A Sin To Kill A Mocking Bird Analysis

The intriguing novel, To Kill A Mockingbird is written by the prestigious author Harper Lee. Lee has utilised the lifestyle and attitudes towards ‘African-Americans" in the 1930's to create a novel which presents the reader with Lee's attitudes and values. The dominant reading of the novel is focused on the issues of racial prejudice, but there are also a number of other alternative and oppositional readings. Examples of this are the Marxist and feminist readings which can be applied to the text.

The idea of mockingbirds in this text carries great symbolic weight, mockingbirds are considered the innocents in the novel. It is considered a sin to kill a mockingbird, which symbolizes the destruction innocence. Tom Robinson, Arthur “Boo” Radley, Jem and Mr. Raymond can all be identified as mockingbirds - innocents who have been injured or destroyed through contact with evil.

The title of the book To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee holds a great deal of symbolism with several of the characters in the story acting as mockingbirds, characters who don’t do anything to bother the people around them. Harper Lee explains to the reader what a mockingbird is by making Atticus, and then Mrs. Maudie explains it to Scout. “Atticus said to Jem one day, ‘I’d rather you shoot at tin cans in the back yard, 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.’ That was the only time I ever heard Atticus say it was a sin to do something, and I asked Miss Maudie about it. ‘Your fathers right,’ she said. ‘Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music

Throughout the novel To Kill a Mockingbird the symbol of a mockingbird frequently appears. As the most significant symbol in the novel, the mockingbird ties everything together. Atticus told Scout and Jem that it was a sin to kill a mockingbird (Lee, 1960, page 119). Miss Maudie also tells the children that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird because all that they do is make music for people to enjoy (Lee, 1960, page 119). This establishes the bird as a symbol of beauty and innocence. Many characters in the novel represent the innocence of the mockingbird. Some of these characters include Boo Radley, Jem, and even Tom Robinson. Near the end of the novel when Bob Ewell dies it could also be seen as an example of killing a mockingbird.

It’s a sin to kill a Mockingbird. Mockingbird is considered “good” birds, they sing and never cause trouble. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbirds there are many mockingbird characters like Tom Robinson and Boo Radley. Tom helped Mayella Ewell with her housework, like chopping a chiffarobe, yet was still convicted of raping her by Bob Ewell, Mayella’s father. Arthur Radley(Boo) helped save the children and also gave them gifts, yet was feared of by the town. Tom Robinson and Boo Radley are all mockingbirds, the innocents who were “killed”.

In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird the characters Tom Robinson, Atticus Finch, and Arthur “Boo” Radley are all portrayed as the aforementioned “mockingbird”. Though at first this comparison may seem vague and unprecedented as the book goes on it becomes clear what the mockingbird represents. Mockingbirds, as characterized in the book, cause no damage to humans and only want to sing shown here in chapter ten "Mockingbirds don't do one thing except make music for us to enjoy.” , it is even voiced as a sin to kill one also shown in chapter ten “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, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.". If mockingbirds were put in the place of humans they would want nothing more than to serve everyone.

In the book, To Kill A Mockingbird written by Harper Lee, there are many different themes expressed in many different ways. For example, one of the of the most important themes throughout the story is courage. Courage shows up many times throughout the story in its six main forms, physical, emotional, intellectual, social, spiritual and moral courage. These forms of courage help create a better understanding of the characters as well as change the characters as time passes.

The author writes, “‘Remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.’” That was the only time I ever heard Atticus say it was a sin to do something, and I asked Miss Maudie about it. ‘Your father’s right,’ she said. ‘Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy . . . but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.’” This is when the idea of the mockingbird being a symbol throughout the novel comes into play. Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee paints a picture of certain characters being mockingbirds. Many can be identified, such as Boo Radley, Tom Robinson, and even Atticus Finch. All three were innocents that were attacked by evil, thus being mockingbirds.

The mockingbird is used as a symbol throughout Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. In the book, it states several times that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird. This is because mockingbirds do us no harm and sing beautiful music for us to enjoy. It would be a sin to kill something so innocent and pure. Therefore, the mockingbird is symbolic of both the loss of innocence and the unjust persecution of the innocent. There are symbolic mockingbirds that are represented by many people throughout the novel, such as Tom Robinson, Boo Radley, and Jem and Scout Finch.

Throughout the book, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the mockingbird is a symbol of innocence. It’s shown through Tom Robinson, Boo Radley, and Jem and Scout. The mockingbird symbolizes innocence and that you should never hurt something that is innocent. In the beginning of the story, Atticus tells Jem and Scout that “it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (103).

A mockingbird is a harmless thing that makes the world a better place. In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee the mockingbird is Tom Robinson and Boo Radley, who are both pleasant peaceful people who would never do any harm. To kill a or bring harm to them would be a sin. Scouts father Atticus tells his children, “I’d rather you shoot tin cans in the backyard, but I know you’ll go after birds. Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit’em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” (p.69)

“Remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” (Lee 119) Jem and Scout Finch are siblings who grew up in Maycomb, Alabama during the time of segregation. Throughout the book, Jem and Scout are taught many valuable life lessons. Both characters have different outlooks on life. It is important to have more than one outlook on the book because the audience experience the changes Jem and Scout go through. Even though they are from the same family with the same education, their perspectives on life are different.

“‘It’s a sin to kill a mockingbird,’ says Atticus”. In the book To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, there is innocence vs. evil through part two. Scout is one of the main character, that has seen and faced evil with her innocence. She is just a young girl that is trying to understand life, but what’s going on in the town it would seem otherwise. Maycomb County is a very small town with myths and beliefs, of one another. There is lies in the streets of maycomb, people talking about others with no facts to cover up their statements. While Atticus defends African Americans with no problem, his acquaintance became very distant of his appearances.

In To Kill A Mockingbird, a novel by Harper Lee, Jem and Scout discover many items inside the knothole of a tree. Before Nathan Radley plugs the knothole with cement, Jem and Scout had found a gray ball of twine, carvings made from soap, a pack of gum, a broken pocket-watch, and many more items. The two are very disappointed when Nathan plugs the knothole. Jem is especially sad when he realizes that Nathan had lied to him when he told Jem that the tree was sick. In chapter eight, Jem concluded that Boo Radley is the one leaving these gifts for them. I think it is awesome and interesting that Arthur is leaving these items for Jem and Scout, and if I were him, I would also leave gifts in the Radley tree for those two.

The story, in the eyes of two innocent children Scout and her brother Jem, of the discrimination and hypocrisy throughout the town. Maycomb County, Alabama, faces an African American’s injustice while the children learn valuable lessons from their father, Atticus and their housemaid Calpurnia, during the Great Depression. All the while, we are learning from it. To Kill a Mockingbird teaches us the lessons of morale, justice and equality.