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On the surface, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird seems to be nothing more than a book about a small town with small-town problems, but it is about a lot more than just that. In To kill a Mockingbird, the mockingbird symbolizes something that is sacred, and harming this something would be committing a wrong. Throughout the book, the reader learns the painful perspective of several characters, including Scout (the child protagonist,) Tom Robinson (a black man falsely accused or rape), and finally, Boo Radley, (a pale, tall person who is the town’s hermit). Each one of these people is one of the story’s symbolic mockingbirds. The reason they are the mockingbirds is because each one of them has experienced suffering in his or her life and
has had to pay for it in one way or another, and overall, it would be a sin to wrong any one of them. In To kill a Mockingbird, the mockingbird symbolizes something that is sacred, and harming this something would be committing a wrong.
Harper Lee, the author of To Kill a Mockingbird, communicates a central idea that society has good and bad qualities by using an epigraphic symbol and dynamic characterization of the novel’s protagonist, Scout. The theme of To Kill a Mockingbird is that individuals affect society in both good and bad aspects. Lee demonstrates this idea by utilizing a mockingbird as the primary symbol of the novel and characterizing Scout to reveal and understand that both good and bad exist in the world. Scout learns that all a mockingbird does is good, it sings, but never does anything that people hate (Lee 90). In the novel, mockingbirds ...
Harper Lee is the author of To Kill A Mockingbird. She uses symbolism in this book which means using symbols to represent ideas or qualities. In her novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses Tom, Mayella, and Boo Radley as human “Mockingbirds” to contribute to the overall theme of innocence.
Most would argue that Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill A Mockingbird is an uplifting story about hope and youth. In reality, it is a sad story about two children, Jem and Scout, losing their innocence through treacherous life experience. To Kill a Mockingbird is a coming of age story about childhood in the deep south during the great depression. It speaks about the concepts of racism, innocence and justice as the protagonists, Scout and Jem, struggle with coming of age. The Finch children lose their innocence throughout the book in many ways, such as being involved with the trial, the lynch mob, and Bob Ewell's death. At it’s core, TKAM is a story about youth, and the loss thereof. When Scout and Jem are involved in the lynch mob, they lose their
The symbolism of the mockingbird plays a huge role in the development of the theme in the novel. The mockingbird symbolizes innocence. In the book, it is believed that it is a sin to kill a man mockingbird because they bring about no harm, only beautiful music to enjoy. In the same sense, killing a mockingbird would be the equivalent of evil defeating good. This is represented multiple times in the novel through characters like Atticus Finch, Boo Radley, and Tom Robinson. All of whom try to bring about the good in people rather than focus on the evil in the community.
Childhood is a continuous time of learning, and of seeing mistakes and using them to change your perspectives. In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee illustrates how two children learn from people and their actions to respect everyone no matter what they might look like on the outside. To Kill A Mockingbird tells a story about two young kids named Scout and her older brother Jem Finch growing up in their small, racist town of Maycomb, Alabama. As the years go by they learn how their town and a lot of the people in it aren’t as perfect as they may have seemed before. When Jem and Scout’s father Atticus defends a black man in court, the town’s imperfections begin to show. A sour, little man named Bob Ewell even tries to kill Jem and Scout all because of the help Atticus gave to the black man named Tom Robinson. Throughout the novel, Harper Lee illustrates the central theme that it is wrong to judge someone by their appearance on the outside, or belittle someone because they are different.
Imagine there are two eggs; one is white, and one is brown. They have the same inside, but their shells are different colors. Discrimination is the equivalent of choosing the white egg over the brown egg, just because it’s appearance. During the time of the Great Depression, African-Americans were treated inadequately based on their skin color, even though the treatment was unethical. In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, marginalized characters demonstrate heroic traits effectively despite discrimination of race and social class. Even without major voices, marginalized characters are unlikely heroes that change society’s views by being caring and helpful towards others.
“Remember, it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (119). That’s what Atticus says to Jem and Scout when they want to kill birds with their new rifle guns. To Kill A Mockingbird is an excellent novel with a plethora of deep, powerful messages and themes found within the story. One theme that was especially dominant was the idea of gossip and innocence. This theme is recurrent throughout the entire novel. A symbol that aids the theme is the mockingbird, ironically found in the title of the book. Harper Lee used a variety of quotes and the mockingbird symbol to demonstrate how gossip can control a group of people (the town) and destroy the innocence found within people.
To Kill A Mockingbird is a heroic tale of leadership and courage during racial times. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Atticus, To, Jem and Scout are unfortunately exposed to a really racist and prejudiced society and town. Which ends up causing them to lose a case and really confuse Jem and Scout when they are young. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird, it uses characterization to help show a theme of loss of innocence when people are exposed to surprising and unfair situations.
