Round Main Character In To Kill A Mockingbird

Tom Robinson is wrongfully convicted of rape and eventually killed in prison, whereas Boo Radley is killed emotionally because he is not accepted by society. Since it is a sin to kill a mockingbird, it is also a sin to kill innocent souls like Tom and Boo. When Scout tries to understand why it is a sin to kill a mockingbird, Miss Maudie elucidates Atticus’s opinion more clearly by stating, “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy...They don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (103). Mockingbirds sing and make beautiful music; however they mimic the songs of other birds, so they are seen through others. Tom and Boo are like mockingbirds because they are subject to the perceptions of the people of Maycomb. The townspeople knew these characters based on what others said about them. Consequently, Tom and Boo do not have their own “song” and are portrayed by others’ views of them. The mockingbird emerges as a metaphor for the wrong in harming innocent and defenseless people.

Mockingbirds do not do anything but to make music for everyone to enjoy. In a society where people tend to discriminate another; mockingbirds represent the innocent ones who are being victimizes upon. Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, emphasizes the fact that lives are not always equal and also to remind people that it is a sin to accuse someone of a crime based on personal opinion. Everyone likes to gossip, and everyone likes to spread rumors for their own entertainment. For this reason, the town of Maycomb insists to degrade Atticus Finch because he chooses to defend Tom Robinson, an African American worker. Atticus symbolizes a mockingbird in multiple ways, including taking the blame for teaching his child, being a disgrace when trying to defend Tom, having difficulties, discipline Scout and Jem, and constantly

Tom Robinson is another mockingbird figure. He was a genuinely caring person who is destroyed by his willingness to help Mayella Ewell. Just like a mockingbird, Robinson never hurt anyone. Yet, he was also persecuted by society for his kindness and his race. Tom Robinson was killed because of his kindness and the color of his skin; “ a harmless songbird that was shot down by a senseless hunter.” Lee uses the character of Tom as a mockingbird figure to express the innocence of the mockingbird and exhibit the narrow-mindedness and biased opinions of the towns folk.

It’s a sin to kill a mockingbird “shoot all the bluejays you want, but it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird”. This quote is said by Atticus who is a lawyer that defends an innocent black man for being accused of raping a white women. To kill a mockingbird is set in the 1930s in Maycomb alabama where there was prejudices. This story is not just about racism but implies a deeper meaning, the mockingbird has a strong message and holds an important metaphorical meaning. The mockingbird is portrayed as a innocent fragile songbird that symbolizes innocence but is killed by men. Tom Robinson symbolizes an innocent fragile songbird because he does no harm to society, his voice is ignored by almost everyone, and he gets shot and killed just like an innocent fragile songbird.

"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" (pg. 119.) Miss Maudie spoke the previous quote with deep thought going into each and every word. She wasn't just trying to teach Scout a lesson, but she wanted there to be a powerful meaning behind it. Miss Maudie's main purpose was to stress that you shouldn't kill something that is doing no harm. Everyday "mockingbirds" are killed, broke down, and mistreated by society.

On the other hand, Tom Robinson could also be the symbolic “mockingbird”. For instance, while examining Toms behavior, Scout realizes that, “Tom Robinson 's manners were as good as Atticus 's.” and say’s, “Until my father explained it to me later, I did not understand the subtlety of Tom 's predicament: he would not have dared strike a white woman under any circumstances and expect to live long, so he took the first opportunity to run” (Lee 197) This belief indicates that Tom is a very polite gentleman who is innocent. Being a man of color, he ran that night as self defence, not because he did something wrong. He did not want to hurt Mayella, as the gentleman he is, but in such circumstances he was forced to do so. Therefore, during the trial, he does not claim that mayella is a liar, instead he says, “I say she’s mistaken in her mind”. (Lee 167) He is a gentleman and an innocent man who doesn 't mean any harm. Also, while explaining about Tom’s death, ‘They shot him,’ said Atticus. ‘He was running. It was during their exercise period. They said he just broke into a blind raving charge at the fence and started climbing over. Right in front of them...”(Lee

In order to survive in a town like this its important to not harm things that did no harm to you. AfterTom Robinson was shot and killed while trying to escape prison, Mr. Underwood compared Tom’s death to the “senseless slaughter of songbirds by hunters and children” (323). He is comparing these things because every single person in the town knew Tom was innocent, but they still sent him to jail to be killed, they just let it happen even though he had done nothing to harm them. Since the ton sent him away on purpose, they were hurting the innocent. In Maycomb its important to protect the innocent, and leave things alone that aren’t harming you. When Francis Hancook gives Scout and Jem air rifles, Atticus tells them to “shoot the blue jays all you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (119). The mockingbird is a symbol of innocence, since it doesn’t hunt others. Atticus thinks its important for the kids to know this. To be a lady or gentlemen in Maycomb you have to be sympathetic to others who don’t harm you. Scout and Jem learn this when Atticus explains why they shouldn’t kill mockingbirds. When the kids grow older, Atticus wants them to be kind to others, and not terrible to the sinless.

