Birds of Innocence
According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, mockingbirds are slender-bodied gray birds who pour all their color into their personalities, and sing almost endlessly, even at night. They are also a very significant and symbolic bird species used in literature. For example, in Harper Lee's classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird, a mockingbird symbolizes innocence and harmlessness. Therefore, harming a mockingbird in any way, shape, or form shows destruction of this innocence. In Atticus’s words, “It’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” because as Miss Maudie clarifies, “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
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their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (119). In this particular novel, a mockingbird is nothing and everything. It’s a bird who has no direct purpose in the novel, yet plays a very important role in the book as a whole. In Harper Lee’s eyes, a mockingbird did not represent an individual character nor an individual idea. It did not represent a simple scene nor trivial detail. Instead, this miniscule, gray bird was represented by a number of diverse characters as well as a grand essence. The following characters were great representations of a mockingbird; Arthur ‘Boo’ Radley, Tom Robinson, and the Finch kids. Despite the fact that these characters are immensely different from one another regarding their age, racial background, and social status, they’re still alike in a very unique way; they’re all a “mockingbird.” First and foremost, Arthur ‘Boo’ Radley represents an innocent mockingbird, who was harmed intellectually for no valid reason. Boo was slain by society’s prejudice towards those who do not conform. On top of that, he was locked away in his house for years, thus “killed,” by being forbidden to participate and interact with the outside world. As a result of Boo’s captivity, not only did he latch onto isolation and grow antisocial, but he also served as a great target for gossip and rumors. Apparently, according to Maycomb’s chitter chatter, “Boo was about six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch. There was a long, jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten; his eyes popped, and he drooled most of the time” (16). He was said to be the town’s “malevolent phantom” and was considered crazy because he stabbed his father with scissors one day. However, in reality, Arthur ‘Boo’ Radley was a thoughtful, vulnerable man who just so happened to be ridiculed by his neighbors for invalid reasons. As the novel progresses, Boo’s true personality becomes more noticeable. The readers are able to conclude that Arthur ‘Boo’ Radley cared for the Finch kids and persisted to care for them no matter what. Even when the kids taunted him at the beginning of the novel, Boo continued to observe and watch over Scout and Jem. He was the mysterious giver who filled the old oak tree’s knothole with goodies for Scout and Jem. He was the one who, according to Jem, “put the blanket around you [Scout]” when she wasn’t looking (96). Most importantly, Arthur ‘Boo’ Radley was the hero who killed Bob Ewell and saved the Finch kids’ lives. At this point in the novel Arthur ‘Boo’ Radley is no longer considered a “malevolent phantom” by everyone, but rather a reticent hero. Above all, Sheriff Heck Tate ensures to keep Boo’s heroic undertaking a secret. He tells Atticus, “To my way of thinkin’, Mr. Finch, 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. It’s a sin and I’m not about to have it on my head. If it was any other man it’d be different. But not this man, Mr. Finch” (370, 371). To which Scout soon after agrees, “Mr. Heck Tate was right. It’d be sort of like shootin’ a mockingbird wouldn’t it?” (371). In other words, it would be insurmountable for Boo to deal with so much attention. Such abundance of exorbitant permutation in his lifestyle would eat him alive. This is why Arthur ‘Boo’ Radley represents an innocent mockingbird. Initially, he was thought to be the eeriest and spookiest person on the face of the Earth, who acted very inhumanely. In the end however, Scout admits, “He was real nice” (376). Thus proving the town folks’ misjudgement and ignorance towards Boo so to say “killed him” as a mockingbird. Another character that represents the innocent, harmless mockingbird is Tom Robinson.
