Summary Of The Book 'To Kill A Mockingbird'

“Your father’s right. 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, the don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” (Lee 119). The metaphorical mockingbirds of the story are Boo, Tom, and, to a certain extent, Scout. Boo and Tom are victims of the circumstances, and their lives are forever ruined but the decisions, or “sins”, other people decided for them and Scout is no longer the innocent six-year-old from the beginning of the book. Miss Maudie has relentlessly protected the mockingbirds of this novel, both literally and

It's a sin to kill a mockingbird because they don't do anything to hurt people; they only help farmers out and sing beautiful songs. To Kill a Mockingbird is about a little girl named Scout who sees her town as a beautiful place where nothing unpleasant happens until accusations of rape occur. Then she realizes how racist and negative her town people can be. This occurs when her dad defends an innocent African American man. She realizes that Macomb has deplorable individuals living there, and this reality hit her hard. Atticus Finch, Tom Robinson, and Boo Radley are metaphorically portrayed as mockingbirds.

In the story Atticus tells Jem and Scout to only kill the bluejays and not the mockingbirds. "Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird." (Atticus). The reason it is a sin to kill a mockingbird is because they are innocent and, it only makes beautiful voice. Tom is symbolic to the mockingbird because Tom was innocent. Tom was kind, helpful man that didn't hurt anyone. He is a mockingbird because he doesn't harm anything, but he is confined guilty because of his color.

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

Tom Robinson’s case contributes to how he resembles a mockingbird and shows the injustice of society. Tom Robinson, an African-American man accused of raping a girl named Mayella Ewell, has his case taken to court. Tom is tried in front of a jury of twelve white men along with a white judge which does not display a fair representation of his peers. This results in them finding Tom guilty and sentencing him to death, even though all evidence points to him being innocent. Tom later gets shot while trying to escape prison. Atticus Finch, Tom’s lawyer, says in the beginning of the book, “‘It’s a sin to kill a mockingbird’” (Harper Lee 119). Using the word “sin” shows harming an innocent being would be a very cruel thing to do, especially coming from Atticus. This relates to Tom Robinson’s situation because every piece of evidence from the trial proves he is not guilty, yet he still gets sent to jail and ends up being shot. The town’s newspaper publisher, Mr. Underwood, writes about Tom’s death and says, “ [I] likened Tom’s death to the senseless slaughter of songbirds by hunters and children” (Lee 323). This quote emphasizes the similarities between Tom’s case and a mockingbird. Equally important, it uses words like “senseless” and “slaughter” to further highlight the severity of harming a creature who did nothing wrong. Lee compares Tom Robinson to the “songbirds” because both of them have positive effects on their surroundings and do nothing but be beneficial. Through the case of Tom Robinson, Lee shows the connection with the innocence of Tom to the symbol of a mockingbird.

Throughout the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Tom Robinson is symbolized as a mockingbird by his helpfulness to others, his innocence, and the way he was shot. It is quoted in the novel, “It is a sin to kill a mockingbird”(. This means it is wrong to harm a mockingbird because mockingbirds do nothing but sing music to our ears. A mockingbird also displays innocence to people. Although it is wrong to harm a mockingbird, they are hurt and even killed in the novel.

Because mockingbirds do no harm to you, it is sinful to harm them. Miss Maudie says, “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy…. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (119). Tom is an innocent figure, and therefore represents a mockingbird or vice versa. As the plot thickens and Tom is inevitably killed, a loss of innocence occurs due to his symbol as a mockingbird. Furthermore, with the conviction of Tom, Atticus says, “They’ve done it before and they did it tonight and they’ll do it again and when they do it - seems that only children weep” (285). This shows how the children, whom are innocent, are the only ones affected by this injustice. They’re the only ones who haven’t yet been exposed to the evil of their society and therefore are the most affected. The conviction and subsequent murder of Tom Robinson, a mockingbird, an innocent man, embodies the innocence being taken from the children as well as