Courage’s Distinct Traits as Presented in To Kill a Mockingbird Courage is a common theme expressed throughout countless novels spanning years, but in To Kill a Mockingbird, courage drives the plot of the novel and helps the main characters gain a better grasp of the world around them. Throughout the span of the novel, each of the characters are forced to take new perspectives on the events unfolding in front of them to overcome the deeply rooted prejudice of an old Southern town. Scout, Jem, Atticus, and other characters central to the plot of the novel discover that it takes different forms of bravery to overcome obstacles, and that each form is strong in their own right. Courage, as elucidated by Harper Lee in To Kill A Mockingbird, is

Innocence is a state of being that in life could be chosen to be given away or take away, and many things are symbols of the people have. An example is mockingbirds in Harper Lee's novel, To Kill A Mockingbird. Harper Lee parallels the killing of mockingbirds to the persecution of Tom Robinson, the prejudice of Arthur-Boo-Radley, and the coming-of-age of Jem Finch to symbolize the destruction of innocence. Tom Robinson's parallel to a mockingbird is in the same way as a person being guilty of something they didn't do. At the end of it all, Tom is shot while he was trying to run away or escape.

First, Harper Lee uses Tom Robinson as a Mockingbird. The reason Tom is a mockingbird because he was a convicted of rape and accused of beating on Mayella. He was black so they still locked him up after the trial. Tom was also shot in the back 17 times by the cops; they called them warning shots. They said while him and the other inmates were doing exercising session he was trying to run away so they gave him warning shots and killed him. The narrator explains, “His left arm was fully twelve inches shorter than his right, and hung dead at his side. It ends in a small shriveled hand, and from as far away as the balcony; I could see that is was no use to him” (248). This quote shows that Tom is a mockingbird because they accused him of beating and raping Mayella; but we

The Metaphor in To kill a MockingBird is that mockingbirds are innocent and they do nothing to harm you so you should not go out of your way to harm them because that is a sin. Which is relating to two characters in the story which consisted of Boo Radley a shy person who is too afraid to leave his home which then leads people to come up with all kinds of story about how dangerous he is but he’s simply harmless and Tom Robinson who was killed due to being convicted of a crime that he did not commit which was raping Mayella Ewell which was later dismissed but because of the community he was shot dead.”Toms dead. “They shot him,” said Atticus. “ He was running. It was during their exercise period. They said he just broke into a blind raving charge at the fence and started climbing over. Right in front of them- ”Lee 315. Harper Lee’s writing style is Factual because when Scout is narrating the story she doesn't usually add side comments on it for example”Aunt Alexandra sat down in Calpurnia's chair and put

So the jury shoots the mockingbird. Miss Maudie was explaining to Scout, after Atticus had said “it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (90), that mockingbirds “don’t do one thing but make music for us.”(90) In the situation with the court Tom Robinson would be the mockingbird. He has done nothing but help Mayella and yet she and her dad take him to court and if he is proven guilty he will be electrocuted in the electric chair. Atticus makes a very good argument against the Ewells that the state hasn’t even produced “one iota of medical evidence” (203) and that it has relied on “the testimony of the two witnesses” (203) that has been “flatly contradicted by the defendant” (203). This is all a symbol of the mockingbird even though Tom Robinson had done nothing wrong except maybe “felt right sorry for her” (197) they still convicted him of the crime and sentenced him to death so in a sense they killed the mockingbird. In many court cases probably in the time to Kill a Mockingbird is set in, the 1930’s, the mockingbird was killed not because the defendant was guilty of a crime but because, simply, they were

Although many believe Jean Louis Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird is a flat character, but Scout is round character because she is impulsive yet caring. Many people have different thoughts about Scout, some say she is fully kind while others completely dislike her. Even though over the course of the book Scout doesn't change, she does have good and bad qualities. During the school year, Miss Caroline offered Walter Cunningham a quarter, and when he did not accept it Scout rudely commented, “ ‘Here’s a quarter,’ she said to Walter…’ The Cunninghams never took anything they can't pay back.’”

Scout and Jem were given air-rifles by their uncle Jack. With these new toys Jem started to have an interest in guns but Atticus wanted no part in the whole ordeal. Atticus says, “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). Lee uses this to point out the symbolic mockingbird and its deeper meaning of true innocence. When Atticus tells the children that it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird because they do no harm it can be traced to Tom. Tom had been falsely accused of rapping a woman and when a mocking bird dies so does its its innocence. As time swifts buy the children still have dirt on them because of the trial, this dirt causes both Jem and Scout to get attacked but luckily they are saved by a man known as Arthur “boo” Radley. This man had been cooped up in his house his whole life so when Atticus finds out what he killed the children's attacker he didn’t know what to do. Scout says, “Well it’d be sort of of like shooting a mockingbird”(276). Scout was replying to the ideas of not telling the town what Mr.Radley had done. When Scout says this it shows that she understands the depth behind this issue and the fact that she understood shows that this childhood blindness and innocence she had once had was now gone in a

Tom Robinson is the most easily identifiable mockingbird in this story. Although he is a peaceful, respectful man who helps Mayella Ewell without asking for anything in return, he is falsely accused and dies tragically as a result. Mr. Underwood, Maycomb’s newspaper editor, likens Tom’s death to the “senseless slaughter of innocent songbirds by hunters and children” in the editorial he writes immediately after the Negro’s death. As shooting a mockingbird results in the loss of a sweet song-maker, the death of Tom brings no good fruit—it only satisfies the destructive racial prejudice of the South. Tom is also targeted for the same reasons that mockingbirds are targeted