Tom has been wrecked by injustice and prejudice and Scout makes a valid point that, “Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed” simply because he was a black (323). There was nothing else to it other than the color of his skin and racial background. As a result, Tom was accused of raping a white girl and had no other choice than to attend his trial and hope for the best even though the final verdict was quite palpable. Once at court, Tom Robinson testified that he helped Mayella with day to day chores quite often, free of charge. His reason for doing so was because he felt, “right sorry for her” (264). This affirmation gave Mr. Glimmer an opportunity to take advantage of Tom’s words and use them against him since a black man feeling sorry for a white girl just wasn’t acceptable. This caused so much commotion in the courtroom that many of the folks soon forgot what Tom had testified seconds before in response to Mayella’s yearn for intimate actions. In reply to Atticus’s question, “Did you resist her advances?”, Tom said, “Mr. Finch I tried. I tried to ‘thout bein’ ugly to her. I didn’t want to be ugly, I didn’t want to push her or nothin’” (260). These very words portray a true mockingbird who, so to speak, would never raise anything but his voice in a quarrel. They portray a mockingbird believes that words are stronger than
fists. At the end of the trial, Atticus finishes with a very strong, eloquent final statement. During his statement he includes important key concepts that have been testified. He says that Tom Robinson made no effort to harm Mayella and chose to flee instead, that Mayella tempted a young, strong Negro. He commands the jury to, “In the name of God, do your duty” and to choose a just verdict (274). Unfortunately, after a few hours, just as many folks have surmised, Tom Robinson was proclaimed guilty. He became a gracious black man unjustly convicted and executed for a non committed crime. Worst of all, soon after being condemned, Tom was shot and killed when making a desperate attempt at freedom. The town mourned Tom’s loss for no more than two days. All Atticus had to say was, “I guess Tom was tired of white men’s chances and prefered to take his own” (315). Mr. Underwood on the other hand, who rarely talked about miscarriages of justice, 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” (323). Mr. Underwood’s opinion is quite valid, for Tom Robinson was compassionate but undeservedly lost his life just because of society’s prejudice over his ethnicity. Tom was an innocent, harmless mockingbird who helped everyone as much as he could for no cost. He did it out of the goodness of his heart and was rewarded with death. Last but not least, the final characters that represent a mockingbird are Scout and Jem Finch. The Finch kids are chaste children, whose innocence, and naïvety is destroyed by the amount of discrimination and prejudice throughout the novel. A great example of this is illustrated when Jem realizes the truth about social statuses. He informs Scout, “I’ve got it all figured out, now. There’s four kinds of folks in the world. There’s the ordinary kind like us, the kind like the Cunninghams, the kind like the Ewells, and the Negroes”(302). Here, what were once innocence and childlike thoughts have been transformed into more mature, brutal realities of life. Strictly speaking, as the novel advanced, the children’s gullible, mockingbird like qualities gradually pulverized to bits pieces. Additionally, as the Finch kids grow and mature, they learn a very important lesson from their father; to view situations from other people’s perspectives. This allows them to further strengthen their understanding that life isn’t all about rainbows and sunshine. Nevertheless, the Finch kids learn to deal with difficult situations as the novel progresses as well. There are so many great examples of this key idea, one of which occurs right after Atticus tells Aunt Alexandra, Calpurnia, and Scout that Tom had been killed. Scout proudly declares, “After all, if Aunty could be a lady at a time like this, so can I” (318). Saying such powerful words at such a young age really means a lot and shows maximum maturity and courage. The most important event that leads to the resemblance between the Finch kids and a mockingbird is the catastrophic incident that occurred as the children were returning home from their school on Halloween night. Bob Ewell attacked Jem and Scout, with intent to harm them in some way. There is no logical reasoning for Bob Ewell’s horrific actions for Jem and Scout did him no harm whatsoever. Their actions are very similar to those of a mockingbird; they were just minding their own business when out of nowhere, they got attacked. Bob Ewell’s attack on the kids can be compared to killing a mockingbird . Neither the kids nor mockingbird should’ve been harmed in any way, shape, or form. Thus, a mockingbird does not represent an individual character nor an individual idea. It does not represent a simple scene nor trivial detail. Instead, this miniscule, gray bird was represented by a number of diverse characters in Harper Lee’s classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Arthur ‘Boo’ Radley, Tom Robinson, and the Finch kids are all fantastic examples of a mockingbird since they all reveal bits of innocence and harmlessness throughout the novel. They also exemplify a form of harming a mockingbird and the results of the destruction of this innocence. Despite the fact that these four characters are immensely different from one another regarding their age, racial background, and social status, they’re still alike in a very unique way; they’re all a “mockingbird.”