Mockingbirds do no harm to anything they just sing. The two characters in this book that represents this symbol is Tom Robinson, and Boo Radley. Tom Robinson is a “mockingbird” because he is wrongfully accused of raping a white girl. Through the prejudice of the people in Macomb he later convicted and killed, even when he never did anything to Mayella Ewell. Boo Radley is also another great example of a “mockingbird” because no accepts him throughout the town which forces him to hide in his home. He had rumors spread about him how that he was a bad guy. But he was nothing but kind to the children and even saved their lives (Dave).
“Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” (p.90) Miss. Maudie, one of the main protagonists in To Kill a Mockingbird, warns the young girl Scout that mockingbirds should not to be killed or hunted down because they represent those who are kind and innocent. So, on a broader spectrum, the term “to kill a mockingbird” symbolizes cruel and improper behavior towards people with good hearts and intentions. In the town of Maycomb, unethical behaviors, such as prejudice and gossip, are most commonly used against the “mockingbirds”. Three of those “mockingbirds” that are featured in this novel are Arthur “Boo” Radley, Tom Robinson, and Atticus Finch. Due to the depiction of the mockingbird symbol in the novel, the reader understands the consequences that immoral attitudes have towards those who are innocent and kindhearted.
...birds are one of the main symbols. Mockingbirds are innocent they do not harm anyone but makes beautiful music. However, they get killed by people every day. There are many innocent person present in this novel; three main characters that are Tom Robinson, Boo Radley, and Mr. Dolphus Raymond, and they symbolize the Mockingbirds. Tom was a wrongly accused of rape, and he was brutally killed because he was black. Boo Radley did not do any harm to anyone, he was innocent, but people in the Maycomb County were thinking him as a monster which hurt him mentally. Lastly, Mr. Raymond symbolized the Mockingbird because he was innocent, however only because he thought different than others, he was looked down by the people in Maycomb County. Mockingbirds in this novel symbolized the innocent people who are getting wrongly accused and their innocence getting destroyed by evil.
Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird: The Significance of a Mockingbird In a society surrounded by corruption, racism, and cruelty it is rare to find purity. Innocence is constantly being destroyed. For this reason, the harmless citizens need to be treasured and protected. Harper Lee’s classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird portrays the injustices of the 1930’s that expose the innocent to the malice of the society’s intentions. Some characters in the novel are characterized as harmless and pure and are symbolized by mockingbirds.
“Mayella looked at her father, who was sitting with his chair tipped against the railing. He sat up straight and waited for her to answer”(245). Sitting up straight and looking her in the eye was the father, Bob Ewell’s, technique of scaring his daughter. Before Mayella answered the question asked by Atticus, the lawyer for Tom Robinson in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee, she confirmed that her father was there to listen to her answer. His influence and domination contribute to the function of cruelty and reveals the victim is scared to reveal what her father does .The cruelty expressed throughout this book functions as a crucial social and political moment when the jury determines that Tom Robinson is guilty, even though Bob
There are various examples of symbolism throughout the novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Symbolism played an important role in this novel. It demonstrates the necessity of not hurting what is innocent. In To Kill A Mockingbird there are various examples of symbolism of this type.
The main symbols discussed and portrayed in the book were Tim Johnson, the Mockingbirds and Boo Radley. Tim Johnson was a neighbourhood dog who appeared down the Finch’s street one day, but looked very ill and was rabid. Calpurnia the black maid working at the Finch’s rang Atticus and he shot it. Tim Johnson could symbolize the prejudice and mob mentality of Maycomb at the time and because Atticus shot Tim this represents Atticus’s morals beliefs about stopping racism and creating equality. The Mockingbird used in the title of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ is the most important symbol depicted in this novel. One day Atticus told Jem that he’d rather Jem shoot at tin cans, but he knew Jem would go after birds. He gave Jem permission to shoot all the blue jays he felt like, but it was a sin to kill a mockingbird. Jem then went to Miss Maudie to ask about what Atticus had just said, "Your father’s right," she said. "Mockingbirds don’t do one thing except make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corn cribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” This conveys the loss of innocence in ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ and thus killing a Mockingbird is to destroy innocence. A number of characters (Jem, Tom Robinson, Dill, Boo Radley, Mr. Raymond) can be identified as Mockingbirds who have been injured or destroyed through their contact with evil. As the novel progresses, the children’s perspective towards Boo Radley matures and this replicates the development of the children. Boo Radley was once an intelligent child, only to be ruined by his cruel father is one of the most important mockingbirds as his innocence was destroyed. Luckily for Jem and Scout, Boo was merely a source of childhood superstition often leaving presents for them. Despite the pain that Boo