Harper Lee’s most iconic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, is a story of prejudice and racism. The novel takes place in the depression stricken town of Maycomb County and follows a girl named Scout as she learns and experiences the good and evil taking place in her community. As suggested by the title, the mockingbird plays an important role in the book as it represents innocence and the slaying of one represent the loss of innocence. The symbolic mockingbirds in To Kill a Mockingbird are Boo Radley, Jem and Tom Robinson. The first mockingbird in the novel is Arthur (Boo) Radley. He has done nothing but help and protect Jem and Scout yet he is still seen as a monster by them. The community of Maycomb County has little knowledge of Boo and because …show more content…
He is a black man who wrongly convicted for the raping and abusing Mayella. There is no evidence that Tom Robinson had raped or beaten Mayella and Atticus proves that it was impossible for him to have beaten her when he tells him to stand up to let Mayella identify him as her attacker. “Tom Robinson’s powerful shoulders rippled under his thin shirt. He rose to his feet and stood with his right hand on the back of his chair. He looked oddly off balance, but it was not from the way he was standing. His left arm was fully twelve inches shorter than his right, and hung dead at his side. It ended in a small shriveled hand, and from as far away as the balcony I could see that it was no use to him. ‘Scout,’ breathed Jem. ‘Scout, look! Reverend, he’s crippled!’” (p. 248). Because Tom’s left arm is crippled, there is no way that he could have beaten Mayella as she was beaten by a left-handed man. He is innocent yet he is harmed as he is wrongly arrested and killed, making him a symbolic mockingbird. Tom is also a symbolic mockingbird because he is arrested for hurting Mayella even though he is ironically the only person in Maycomb who is able to overlook the fact that she is a Ewell and treat her like a human being. During the trial, when questioned by Mr. Gilmer if he received any money for helping Mayella he replies, “No suh, not after she offered me a nickel the first time. I was glad to do it, Mr. Ewell didn’t seem to …show more content…
They are all innocent characters who have been harmed even though they themselves are harmless. Atticus says to Jem and Scout, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view . . . until you climb into his skin and walk around in it”, telling them that that seeing things from one’s point of view is the only way that they can be truly understood. Harper Lee places these symbolic mockingbirds throughout her novel to help spread her warnings of the dangers of prejudice. That if one does not take the time to consider things from another person’s point of view, there is a risk that that person will be misunderstood and be
Tom Robinson’s character exemplifies the mockingbird because he is a black man who is denied justice based on racial prejudice. After Mayella Ewell accuses Tom of rape, there is no way for him to be judged fairly because the narrow-minded, white townspeople are unable to get past their prejudices towards blacks. At his trial, Tom’s lawyer, Atticus, argues,
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.
Tom Robinson is an example of a mockingbird in To Kill a Mockingbird. Tom Robinson was a black man in 1930, therefor it was unfair from the start. Tom Robinson was nothing but a kind man, he never harmed anyone. Tom saw Mayella struggling around the house. Her father was a drunk that left her to fend for her and the children. She did her best but once in awhile when Tom was passing by the EWell house Mayella would invite him inside the fence to see if her would help her with little tasks. One day she invited him inside to fix a door. When he got inside to fix the door her found there was nothing wrong with the door. That is when Mayella kissed Tom, however Tom is wrongfully charged with rape.
The Mockingbird has a very deep and powerful meaning in Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird. It represents peacefulness, innocence and kindness which is portrayed through the characters of Boo Radley and Tom Robinson. The mockingbird's influence can also be applied to the relationships between humans. The Mockingbird is a powerful symbol that echoes a strong meaning throughout the novel.
In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, injustice is a main theme that is reflected towards many characters. To Kill a Mockingbird, is a novel written by Harper Lee and published in the nineteen-sixties. Many characters in the story are treated unfairly in society due to racial or prejudicial attitudes. Overall these characters are innocent victims of injustice. Atticus, Boo Radley, and Tom Robinson are considered to be mockingbirds in the novel. A mockingbird was defined as a bird that did nothing wrong, but sang beautiful music for us to hear. These characters did nothing wrong and were treated unfairly in their town. In this different society, there are many factors that have had an influence on people’s perceptions towards others.