Tom Robinson was just a “respectable negro” with a kind nature who was accused in absence of wrong. Mr Robinson is immediately seen as an enemy by most in town of Maycomb. Is it because of his malicious personality? Is it because of his hair colour? Is it because he is arrogant? No, all of these are false he is instantly convicted because he is of a different ethnicity. It seems foolish but this is the reason why Maycomb has discarded a man who is of higher quality than the majority of the town. “Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella opened her mouth and screamed.” As soon as the trial began Tom’s opportunity for victory grew slimmer and slimmer and Maycomb knew that Atticus was fighting an unwinnable battle. But Atticus was determined to defend the ‘ultimate mockingbird’ right up until the end; even after the court case Atticus defends Tom at the jail. A final act of Tom’s innocence to prove his mockingbird status was whilst in court, he still didn’t want to accuse Mayella because “she seemed...
A child’s journey to adulthood will corrupt their innocence. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the two main characters Jem and Scout are forced to grow up and face the realities of their world as their father prepared for one of the most controversial cases in his career. As the trial date gets closer and closer, Jem and Scout witnessed negative and positive things caused by the folks of Maycomb, they were not prepared for. Through all the commotion Jem and Scout learned the importance of benevolence and courage as it influenced their changing perspective on the world. The qualities Jem and Scout learn from benevolence and courage change how they see their world by showing them fairness, kindness and bravery.
Protecting the innocent is a major theme in To Kill a Mockingbird. It is shown in many ways. Some ways include how Atticus tries to protect Tom Robinson, how Boo Radley saves Jem and Scout, and how Heck Tate tries to protect Boo. Harper Lee may be trying to show how society should protect the innocent through her characters and their actions.
Mockingbirds symbolically represent innocent, defenceless individuals, who bring nothing but joy to the world. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Arthur Radley, Tom Robinson and Dolphus Raymond are all symbols of the mockingbird. Many people in Maycomb see these people as mean and cruel but in reality they “don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy.”
Innocence evidently comes with birth and is kept through existence as time moves forward, but it soon becomes corrupted with specific life changing occurrences. In the film To Kill a Mockingbird directed by Robert Mulligan, which is based upon the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” written by Harper Lee, there are three prominent characters in which innocence is rendered within. The three characters are Jem Finch, his sister Scout or Jean Louise Finch, and their neighbor Boo Radley or Arthur Radley. They each possess a different form of innocence because of the diverse personalities and consequently have their innocence obliterated in distinct ways. The
Loss of Innocence in Killing a Mockingbird Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired old town when I first knew it. In rainy weather, the streets turned red slop; grass grew on the sidewalks, the courthouse sagged in the square. " (Lee 9). This environment, as Scout Finch accurately describes, is not conducive to young children, loud noises, and games. But, the Finch children and Dill must occupy themselves in order to avoid boredom.
In “To Kill A Mockingbird”, by Harper Lee, Lee uses a quote saying “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” (Lee 94). Mockingbirds are portrayed as very delicate and innocent within this book, just as Boo Radley and Tom Robinson.
