Remember It's Sin To Kill A Mockingbird Quote Analysis

Marlenny Perez
English 101: Social Justice
Final Reflection Paper
Due: 17th December, 2015
The Deep Struggles
“Remember, it’s sin to kill a mockingbird” (103). Atticus Finch, the narrator’s father, makes this statement that if you kill an innocent mockingbird, it is sin. Almost at the end of part one of the novel, the author uses the term mockingbird as the actual bird that “makes music for us to enjoy” (103). However, Scout expresses the word mockingbird in a metaphorical way : “well, it’d be sort of like shootin’ a mockingbird, wouldn't it?” (317). In regards to the statement, how does the author register the presence of injustice in the American Deep South? How does

the author highlight these issue with the symbolism of a mockingbird? In addition, what does each character embody? In her bildungsroman, Harper Lee underscores the issues of injustice and prejudice through Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, Atticus Finch, and Tom Robinson.
Scout experiences several unjust incidents.

Since she is so young, Miss Caroline Fisher , a new first grade teacher, disapproves of Scout’s reading abilities. “She discovered I was literate and looked at me in disgust. Miss Caroline told me to tell my father not to teach me anymore” (19). Miss Caroline’s dissatisfied opinion comes from Scout’s reading skills which is more advanced than the rest of the class. I noticed that instead of being rewarded, Scout is punished for being more sophisticated. Apparently, Miss Fisher is blinded by old customs of having to educate the class how to write and teach than by Scout’s achievement of reading. Another incident at school earns Scout a hand slap with a ruler when she makes an attempt to make her teacher comprehend why Walter Cunningham will not pay her back if she gives him a quarter for lunch, which only resulted failure and a growing frustration. The professor makes Scout feel guilty for being educated and helping her understand Walter Cunningham when Scout tells Atticus that she does not want to go to school anymore (33). I don’t justify that Scout got off on the wrong foot with her teacher, had to be hand licked nor have taken the responsibility for Miss Caroline’s lack of understanding. Nevertheless, it seemed that in the 1960s the teachers blamed the children for any faults whether it was a misunderstanding or not. Chapter Nine demonstrates an additional unjust occurrence when Scout goes to the family planation,

Finch’s Landing, with her father, Atticus and brother, Jem, for Christmas. During their stay, Scout gets stuck in an unfortunate situation in which she is inside with her spoiled cousin, Francis Hancock, who won’t quit calling her father a “nigger-lover”. “Francis rose and sprinted down the catwalk to the old kitchen. At a safe distance he called, ‘He’s nothing but a nigger-lover!” (94). Francis gets this biased interpretation towards his Uncle all because Atticus is defending a negro, Tom Robinson. As a result, Scout yells at her cousin to take back what he said about her father and when he doesn’t, she fights him.