mockingbird is used to represent innocence. When Atticus says, “Remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (pg.119), he talks about how mockingbirds only sing for us to enjoy. Harper Lee uses the mockingbird’s death to show innocence being destroyed. In this novel, Boo Radley, Tom Robinson, and Mayella Ewell can be identified as mockingbirds. Boo Radley can be considered a mockingbird because
He is a kind man that has been misjudged by the people in Maycomb. When he saved the kids, Heck Tate told Atticus, “...taking the one man who’s done you and this town a great service an’ draggin’ him with his shy ways into the limelight- to me that’s a sin.”
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His only intention was to help Mayella Ewell. Atticus said, “In our courts when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins.” (pg. 295). Even when everyone saw Tom Robinson was not guilty, they knew he was not going to win the case because he was a colored man. Tom was a man who respected everyone but, his skin color made him guilty of things he had not done. Mayella Ewell can also be identified as a mockingbird. Even though she accused Tom of doing something he had not done, she was forced to do that. When she says, “Your fancy airs don 't come to nothin '—your ma 'amin ' and Miss Mayellerin ' don 't come to nothin ', Mr. Finch-" (pg.167), you can tell she lives in a place where she 's treated badly. She was used to being disrespected and when Atticus was kind to her she thought he was making fun of her. Mayella was scared of her father and this caused her to do things even when she did not want to. This shows exactly how poor and sad Mayella’s life is. Boo Radley, Tom Robinson, and Mayella Ewell can be considered mockingbirds in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. Boo and Tom were nice men with good intentions and Mayella was a product of her own environment. In summary, they were innocent of everything they were accused of
Boo Radley is the “Mockingbird” within the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird written by Harper Lee. “The mockingbird, a serene creature with nothing but beautiful music to offer…. often people respond to situations because of the unknown or past rather than the truth” (Stiltner 1). A Mockingbird is a bird that does nothing but sing beautiful songs.
Scout Finch is not an ordinary girl, and she does not want to be. Everything about her life proves a little bit out of the ordinary, especially the mysteries of her town. Things start to get even more odd than usual when a neighbor’s nephew, Dill, arrives. He has an untamed curiosity that also boosts Scout’s wonder to figure out the truth of the Radley house next door and the mysterious Boo Radley who lives there. While many questions surround Scout, her father takes a case that will change all of their lives.
In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the circumstances of Boo Radley’s fate signifies the sin of killing a mockingbird because of his disconnection to the world as a result of his maltreatment. In his reckless teenage years, Boo Radley and his Old Sarum friends drove around the town square in a borrowed car and locked Maycomb’s beadle in the courthouse outhouse. Harsh punishment ensued as a result of his brash actions when Mr. Radley detained Boo in their house and “was not seen again for fifteen years” (13). This symbolizes the killing of a mockingbird because Boo Radley was a young, foolhardy boy who was cut off from the world by his father due to a single mistake.
In To Kill a Mockingbird, Boo Radley and Tom Robinson are both symbolized as the mockingbird. The first person who was inferred as a mockingbird was Boo Radley. Boo Radley is recognized as one of the mockingbirds of the story because he has not done anything horrible. Scout talks to Miss Maudie about the rumors she has heard about Boo and Miss Maudie says that he has not done any of those rumors. The only other person who claims she has seen Boo doing something bad was Miss Stephanie who has a very big mouth.
Near the end of the book, the mockingbird shows up again but this time to represent a certain person. “Underwood simply figured it was a sin to kill cripples, be they standing sitting, or escaping. He likened Tom’s death to the senseless slaughter of songbirds by hunters and children…” -pg 241. The mockingbird indicates Tom Robinson’s innocence. It’s a sin to kill a mockingbird like it was a sin to kill Tom.
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee many characters are victims of the harsh conditions of Maycomb County. Often those who are seen to be metaphorical mockingbirds are punished the most. A mockingbird is one who only wants and attempts to do good. Characters such as Boo Radley, Jem Finch and Tom Robinson are exemplars of mockingbirds in Maycomb. In the novel it is explained by Atticus that killing a mockingbird is a sin because they do not do anything to harm to us like nesting in corncribs, or eating up the gardens, they only sing for us.