As the novel continues, I begin to consider Tom Robinson as a mockingbird since he helped Mayella frequently, nevertheless the jury still convicted Tom for his race, not due to what he did or didn't engage in. During Tom’s testimony, Atticus asked if Mayella ever paid Tom for the services he did. Tom’s responded, “No suh, not after she offered me a nickel the first time. I knew she didn't have any nickels to spare. ”(Lee 191)
Innocence is defined as the state of being not guilty of a crime or other wrong act. The definition does not have any exceptions depending on race, age, gender or other physical characteristics. Yet in the south, the innocence of a guilty white man, is more important than the innocence of an innocent black man. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, is about a young girl named Scout who lives in Maycomb County, Alabama. The novel is separated into two parts, the first part is about the adventures of Boo Radley. While the second part is about the trial of Tom Robinson. In the first part of the novel, Scout along with her brother Jem and her friend Dill investigate the mysterious life of their neighbor, Boo Radley. Boo has not left
Who would want to kill a mockingbird that sings and keeps people at peace? Only mean and cruel people for example Bob Ewell, a drunk and abusive father. This symbol of mockingbird appears in the story many times. According to Merriam-Webster’s Middle School Dictionary a mockingbird is a songbird of the southern U.S. that is noted for the sweetness of its song and for imitations of the notes of other birds (482). The symbol of killing a blameless bird is repeated through out the story when Harper Lee describes Boo Radley, Tom Robinson, and Calpurnia. The following words of Atticus to his children explain it “…but I know you’ll go after birds. Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” (Lee 90). To Kill a Mockingbird, is the expression of the mocking bird and some people as innocent victims.
In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee tells the story of coming-of-age and the loss of innocence through the character Jem. Through recurring events, Jem is faced with the realization of society’s injustice, and is left questioning the world he lives in. During a time of rampant racial discrimination and prejudice in the south, Jem transforms from naivety to maturity.
Maycomb is a petite, sleepy town, however, the political side is vicious. Atticus selflessly decides to defend Tom, an African American, in court who was being wrongly prosecuted for rape. Despite Maycomb’s arsenal of verbal chastisement on himself and his children, continued to defend Tom. Because Tom was African-American, his rights were subconsciously removed due to racial bias. "It was just him I couldn't stand," Dill said…"That old Mr. Gilmer doin' him thataway, talking so hateful to him… It was the way he said it made me sick, plain sick… The way that man called him 'boy' all the time an' sneered at him, an' looked around at the jury every time he answered… It ain't right, somehow it ain't right to do 'em that way. Hasn't anybody got any business talkin' like that—it just makes me sick." (Lee 155-165). Although the treatment was harsh, Atticus continued to defend Tom because Atticus’s virtues abide by protecting the innocent. The overwhelming negativity crowding the court case that Atticus disrupts for Tom Robinson supports Atticus’s altruism in defending the
The illusion of innocence is deeply instilled in the outlook of children. Reality soon takes its grip as kids begin to grow and mature, and they lose their pure qualities that they have once possessed. Their father Atticus shelters Jem and Scout from the town’s disease, teaching them the act of sympathy and how to distinguish the good aspects over glaring at the imperfections of people. The loss of innocence portrayed in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is exposed as the lives of Jem, Scout, and Dill go through their racist and prejudice society, learning how the worlds dreamlike qualities is nothing more than just a childhood fable. The children’s judgment of people and society quickly sheds as Lee displays the harsh realities to Jem, Dill,
It is a sin to kill a mockingbird, mockingbirds are innocent birds that do not do one harm thing, but makes music for ones to enjoy. Tom Robinson is one of the novel’s “mockingbirds”, he is innocent but he was falsely convicted of rape and got killed. In a court, black man had never won over a white person. Tom Robinson, a black man was accused of raping Mayella Ewell, Mr. Ewell’s daughter. Atticus defends Tom Robinson because he had been appointed to defend for him, but it is also because of his morals. “Mr. Finch, I tried. I tried to 'thout bein' ugly to her. I didn't wanta be ugly, I didn't wanta push her or nothing” (Lee 260). During...
First of all, mockingbirds constantly reappear throughout the novel for they are significant symbols. Mockingbirds are beautiful birds that are known for their remarkable voices. These birds are first introduced when Atticus instructs the children on how to use the toy riffles. As Jem and Scout are shooting Atticus says: “I’d rather you shot at tin cans in the back yard, but I know you’ll go after birds. Shoot all the bluejays you want… but remember its a sin to kill a mockingbird” (90). With this said, mockingbirds are put in a new category of respect and can even be seen as sacred since it is a sin to kill them. This moral law that Atticus presents gives protection to the beautiful creatures. But why should the mockingbirds be the only type of breed to be kept from harm? According to Miss Maudie the answer is simple for she explains: