What Does Boo Radley Symbolize In To Kill A Mockingbird

Although the title To Kill a Mockingbird is almost entirely unrelated to the plot, the mockingbird it holds a lot of symbolic weight in the novel as it is one of the most prominent symbols used in the novel. In this story of innocent people broken by evil, the “mockingbird” represents the idea of innocence and defencelessness. Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, many characters such as Arthur (Boo) Radley, Jem Finch, and Tom Robinson, could be considered “mockingbirds”.

The mockingbird, although it has been used only on occasion, in the plot of the story, is probably the most important symbol in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Killing a mockingbird may represent destroying innocence. This idea has been connected to the

novel’s main plot: After Tom Robinson was shot dead, Mr. Underwood relates his death to “the senseless slaughter of songbirds” (Lee 275), and at the end of the novel, Scout thinks that harming Boo Radley in any way would be like “shootin’ a mockingbird” (Lee 317). More importantly, Miss Maudie explains to Scout: “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but … sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (Lee 103). Mockingbirds are innocent creatures that only make music for the people of Maycomb to enjoy. When Atticus gives his children their air-rifles, he expresses: “‘Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ’em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird’” (Lee 103). When Atticus says this, he uses the symbolism of the mockingbird to teach his children a lesson: to treat everybody well, because everyone can be a mockingbird at some point in their lives and you do not want to kill a mockingbird, or in other words, destroy someone’s innocence.
The first character I see as a mockingbird is Tom Robinson. Comparable to the bird, Tom was innocent, he never hurt anybody, and as Mr. Link Deas says in the courtroom, “‘I just want the whole lot of you to know […] That boy’s worked for me eight years an’ I ain’t had a speck o’trouble outa him. Not a speck’” (Lee 222). The moment Mayella Ewell kissed him, Tom's life became a whirlpool of trials, lies, and a series of jails. “ It has relied upon the testimony of two witnesses whose evidence has not only been called into serious question on cross examination, but has been flatly contradicted by the defendant” (Lee 231). Since he is black, his word against two white people's, Mayella and Bob Ewell's, is not honored. This trial has destroyed his innocence, as all of the lies, and rumours changed him dramatically. The mockingbird in him has been killed. Therefore, he could never be the happy man he was, once before. Mr. Underwood compared Tom's death to "the senseless slaughter of songbirds" (Lee 275). Even before he was murdered by the guards, he was already close to his death, as his innocence has been destroyed. Tom realized that he would never go back to his normal life because he had been through too many jails and lived through too many lies and false accusations. He made one last attempt to escape, as Atticus explained: "'They said he just broke into a blind raving charge at the fence and started climbing over'" (Lee 268). Tom was giving up, as his escape was clearly not going to work. He couldn't go on since his character was too destroyed. Tom Robinson was the perfect example of a mockingbird because the plot revolves around the destruction of the mockingbird in him.
In one way or another, Boo Radley is a mockingbird.

He is an innocent man who has been misjudged by the subjective society of Maycomb. His actions do not make him a mockingbird, but by seeing what he does we can see the true nature of his character. The townsfolk have made up rumours that might have destroyed his innocence: “Any stealthy small crimes were his work […] although the culprit was Crazy Addie,[…] people still look at the Radley Place, unwilling to discard their initial suspicions” (Lee 9). These stories and assumptions have been made for so long and the people of Maycomb are so fixed on the idea that Boo is a monster and nothing can change their minds. The people of Maycomb are so fixed on the idea that Boo is a monster and nothing can change their minds. He hid from the townsfolk and the rumours, so he became one big conundrum, which destroyed his innocence and who he maybe was

before.
He saved the Finch children's lives by defending the children from Bob Ewell. However, by killing Bob, some might argue that he has lost his innocence that made him a mockingbird, but he helped preserve lives that might continue for many years to come.
Jem could be described as something like a mockingbird.

But, unlike Boo or Tom Robinson, it takes Jem some time to mature into one. “Mrs. radley had been beautiful until she married Mr. radley and lost all her money […] her teeth, her hair, and her right forefinger […] When it was time to play Boo’s big scene, Jem would sneak into the house, steal the scissors from the sewing-machine […] and cut up newspapers. […] Jem would fake a plunge into Dill’s thigh. From where I stood it looked real” (Lee 44). At the beginning of the novel, when Jem takes part of the Boo Radley game with Scout and Dill, he is unaware of the harm he may be doing to the family in the Radley house; those of them who can hear the children. But, when Mr. Nathan Radley fills up the hole in the tree with cement, Jem cries because he realizes just how important that hole was for Boo. **insert

quote**
When Scout and Jem sleep on the patio, Scout wants to kill a roly-poly bug. Jem stops her, saying the bug never did anything to harm her: “‘Why couldn’t I mash him?’ I asked
‘Because they don’t bother you,’ Jem answered in the darkness” (Lee 273). Jem’s defense of the harmless bug illustrates the theme of justice, kindness and mercy. Scout was about to kill the bug just because she is quite thoughtless, and the she thinks the has the power to do so. Because Jem is older he is able to see that this is an act of unneeded cruelty and he realizes that people must learn to be considerate of all living things. **insert quote**Most importantly, Jem protects his sister against an attack from Bob Ewell and may have been killed if Boo Radley had not intervened. So I would describe Jem as a young mockingbird about ready to leave the nest when the novel ends.
**CONCLUSION**