In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the mockingbird is used to symbolize innocent people damaged by unjust, evil actions, revealing that prejudice against those who are different causes injustice and isolation of people within communities. Lee uses the mockingbird expose the strength of prejudice and its harmful effects. In the novel, the mockingbird is represented by Tom Robinson and Arthur “Boo” Radley. Arthur Radley is a representation of the mockingbird. [insert some background info here.] Miss Maudie remarks, “‘That is a sad house.’... ‘The things that happen to people we never really know. What happens behind closed doors, what secrets—’” (Lee 46) This quote implies that Boo Radley might have been abused by his father. It reveals that Arthur Radley was a kid, who lost his innocence and normal childhood because of the isolation and abuse imposed on him by his father. “According to Miss Stephanie, … Boo drove the scissors into his parent’s leg, pulled them out, wiped them on his pants and resumed his activities.” (Lee 11) …show more content…
He had no intention for personal gain by helping her. . “The state has not produced one iota of medical evidence to the effect that the crime Tom Robinson is charged with ever took place. It has relied instead 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 203) Despite Atticus’s strong evidence to convince the jury of Tom Robinson’s innocence, he was voted guilty solely because Tom was black. He was an innocent person who was only trying to provide help where help was needed, like mockingbirds only create music for people to enjoy. Tom Robinson’s conviction is proof that Maycomb County was so prejudiced that they did not have the decency to uphold justice. Maycomb had killed Tom Robinson, a
Prejudice is one of the world’s greatest struggles. It does not only hold society back, but is harmful to the people who do good .In Harper Lee’s book To Kill A Mockingbird, Scout and Jem live through and witness prejudice and racism in the small town of Maycomb. They see someone wrongly accused of a crime because of his race. Scout and Jem also witness and take part in prejudice against a man no one knows anything about. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird Harper Lee uses characterization to show the negative effects of prejudice and racism.
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
He was also used teach the children about the consequences misguided actions can have on a life. Early in the book, the children had lots of idealizations about Mr. Arthur Radley, based solely on stories they’d heard. The children had already come to understand racism and discrimination, and here they came to understand the power of rumors. Another realization came to Jem that night, when he states, “I think I’m beginning to understand why Boo Radley’s stayed shut up in this house all this time… it’s because he wants to stay inside”(304). Due to being outlawed by the town and being the center of numerous nasty and hateful rumors, it is understandable why Mr. Arthur never ventured outside the comfortable walls of his house. With their talk about different types of folks, as mentioned earlier, they question why people go out their way to hate each other. This leads to an understanding that the hatred and rumors about Arthur are why he stayed in his
In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Scout tells about some of the crazy adventures with her brother, Jem, and her neighbor Dill. To Kill A Mockingbird is a fitting title because Tom Robinson could be labeled as a Mockingbird, Arthur Radley could be labeled as a Mockingbird, and because the story revolves around the fact that it is a sin to kill something that only provides happiness. Arthur Radley could be labeled as a mockingbird because he has never done anything bad to anyone. In the novel towards the end, Mr. Tate tells Atticus that dragging Arthur into the light of the people would be a sin. “Mr. Tate was right.”...
Irony drives our lives. In most cases, people experience discouragement from others when chasing after their heart’s desire. Ironically, sometimes those discouragements drive a person’s yearning to achieve the unlikely. In Lee’s novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, the author parallels Boo Radley to Maya Angelou, showing how an expanding perspective of prejudice leads to the overcoming of ignorant assumptions.
Harper Maziarz Mr. VonFischer ELA-TKAM March 12th ‘24. Throughout Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, the author uses symbolism to help express the importance of “mockingbird” characters in our society. A prominent example of this type of person is Tom Robinson, the way that he acts concerning others gives the reader a perspective into how he thinks as a person.
Prejudice locks up the minds of many of us, eventually, some of us can unlock that, some not. An example of not being able to look past the prejudice shoved in our eyes is Maycomb, a fictional town in Alabama that faces biased thoughts about many different characters throughout the story To Kill a Mockingbird. Harper Lee uses To Kill a Mockingbird to show many different prejudice issues our world faces. A huge character that is challenged with discrimination is Boo Radley. Boo faces prejudice because his family acts much differently than the rest of Maycomb and he is locked away.