There is a dominant motif in Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, regarding the symbolic importance of the mockingbird and how it relates to some of her characters. In Harper Lee’s portrayed world as well as our present day world mockingbirds represent nothing but pure innocence, thus to kill a mockingbird would be to destroy innocence. Atticus Finch, Tom Robinson, and Boo Radley are all perfect examples representing a mockingbird; innocents who have been injured or destroyed through contact with
Tom Robinson is a mockingbird because he was innocent of the crime that Mayella said he committed. During Tom Robinson's testimony he said, “ …. I felt right sorry for her, she seemed to try more than the rest of em- …” (page 197) This showed us Tom's character , he simply wanted to help her out of the own kindness of his heart. The local journalist reflected on Tom’s death written in his editorial by referring to it as the, “Senseless slaughter of songbirds...Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson ,but in the secret courts of men's hearts Atticus had no case. Tom
Finally is Boo Radley as he too is considered a mocking bird throughout almost the entire novel. For example, he is just there not doing anything as he stays within his house. He is never active throughout what is going on as he really in noticeable at the end. He is being betrayed by always being bothered by the kids. The kids, Scout, Dill, and Jem always try to talk with him and bother the house. In the end he had to come out and try to save Jem and Scout. When Jem and scout were attacked by Mr.Ewell he is found dead from falling on his own knife. This is not true as it was a kitchen knife, and they were behinde the Radley
The mockingbirds in the story were Tom Robinson, Calpurnia, and Boo Radley. Boo Radley was a man who was very nice and loving to others especially the Scout and Jem. One of the nicest things Boo Radley did was when Scout, Jem, and Dill were
In the Novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, the author Harper Lee uses symbolism to express the idea of how fear can make someone make the wrong decision. Atticus warned the kids that they could shoot all the blue jays they wanted to but it was a sin to kill a mockingbird. Miss Maudie helps explains to the kids the mockingbirds don't do anything but make beautiful music for people to enjoy. The mockingbird symbolizes Boo Radley because he is an innocent person who has been destroyed through contact with evil. In conclusion, there are two main characters that the mockingbird symbolizes and they are Tom Robinson and Boo Radley.
Tom Robison is a Mockingbird because in the story he was accused of raping Mayella. There was clear evidence that he wasn’t the one that attacked her because his left arm was severed. Even though it was clear that Tom didn’t rape Mayella he didn’t have a chance to win the case because he was African American. Tom never hurt anyone, never did anything wrong or caused trouble. All he ever did was try too help Mayella, and to have pity on her. Instead he was charged for a crime he didn’t commit. He later on tried to escape and was sent to his death. So metaphorically the jury killed a mockingbird. Boo (Arthur) Radley is the second mockingbird because throughout the story all of the towns of Maycomb see him as a “phantom”, because he is shut up in his house for most of the story. So he is not harming anyone. However, other characters like Scout, Jem,
Harper Lee has a number of characters that contribute to the novel and violent scenes in To Kill a Mockingbird, some that have meaning and some that do not. Some characters that appear often and some that have a minimal role in being seen in the novel, but the characters that do not appear often seem to have the biggest impact on the novel. There are three characters that are looked down on by society around them, one because of race and two because of their morals. Society disregarded these people simply because they were afraid that they could be like them and the unknown. Lee uses violence and alienation to help depict the things that are wrong within the small society.
One of the townspeople in Maycomb that can be recognized as a mockingbird is Tom Robinson. Tom Robinson is a African-American man who was accused for raping a white women, named Mayella Ewell. During the trial, Mayella stated “...He got me round the neck, cussin’ me an’ sayin’ dirt-I fought and hollered, but he had me round the neck” (180). When it was Tom’s turn, he said that he’s chopped some wood for her and get nothing in return. Not a single penny or nickel. What really happened was that Mayella jumped on Tom hugging him. Tom was fearful when he cried “She reached up an’ kissed
To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel by Harper Lee. The novel takes place in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama, and it is set in the 1930’s. There are a number of people living in Maycomb, but only a couple stand out to be a mockingbird. A mockingbird is a bird that wants to bring joy to the world with its voice. In the novel, two characters are mockingbirds and they stand out more then the rest, like Tom Robinson and Boo Randly. Tom Robinson is a African American man who wants to help people, but he gets convicted of rape for trying to help a white woman. Boo Randly is a boy who has been locked up in his house from his parents, and rumors are spread about this boy attacking a family member which is false. Tom Robinson and Boo Randly are examples
When you first pick up the classic novel by Harper Lee, you may wonder how the title relates to the story. In the book mockingbirds are a symbol of innocence. It’s a sin to kill a mockingbird because, as Miss Maudie says it, “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (90). So who does the mockingbird symbolize? There are four people in particular who come to mind: Tom Robinson, Arthur “Boo” Radley, and Jem and Scout Finch.