Songbirds 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.

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.

References to the title in Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird suggest that both Tom Robinson and Boo Radley are “mockingbirds.” The reader is lead to understand that the term suggests an innocent, harmless creature who should not be made to suffer. To Kill a Mockingbird is a sin. This book shows Tom Robinson and Boo Radley as mockingbirds. Boo Radley was the victim of harsh parenting and prejudgement. Tom Robinson was the victim of racism.

Mockingbirds are a powerful means used by Lee to convey the deep-rooted prejudice entrenched in the fictional town of Maycomb. The title of the novel is symbolic of Tom Robinson and Boo Radley. Lee writes that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird. However, one

Mockingbirds are only here to sing their songs and to bring us joy. A Mockingbird is innocent, without fault and only here to help. “To kill a Mockingbird is a sin.”(119) This is because a Mockingbird is an animal that doesn’t cause harm and has proved to only have a pure heart. Tom Robinson is the predominant Mockingbird. “Tom’s death was like the senseless killing of songbirds.”(241) Since another word for mockingbird is a songbird, this quote is telling us that Tom is like a Mockingbird and that his death wasn’t supposed to happen. The unexpected Mockingbird is Boo Radley. “Atticus looked like he needed cheering up I ran to him and said ‘yes sir, I understand Mr. Tate was right’ he looked at me and said ‘what do you mean’ well it’d sort of be like shooting a Mockingbird.”(318) Clearly Scout is saying that if Maycome were to find out that Boo killed Bob it would probably kill him because Boo delights in being alone. Tom Robinson and Boo Radley are the representation of the Mockingbird.

Much like the story, the title is not representative of the plot of the story, and it is completely independent to what does happen. Tom, Boo Radley and the children seem to be represented by the mockingbird. Both are innocent, though the kids show this through their naiveté, learning of the evil in the world. Likewise, Tom, a wrongfully convicted man, and Boo Radley, a recluse, both have their share of injustices, despite their innocence. To conclude, the novel To Kill A Mockingbird is a novel written effectively to convey the author’s intended message, while depicting a cohesive

Raymond. Boo Radley symbolizes the mockingbird because he just watches the neighborhood and protect the kids. The night Boo killed Bob Ewell, Scout understands why Atticus and Mr. Tate are not dragging Boo into court. Scout says “Well it’d be sort of like shootin’ a mockingbird, wouldn’t it?”(66-68). The mockingbird can also symbolize Tom Robinson and his innocence to the rape of Mayella. During Tom Robinson’s testimony, Tom says “he felt sorry for Mayella,” which leaves the jury devastated. The fact that Tom says he feels sorry for Mayella makes the jury and the judge jump to conclusions. Mr. Raymond can also symbolize the mockingbird because he has to pretend to be a drunk just to be with his family. Everyone judges him and verbally abuse him and his family because he is married to a white woman and has mixed children. The city of Maycomb and the citizens in it criticize people based Thus, to kill a mockingbird is to destroy innocence. Throughout the novel, it covered the importance and innocence of the mockingbird.Mockingbirds have been known to be “songbirds”,and they tend to cause no disruptions.“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”(Miss Maudie;Chapter 10;Page 119).In addition,to the marvelous works of the Mockingbird they are an uplift to some that are down.They provide a beneficial comfort.Mockingbirds are innocent creatures that do kind works without the desire to have anything in return.The Mockingbirds of “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper E. Lee represents the innocents of the African American people,Tom Robinson,Arthur Radley,and

However, Tom Robinson is not the only mockingbird in the story. Boo Radley is another harmless creature who falls victim of cruelty. He is unjustly regarded as an evil person and used as the scapegoat for all the bad happenings around town. Women are afraid of him and so are children. When the sheriff decided that he would not arrest Boo Radley for killing Bob Ewell and that would present his death as an accident, Atticus asked Scout if she understood the meaning of this decision. Scout replied that she did. Her exact words were: "Well, it'd be sort of like shootin' a mockingbird, wouldn't it?" (282). Boo here is also compared to the gentle bird and again it would be a 'sin' to punish him. The symbol of the mockingbird can be applied to Boo Radley from another point of view as well. The mockingbird has no song of its own. It just imitates other birds. Therefore it makes itself present and is seen through other birds. In the same way, Boo Radley is seen through the eyes of other people. He does not have a character of his own. What the reader knows about him is what other people say. He is believed to " dine on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, his hands were

In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, Harper Lee talks about numerous characters that can be considered mockingbirds. A mockingbird is an innocent bird that does not do anything but sing and fly around. There are many characters in the book that posses the same characteristics as a mockingbird. There are three examples of mockingbirds in the book, Mayella Ewell, Tom Robinson, and Boo Radley.

The novel “To Kill a Mockingbird“ by Harper Lee is one of the most well known books ever written in America. Tom Robinson and Boo Radley, also known as Arthur Radley, are two of the most important and symbolic characters in the book. They are important and symbolic because they symbolize a mockingbird. In the book, Tom and Arthur did nothing wrong but people thought of them in a bad way and were hurting them. It is a sin to kill a mockingbird. Mockingbirds are innocent birds and they do hurt people and neither did Arthur Radley or Tom Robinson. This is why Tom and Arthur resemble a mockingbird.

A character that is a mockingbird is Tom Robinson. He is a mockingbird because he is accused of raping Mayella Ewell, but he is innocent, and he did not do anything wrong. In fact, both his and Mayella’s testimonies show that he had good intentions, and that he was trying to help her. Tom Robinson is good, pure, and innocent, which is

Mockingbirds are benign, innocent creatures who do no harm yet they used to be hunted for their beautiful feathers. The three characters Tom Robinson, Jem Finch, and Arthur Radley in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee are comparable to mockingbirds in many ways. First, Tom Robinson can be compared to

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

Tom Robinson becomes a mockingbird by only helping everyone and dying for his actions. Boo Radley is a recluse with an abusive father that earned mockingbird status through giving gifts, a blanket, and 2 kids lives. “when they finally saw him, why he hadn’t done any of those things. Atticus, he was real nice.” “Most people are when you finally see them” These two quotes refer to the misunderstood nature of these two hardcore mockingbirds. The emotion added by this connection adds a lasting impact on the

The book has two clearly seeable mockingbirds, Arthur Radley (Boo) and Tom Robinson. The mockingbird symbolizes the only good in people and return get the harm of the situation. Boo is a savor and friend in the sense of him giving the kids object to keep under a small tree by the Radley House. The hero part comes in within him for saving the kids the Bob Ewells from getting stabbed by Boo stabbing him in the lower gut and killing him. The harm factor comes in with the whole town think Boo is a villain by stabbing his own father in the leg at a very young age point in his life.