“Human beings are poor examiners, subject to superstition, bias, prejudice, and a profound tendency to see what they want to see rather than what is really there” ~ Scott Peck. Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird abounds with the injustice produced by social, gender, and racial prejudice. The setting of the book takes place in the 1930s, where racism is a big deal in society. In the novel Harper Lee uses a mockingbird as an analogy to the characters. The Mockingbird is a symbol for Three Characters in the book, Atticus Finch, Tom Robinson, and Boo Radley. The people of Maycomb only know Boo Radley and Tom Robinson by what others say about them. These Characters are then characterized by other people 's viewpoints. In the novel there are many themes that are adjacent to our lives, the one that is found in To Kill A Mockingbird is Human Conflict comes from the inability for one to understand another. “ You never understand a person until you consider things from his point of view- until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” (39)
The general topic in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, is criticising helpless people that have done no harm, and how it is a terrible deed. In the Novel a Mockingbird is a symbol of one of these helpless people. In part 1 of the novel, characters such as Boo Radley and Tom Robinson are portrayed as “mockingbirds”. The general topic also represents injustice, especially in the south. Atticus Finch is presented as seeker of justice that believes in equality for all, as well as one of the few characters to never rethink an opinion. Furthermore, Atticus is the father of Scout and Jem Finch, who he treats like adults and answeres all questions honestly as he would to any other Maycomb county member. He is portrayed as a decent respecting
In Harper Lee's work "To Kill a Mockingbird," the character of Arthur "Boo" Radley stands as a mysterious figure, shrouded in rumors and urban legends within the community of Maycomb. Despite his reclusive nature, Boo Radley serves as a symbol of the fear and prejudice that stem from ignorance and misunderstanding. Boo Radley's character uncovers the theme that people often fear what they don't understand, ultimately revealing the detrimental effects of prejudice and the importance of empathy in fostering understanding and acceptance. Boo Radley's reclusive behavior and the rumors surrounding him evoke fear and curiosity in the community of Maycomb, reflecting the broader societal tendency to demonize what is unfamiliar. Scout describes Boo Radley as
Arthur Boo Radley never came out of his house never did anything to harm anyone or to earn himself a bad reputation, so his reputation was left up to the town to create. If you’ve never met someone, you can’t know what their true self is like, how they think, or how they are as people, you have nothing to go off. As a child if you hear rumors and gossip about that person, you are susceptible to take that as the truth, rather than find out yourself. Scout(6), Dill(7), and Jem(10) in the beginning of the novel heard Boo Radley is six foot six, cat eating, finger biting, furniture wheedling, monster. Hearing and believing shows their relatively young ages. Little do they know he’s an angel caged by his father. Boo Radley is an example of a true
A mockingbird symbolizes innocence and goodness. In To Kill a Mockingbird Atticus says it’s a “sin to kill a mockingbird because they don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy” and the mockingbirds in this book is Tom Robinson and Boo Radley because they don’t do anything but, help us. Tom Robinson is mockingbird because all he does is go to work, and provide for his family but once Mayella called rape his life was destroyed and all the good things Tom did went straight out the window and was sent to jail. Boo Radley is another mockingbird because he doesn’t do anything besides stay in the house but, their still stories about how he does all these terrible things like stabbing his dad with scissors. When none of this stuff is true, it’s just destroying their character.
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 the novel To Kill a Mockingbird (1960), Harper Lee very effectively uses symbolism, motif and the specific naming of characters to reinforce the main ideas in the text. Through the use of the mockingbird motif Lee shows that some truly good people can exist even in a society as prejudiced as Maycomb, but that prejudice can destroy that good. This is likened to killing a mockingbird. Many of the characters in the novel are deliberately named and characterised in a way that links them to the mockingbird motif, such as Scout and Jem Finch and Tom Robinson. Tim Johnson, the rabid dog, symbolises the illogicality of prejudice, and also helps to emphasise the true meaning of courage as moral fortitude, rather than superficial displays of bravery.