The Significance of the Title of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

It’s interesting to see the ways different authors depict how a character matures. In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mocking Bird we can easily see how she chose to do it. The novel is set in Alabama in the 1930’s, while black vs. white racism was a big issue and problem for many. Atticus is the father of Scout and Jem, young children who witness the discrimination first hand when their father, a white man, defends a black man in court. Lee does a great job developing the characters; especially the narrator, Jean Louise Finch (Scout). Scout’s thoughts, conversations, and actions, illustrate that she’s emotionally maturing from the innocent child that she was.

The title, To Kill a Mockingbird, is a huge aspect of this book. Harper Lee chose an appropriate title because it explains how innocent people can be destroyed in the face of evil. The two people who symbolize the mockingbird are Boo Radley and Tom Robinson.

There is a very powerful symbol that carries much weight throughout the story, and that is the mockingbird, seen even in the title of the book itself. This symbol initiates its appearance in chapter 10 of “To Kill a Mockingbird” on page 103 where Atticus Finch, a character synonymous with making impactful, deep statements through the book, says, “Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (Lee, 10). This is supplemented by Mrs. Maudie soon after where she says, “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy... ” (Lee 10). This evidence explains the basis of this symbol, that killing innocence is sinful, pointless, and cruel and that from the beginning this symbol presence causes massive insight and deeper connections throughout the whole book and to history itself (Great Depression/Pre-Civil Rights Movement), especially through the motif of innocence. Its presence is

Atticus shows true courage by defending Tom Robinson, a black man charged with the rape of a white woman. Atticus continues to fight for justice despite knowing he can’t win the case because he is

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.

The genre of the story is historical fiction and the setting is the 1930’s southern America in a town called Maycomb, in Alabama. The story is narrated by Scout Finch, a young girl whose innocent heart has been exposed to the evils of southern United States in the 1930’s. This setting is vital to the plot of the summary because during that time was the great depression and racism was especially common in the south, where lynching rose from 8 in

What it Means to Kill a Mocking Bird: an in depth analysis of the morals in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird

An instance where the mockingbird is mentioned in the novel is when Atticus tells his children that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird and they consult Miss Maudie about this and she replies with, “‘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’” (94). This quote is significant because its meaning is that mockingbirds are generally harmless and shouldn’t be killed because they have done no harm to humans. The theme of the mockingbird can relate more to just the bird, as it can also relate to Tom Robinson because he has done no harm to humans, yet he is being put on trial and has a chance of being executed. It can also relate to Boo Radley because he was kind to Scout by placing the blanket on her, yet the people of Maycomb are frightened by him and spread nasty rumors about him. In brief, the theme of the mockingbird has a deeper meaning than it appears and is an important life lesson in the

As children grow up, they open their eyes to the harsh truths in the world around them that they once did not understand or question. This is experienced by the main characters of Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird. The story is of a girl called Scout and her older brother, Jem, who go through the trials of growing up in the fictional small Southern town of Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s. Racism is rampant in the mindset of the townspeople, shown when the children’s lawyer father, Atticus, takes the case of an obviously innocent African-American man and they convict him in their hearts before the trial even starts. Through this all, we can see the theme of loss of innocence in the children. Lee uses characterization to portray

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

Atticus Finch father of two children, always stood up for what was right in his beliefs. For example, Atticus explained to Scout that she could not hate Hitler for what he has done. Atticus never harmed anyone, which mockingbirds also do Also, after the he defended Tom Robinson, and many disliked him for it, Atticus was still elected a state legislature in his town because of his good values. . "'But it's okay to hate Hitler?' 'It is not,' he said. 'It's not okay to hate anybody.'" (246) Atticus describes to his daughter that it is not right to hate anyone even if they had done anything as terrible as Hitler would have had done. Mockingbirds also do not give any hate on anyone."'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) Neither Atticus nor a mockingbird would intentionally hurt someone nor something. When Atticus does not show hatred, he resembles a mockingbird. Atticus was also emotionally damaged. After Tom's trial, Atticus was emotionally hurt, because an innocent black man was charged guilty. Also, when Bob Ewell was embarrassed about an event that happened upon Atticus in the trial, Bob targeted Atticus' children. Wile his children were being targeted, Mr. Finch was emotionally damaged that an event about him, affected his loved ones. "...'It's not time to worry yet.' "(213) Atticus explain when the children ask about the night before when Tom was declared guilty. Atticus explains that the case was not over yet, because of the amount of time the judge was kept when deciding the fate of the defendant. Knowing he was cheated out of the case because of the defendants' race, Atticus produced emotional damage. The actions of Atticus Finch did not only affect him, but the people around him. When Atticus lost the trial, Bob

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.

In Harper Lee’s historical fiction novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus shows the children that Maycomb is prejudice, teaches them courage, and the children show maturity. Scout and Jem are children of Atticus who's assigned to defend Tom Robinson is his case and throughout this case Scout’s summer neighbor and friend, Dill, Jem, Atticus, and Scout exuberate of these themes in their actions .Prejudice is when one pre-judges another based on their race, gender, age, or sexuality which one don’t understand and one hates the unknown of another. Courage is doing something without the fear of being judged or fearing the unknown. Maturity is learning lessons and applying them to oneself where one start to display adult characteristics. These

To kill a mockingbird written by Harper Lee. Themes are the subject of a talk, a piece of writing or a person's thoughts. There are many themes present in this great American classic such as courage, racism, prejudice, morality and of course coming of age. Lee communicates these themes with characters, events that unfold and the scenarios that Jem and Scout have to face.

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a book thick with symbolism and metaphors. It is a debatable fact that Scout, the female protagonist, is a symbol for innocence. Though the validity of her symbol is in doubt, I am certain that the symbol in this novel for injured faith, or broken innocence, is Boo Radley. That puts in question the reason why Boo continues to amble down the same road of apathy while Scout is being led down the path to unbiased maturity. I believe that Atticus, the father figure in the novel, is the subtle influence that raises Scout to be aware of the immoral actions around her but not to accept them. Prejudice corrupts a child’s progression of innocence to maturity, but Atticus keeps his children from assuming the attitudes of the townspeople.