Metaphors In To Kill A Mockingbird

The Death of a Mockingbird

Mockingbirds are often times thought of as a symbol of innocence because they do not harm people's crops or the people themselves along with sing beautiful songs for the enjoyment of others. The book To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is set in the midst of the Great Depression in Maycomb County, located in the deep south of Alabama. The book follows 6-year-old Jean Louise “Scout” Finch as she goes through her summer learning things about racism, equality, and other life lessons. But throughout the whole story, there are many symbols and metaphors, including the saying “It is a sin to kill a mockingbird”. This is because they are innocent and do not harm others but are there for the enjoyment and happiness of others. This metaphor was brought to life by certain characters who acted as mockingbirds throughout the whole story. Atticus Finch, Tom Robinson, and Boo Radley are all metaphorical symbols of a mockingbird and this idea is still relevant to our society.

Atticus Finch is metaphorically portrayed as the symbol of a mockingbird and this idea is still prevalent in our society.

Atticus Finch is an man American of the 1930’s. A father and lawyer going through times of hardship along with the rest of his nation in the deep south. When he takes Tom Robinson, a black man, case he is torn. He does not want to take the case because he knows he will lose and he and his family will be put at risk for defending a black man. He takes the case and defends Tom to the best of his abilities for one simple reason: He knows Tom is innocent and believes in justice. He sees past Tom’s skin color and tries his hardest but is shot down, as the verdict of the case was guilty. Here, he pleads to the jury to see like him and look past the color of Tom’s skin and look at the

facts:
Which, gentlemen, we know is in itself a lie as black as Tom Robinson's skin, a lie I do not have to point out to you. You know the truth, and the truth is this: some Negroes lie, some Negroes are immoral, some Negro men are not to be trusted around women—black or white. But this is a truth that applies to the human race and to no particular race of men. There is not a person in this courtroom who has never told a lie, who has never done an immoral thing, and there is no man living who has never looked upon a woman without desire. (Lee 273)
He also has expressed that he no longer uses guns because he cannot stand the thought of him killing another living thing. But, when he is forced to, he reluctantly shoots the dog. He states he did not want to because the dog had no way to fight back and that he had such a great advantage over him and Miss Maudie tries to explain that to Scout and Jem: “‘Wonder why he never goes huntin‘ now,’ I said. ‘Maybe I can tell you,’ said Miss Maudie. ‘If your father’s anything, he’s civilized in his heart. Marksmanship’s a gift of God, a talent—oh, you have to practice to make it perfect, but shootin’s different from playing the piano or the like. I think maybe he put his gun down when he realized that God had given him an unfair advantage over most living things. I guess he decided he wouldn’t shoot till he had to, and he had to today.’”(Lee 130). People in modern day society try their hardest to keep themselves unbiased on topics such as race but few can be like Atticus Finch and truly look past it and do what is right no matter what a person looks like and look at who they are.
Tom Robinson is metaphorically portrayed as the symbol of a mockingbird and this idea is still prevalent in our society. Tom Robinson is a black man who lives in Maycomb County during the 1930’s. He is another family man with a wife and kids. In the book he is accused of assaulting and raping Mayella Ewell, a young white girl. Because the United States was extremely racist in the 1930’s and the book is set in the deep south, racial prejudices take precedence over fact and reason, even in a courtroom and Atticus knows that saying, “There's something in our world that makes men lose their heads—they couldn't be fair if they tried. In our courts, when it's a white man's word against a black man's, the white man always wins. They're ugly, but those are the facts of life…”(295). Despite the Tom’s clear evidence, he is convicted. It is later reported by Atticus that, “‘They shot him,’ said Atticus. ‘He was running. It was during the exercise period. They said he just broke into a blind raving charge at the fence and started climbing over. Right in front of them ’” The only thing Tom Robinson wanted to do was help Mayella Ewell with her chores and be repaid by the slight chance that he may be seen as more than just a black man but for who is. He meant no harm to anyone and did the things he did for the happiness of others. Even today our society is somewhat racially biased and many times these biases earn many unjust sentences and convictions.
Boo Radley is metaphorically portrayed as the symbol of a mockingbird and this idea is still prevalent in our society. Boo Radley is the town recluse and not much is known about him except that when he was younger, along with others formed the closest thing to agang Maycomb has ever seen. Along with that he was convicted of stabbing his father in the leg with a pair of scissors and was never seen again after. Throughout the story, rumors are spread that Boo that he commits many crimes at night but no one was ever able to support those claims. Despite this, Boo is a good man with a good heart. Later we learn of Boo leaving some of his most prized possessions in the knothole of a tree for Jem and Scout in hopes that they may be friends. No only that but when Jem rips his pants fleeing the Radley estate, Boo cleans them and mends them together. Then, on the night that Miss Maudie’s house burns down, the children are sent to the Radley house to sit and be away from the fire, when they rejoined with Atticus, Scout found a blanket which she did not have on when she left for the Radley house. Since they were so captured by the fire, they did not see or notice Boo and when talking to Atticus about it he said:
“‘You’re right. We’d better keep this and the blanket to ourselves. Someday, maybe, Scout can thank him for covering her up.’ ‘Thank who?’ [Scout] asked. ‘Boo Radley. You were so busy looking at the fire, you didn’t know it when he put the blanket around you.’”(96)
Boo didn’t have to do this but saw that Scout was obviously cold and shivering so he did this for her and not himself. Lastly, when Scout and Jem were being attacked by Bob Ewell, Boo came to their rescue, later killing Bob. He was found by Heck Tate saying, “Bob Ewell’s lying under that tree down yonder with a kitchen knife stuck up his ribs,. He’s dead, Mr. Finch.”(Lee 357). This is one of the heroic things Boo could’ve done. While he was forced to kill, he killed to save Jem and Scout not for his own selfish agenda and this is especially large because he killed Bob. Boo Radley is someone modern day peoples aspire to be as he risked his own name to protect those he truly cared about.
The metaphorical symbol of a mockingbird is still evident our society and Harper Lee makes this symbol characters in the form of Atticus Finch, Tom Robinson, and Boo Radley. Throughout the novel these characters time and again act the way they do only for the good and benefit of others. Sadly, others do not understand how to do this themselves and eventually condemn these mockingbird. Eventually, the others “kill” as they are punished for these acts. As a result, these characters are immortalized not only as people but as symbols, ideas that remain relevant even to this day.