Analysis of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

In the 1960’s Harper Lee wrote the award-winning novel ‘To Kill a

Mockingbird’. The novels story is told through the eyes of Jean Louise

Finch (aka. Scout). It all starts when Scout is only six years of age.

She lives with her Father Atticus (Lawyer), Brother Jeremy (Jem), and

their lovely black Housekeeper, Calpurnia. They live in the Deep South

in a small town called Maycomb. Scout and Jem make a new friend early

on in the book, Dill, with whom they get into much mischief with. They

soon come to realize that in their little racial town, there is more

to it than meets eye. They find there is much corruption and deception

going on, people are not who they are made out to be. Characters could

be described as a ‘Mockingbird’, symbolizing innocence (‘free from any

wrong; pure’. (Stated in the Macquarie Dictionary)), or a ‘Blue-Jay’,

symbolizing immorality (‘wrong according to the moral law or to

accepted patterns of behavior’ (Macquarie Dictionary)).

Two main characters that are considered to be ‘Mockingbirds’ are;

Scout (six year old white girl) and Tom Robinson (25 year old black

family man, who lost his arm in a machinery accident). These

Characters are ‘Mockingbirds due to their innocence through the book.

Scouts innocence is bound by her age; she is seen as young and nieve.

Throughout the book there are many incidents in which she doesn’t

understand what is going on around her, due to her lack of knowledge.

One such incident is at Christmas time when Jem and Scout receive air

riffles. Atticus’s words of caution to them were, “Shoot all the

Blue-Jays you want. If you can hit em. But remember, it’s a sin to

kill a mockingbird”(p.99). Scout was confused, for that was the first

time Atticus had said anything was a sin. Scout consulted her neighbor

Miss Maudie for an explanation. Miss Maudies exact words were,

“Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They

don’t eat up peoples gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do

one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it is a sin to

kill a Mockingbird”. Scout didn’t realize this at the time but she was

getting a valuable lesson that she will understand later in life.

At one stage in the book Scouts innocence saves Atticus’s and Tom

Robinson’s Life’s. Jem, Scout and Dill all sneak out to surprise

Atticus, but when they arrive at the jail cell where Atticus is

minding Tom, they get their own surprise. They come just in time to

see a mob of farmers arrive trying to get into Tom’s cell for a reason