Symbolism In To Kill A Mockingbird

To kill a mockingbird can mean many things. It’s the title of a book that has been bought 40 million times. But, it also has a definition. To kill a mockingbird means to destroy innocence. The theme of my literary analysis is mockingbirds. Mockingbirds in TKAM are innocent things tainted by the skewed society of Maycomb. Some of these mockingbirds are Boo Radley, Tom Robinson, and the children. To Kill a Mockingbird is a book set in a small Alabama town in the 1930’s. The main character and narrator is Jean Louise Finch, but is almost always called by her nickname, Scout. Scout, her brother, and her summer friend Dill get into all kinds of mischief while living in the racist society of a 1930’s Alabama town. Scout’s dad, Atticus, is a prominent lawyer in Maycomb and is appointed to a controversial case, and is defending a black man. Scout and her brother, Jem go through many troubles and learn many lessons from the days leading up to, and during the trial. The trail makes their family some friends and a lot of enemies. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a story of courage and despair. Throughout TKAM, mockingbirds are used as an example of something innocent being tainted by the skewed society of TKAM. Some great examples of these are Boo Radley, Tom Robinson, and the children.

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.

In the nineteenth century, mockingbirds were kept in cages so they could sing their beautiful music. Because of this, mockingbirds were nearly almost wiped out of parts of the East Coast. All Mockingbirds do is bring beauty to the world. Mockingbirds symbolize innocence and do not deserve to be wounded by the cruelness of the world. In the story To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Dill, Mayella Ewell, Mr. Dolphus Raymond, Tom Robinson and Boo Radley are all mockingbirds. They are innocent people that have been harmed or injured in the past and have learned the misery of the world.

They base their fear on rumors. Boo Radley is an innocent person. We first know that Boo has been misjudged when he leaves the gifts for the children. “We went home. Next morning the twine was where we had left it. When it was still there on the third day, Jem pocketed it. From then on, we considered everything we found in the knot-hole our property.” (79). This shows that he is a nice person. Boo also saved Jem and Scout from the attack in the woods by Mr. Ewell by killing Bob Ewell. “‘ Why there he is, Mr. Tate, he can tell you his name.’” (362). “‘Hey, Boo,’ I said.” (362). This shows that he cares for the children and wants to protect

According to Merriam Webster dictionary, mockingbirds are a bird that has a remarkable ability to “exact imitations of the notes of other birds”. In addition, they are known to have up to 200 songs in their “playlists’, which they will sing all through the day and evening, usually when there is a full moon. Based on this description, mockingbirds are innocent, beautiful birds that can bring a sense of calmness to people around them with their smooth melodies. Therefore, they are a creature that brings no harm to others, just joy. Like the mockingbird, today’s society consists of many innocent people around the world who are hardworking and treats others with respect no matter of their socio economic status; as well as, race and religion. On the other hand, there are some people in our world who judge others based on their evil beliefs they learned from others instead of listening to their conscience.

A mockingbird symbolizes innocence because they only make music for people to enjoy. They do not harm anyone or anything, which

The title of the book To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee holds a great deal of symbolism with several of the characters in the story acting as mockingbirds, characters who don’t do anything to bother the people around them. Harper Lee explains to the reader what a mockingbird is by making Atticus, and then Mrs. Maudie explains it to Scout. “Atticus said to Jem one day, ‘I’d rather you shoot 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.’ That was the only time I ever heard Atticus say it was a sin to do something, and I asked Miss Maudie about it. ‘Your fathers right,’ she said. ‘Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music

Boo Radley is an innocent man who was wrongly categorized by his father after a childish prank. As he is referred to as a mockingbird because of his innocence. This can be proven when he leaves gifts for Jem and Scout like the pennies,wax dolls and jems jeans.

“Killing a mockingbird is a sin” (119). This basically means that harming something or someone that doesn’t do anything wrong, is a sin. In the book, cruelty and vehement behavior were more visible when someone not deserving of being attacked, is attacked. The mockingbird had its own beauty that shouldn’t be messed with. “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy” (119). The aggression

To Kill a Mockingbird is a book with several examples of symbolism. Although the story is seen through a child’s perspective, it includes multiple instances of symbolism, some more obvious than others. Mockingbirds, Mayella’s geraniums, and the Radley household are all big symbols in To Kill a Mockingbird.

Symbolism is used extensively in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird. The theme of prejudice in the novel can be best perceived through the symbol of the mockingbird. Atticus advised his children that if they went hunting for birds to "shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird" (96). Miss Maudie explains this further by saying that "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" (96). Bluejays are considered to be the bullies of the bird world. They are very loud, territorial and

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

Even by his innocence proved within the final pages of the novel, many judged him because of the way he always lived in isolation. Many invented these counterfeit stories of how he was a murderer, or that his intentions were to harm others. Harper Lee also uses literary techniques to create an image of this happening, and even makes the reader go along with and agree with the ridicules. Harper Lee writes, “According to Miss Stephanie, Boo was sitting in the living-room cutting some items from the Maycomb Tribune to paste in his scrapbook. His father entered the room. As Mr. Radley passed by, Boo drove the scissors into his parent’s leg, pulling them out, wiped them on his pants, and resumed his activities.” This is never proven within the book, nor is it proven wrong. However, Boo was always in isolation, and Mr. Radley wanted to make sure no one in the town even thought he was there, and would not let Boo communicate with the outside world. Harper Lee also explains that the children think Boo is six and a half feet tall, dined on rodents and felines that he caught, and thought that his teeth were rotten and hands bloodstained. In other words the children thought of him as a monster even though they had never before seen him. However from the incident with the blanket and the ending where Boo saved the children’s lives, the thought of Boos innocence and character of a mockingbird is

The reason why I deem him a mockingbird in the story is because he was hurt emotionally by what people thought of him. In the book, it says that he ate raw squirrels a cats. They also say he has a huge scar on his face. In reality, he does not eat raw animals, and he was a good man, ruined by his terrible father. He is a mockingbird because he was hurt in some way, because of someone else’s evilness.

The title of To Kill a Mockingbird was peculiar because it’s meaning was hidden under a layer of symbolism and it was up to me to figure out the true mockingbird was Tom Robinson. By definition a mockingbird is a omnivore with the ability to sing 39 songs including 50 call notes. They are territorial but rather peaceful towards humans. Nothing about the title is given until about 100 pages in when Miss Maudie mentions, “They don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out.” I took this to mean that the mockingbird in the book would have to be someone who’s innocence hasn’t been killed. They would also have to be rather peaceful and spread joy just like the songs of mockingbirds. As soon as I learned the true story about Tom, I knew his innocence