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To Kill A Mockingbird Innocence

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To Kill a Mockingbird was published right as the Civil Rights Movement peaked in the 1960s. Lee 's interest in the subject of civil injustices in the south began when she was just five years old. At the time, nine black men were on trial for raping two white women. This was a highly controversial and publicized trial. In the end, the nine men were sentenced to lengthy prison time. Many lawyers and American citizens claimed that the suspected motivation for the result of the case was racial prejudice. This case from Lee’s childhood drove her to create To Kill a Mockingbird. Her innocence when hearing about the rape case influenced how she portrays Scout 's innocence regarding the racial injustice and the court case in the novel. By using …show more content…

One of the prime symbols that this novel focused on is the mockingbird. The mockingbird was spoken about in a sacred manner. Atticus and Miss. Maudie both agreed that “it is a sin to kill a mockingbird,” (119). Miss. Maudie further explained that mockingbirds “don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy,” (119). The actions of a mockingbird are pure which relates to the purity of innocence. Killing a mockingbird was considered a sin because it was killing a part of who these characters were. For example, Scout “killed her mockingbird” when she witnessed the death of Bob Ewell. After the attack, Atticus and Heck were discussing the possible scenarios that may have caused the death to occur. They finally accept that “Bob Ewell fell on his knife.” Atticus then looked at Scout and said “it’s like shootin’ a mockingbird,” (370). Atticus was not referring to Bob Ewell as the mockingbird, rather to his daughter’s innocence. She was victim of an attack and observed a man’s death. She was no longer his ingenuous nine-year-old daughter; her mockingbird had been shot. Using the mockingbird as a symbol in the title of the book, as well as throughout the story, Lee’s purpose was evident to readers. It made the reader think about the mockingbird and its purpose from the front cover to the last page of the book which enhanced the purpose of the novel; the importance of childlike

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