Furthermore, Miss Maudie tells Scout, “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but… sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” (Lee 93) Over the course of the story, to kill a mockingbird is associated with pointlessly killing the innocent. Some characters that can be represented by the mockingbird are Boo Radley and Tom Robinson. Boo Radley, for example, hasn’t done anything to harm others since the day he stabbed his father with a pair of scissors. He did not mutilate animals or eat them raw, nor did he poison pecans, unlike what the rumors stated to make him appear villainous. Instead, Boo attempted to befriend Jem and Scout, leaving them gifts to show his kindness. Moreover, Tom Robinson is perceived as a mockingbird because he lost his life in attempts to help Mayella Ewell because he felt sorry for her, as he said in court. The jury then interpreted his pity as Tom thinking he is superior to her, which was “prohibited by racism” at the time since he was a black man with condolence towards a white woman.Equally important is the symbolism behind the mad dog. Furthermore, during the beginning of the trial, Scout sees, “...something only a lawyer's child could be expected to see, could be expected to watch for, and it was like watching Atticus walk into the street, raise a rifle to his shoulder and pull the trigger, but watching all the time knowing that the gun was empty.” Here,

It is a Sin to Kill Tom Robinson"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 make music for us to enjoy. That's why it is a sin to kill a mockingbird." (90) This quote is stated by Miss Maudie, underscoring the point of view of Atticus, who is a lawyer given an uphill job of substantiating a black man's innocence who is accused of raping a white woman, Mayella Ewells. To Kill a Mockingbird is an inspirational and thought provoking story that is the first and the only novel written by Harper Lee. The basic time setting of the novel is in the 1930s during the Great Depression, in the fictional town of Maycomb Alabama, where prejudice

In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses the metaphor “it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” to symbolize the significance of racism in the early 1930’s. The book takes place in Maycomb, Alabama, a small town that is known for discriminating against the black people who live there, or anyone who associates with them. To Kill a Mockingbird is the story of a young girl named Scout whose father, Atticus Finch, is a lawyer defending Tom Robinson. Tom is a black man accused of raping a white woman named Mayella Ewell. Both Scout and her brother, Jem, are exposed to the racism of the town during this time.

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.

To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, is a novel that is centered on the idea that “It is a sin to kill a mockingbird.” The beauty of a mockingbird is its innocence. It never harms nor hassles anyone, and spends it's life giving forth song and cheer for all to hear. To kill an innocent bird is a sin, and to punish an innocent man is of equal distaste. The most riveting point of the book is perhaps the court case, When Atticus Finch, father to the narrator, appears in court in the defense of Tom Robinson, a black man charged with the rape of a white woman.

Major Themes In To Kill a Mockingbird To Kill a Mockingbird, is a symbolic novel by Harper Lee. It expresses many viewpoints on a small county called Maycomb, with residents of all types. However the continuation of racial discrimination, the presence of good and evil, social inequality, and lastly the importance of moral education is what separate some residents from others. Thus, there are many themes in To Kill a Mockingbird that were displayed through characters and events that occurred in Maycomb County.

To kill a mockingbird investigates the racial tension in Maycomb by analysing features of attitudes towards Negroes that date back many generations. The meaning of the title “To Kill a Mockingbird” itself evokes the idea of racism that Lee wants to portray to the composer. Throughout the book, Tom Robinson is symbolised as the most important mockingbird—an innocent who has been injured or destroyed. He is the mockingbird who helps his accuser in her chores and is killed due to the deep seated attitudes towards African Americans present in the southern states of America. Mr. Underwood compares his death to the “the senseless slaughter of songbirds”.

To Kill A Mockingbird is a novel written by Harper Lee. It is a novel that addresses issues of race, class, gender roles and destructions of innocence. The title is symbolic to the plot of the novel. Moreover, it serves as a metaphor which in turn serves as a warning for people to judge their own souls, rather than what is seen by the eyes. The mocking bad is used as a symbol of innocence, yet people are hurt throughout the novel. As a metaphor because, initially, the author writes, to kill a mocking bad is a sin, and as the story progresses, there is no scene where a mockingbird was actually killed, and in reality, but Tom Robinson, an innocent person was brutally struck down due to bigotry and prejudice.