Tom Robinson is a mockingbird in that he doesn't do one thing wrong. All he does is provide help to the people he interacts with. That is exactly how he got in trouble. Tom Robinson was helping Mayella with some chores. He was humming a melody and when he chopped up the dresser drawers.
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee the term mockingbird symbolizes innocence in a person. In the novel it focuses on the fact that innocence, represented by the mockingbird, can be wrongfully harmed. There are two characters: Tom Robinson and Arthur “Boo” Radley that are supposed to represent the mockingbird. In the novel, Tom Robinson is the best example of a mockingbird because he is prosecuted for a crime he did not commit. Also, he was judged unfairly based on the color of his skin in his trial.
“ Mockingbirds don’t do one thing except make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat uppeople’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” (Lee 119). Tom Robinson, a minor yet importantcharacter, is indirectly described as a mockingbird throughout the whole book, since he waskilled for entertainment purposes and not because of the crime he was guilty of, when he wastruly innocent. He did not do one thing but be honest, but his skin color made the people thinkotherwise (Gladwell).
The mockingbird in To Kill A Mockingbird is symbolic of innocence. Early in the novel, Atticus, the father tells the children Scout and Jem that it is a "sin to kill a mockingbird". Later Scout asks Miss Maudie what he meant by that because she has never heard her father say anything was a sin. Miss Maudie explains his reasoning by saying that all mockingbirds do is provide beautiful music. They do not harm anyone, they don't bother anyone, and they "sing their hearts out for us."
Showing them the harsh reality of life with honesty and fearlessness. During this time the Great Depression was hitting the southern town of Maycomb. This novel compares many of its characters to mockingbirds, a symbol of pure innocence. One summer, Atticus, who is a lawyer, finds himself in the middle of a controversial case, involving a African American man, Tom Robinson and a white woman, Mayella. Despite the town throwing hatred towards Atticus and his family, he doesn’t back down because he takes pride in helping the innocent.
The novel To Kill a Mockingbird is so titled because there are several characters in the story which could be consisted mockingbirds. Tom Robinson and Boo Radley do not cause any harm, they go about their business without interfering in the lives of others, and however both of them are in turn harmed by the citizens of Maycomb. Harper Lee’s novel examines the dark side of human nature and explores the ramifications of prejudice, racism and bigotry in a time when people were openly hostile to anyone they considered different and inferior. Lee tells her story to highlight the injustices of the South during a time of inequality, discrimination, where the innocent are unfairly punished. Tom Robinson a character in the novel is accused of something
Mockingbirds are an important symbol because they represent goodness and innocence. In this book, Tom Robinson and Boo Radley are two innocent men, similar to mockingbirds, who get taken advantage of due to their innocence. Atticus and Miss Maudie teach Scout and Jem that it’s a sin to harm anything innocent by using the example of mockingbirds. Mockingbirds are innocent because they only positively affect people through their singing.
Even though Scout displayed innocence but still was excluded from games with Dill and Jem because of her gender, Harper Lee did not intend for her to be perceived as a Mockingbird. On the contrary, Tom Robinson and Boo Radley are portrayed as mockingbirds, birds recognized for their innocence but also targeted. Body Paragraph #1 Topic Sentence #1: Tom Robinson, a black man convicted of rape, was an example of à Mockingbird because he was targeted even though he was innocent. Integrated Evidence #1: After the town of Maycomb found out about the tragic killing of Tom Robinson, “[Mr. Underwood] likened Tom’s death to the senseless slaughter of songbirds by hunters and children”(Lee 323) in an editorial. Analysis 1: Tom Robinson was wrongfully accused of raping Mayella Ewell.
Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird is about a man named Atticus and his two kids Jem and Scout. Atticus was appointed to defend an African American, named Tom Robinson. Tom was accused by Bob Ewell for raping and beating his daughter, Mayellea Ewell. During the trial scene, everyone in that courtroom finds outs the truth that Tom is innocent against the accusations from Bob. The truth is that Mayella kissed Tom and Bob saw what she did.