Tom's Loss Of Innocence In To Kill A Mockingbird

Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is best known as a literary classic, telling the tale of a young girl named Jean Louise “Scout” Finch’s childhood in a southern Alabama town during the great depression. While the fate of a black male convicted of rape still looms in the synopsis. To Kill a Mockingbird the title of the novel, refers to a quote on page 119. Both said by Atticus Finch the town of Maycomb's lawyer and Miss Maudie his neighbor, “it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird”. As said by Miss Maudie “ 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” (Lee 119). The title of this novel isn’t only referencing this quote,

The book, To Kill a Mockingbird, is an American classic and has been a staple in high schools for many years. The main storyline that this novel follows is of Scout, a young girl, living in the sleepy town of Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s. It follows the case of Tom Robinson, an African American man, and how he was accused and convicted of rape. In prison, Tom was shot and killed because he was said to have tried to escape. While Mayella is the one who is saying that Tom raped her, the real person who should be to blame is her abusive father. As is quite apparent, Bob Ewell is the person who is most responsible for the death of Tom Robinson.

The Mockingbird had become something symbolic in the story. The mockingbird represents innocence and portrays itself through several different characters in the story; such as Scout Finch or Boo Radley. Despite their innocence however, they can be injured with their contact with evil. In the story, it’s explained how Boo Radley’s innocence is tainted because of his abusive father. Thus the extended metaphor or symbolism would explain that killing a mockingbird is tainting innocence. When Scout inquires her, Miss Maudie explains, “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but . . . sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” This also links the connection of Scout and Jem both having the last name finch, which is another name for a particularly small (and also harmless) bird.

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.

He went by the name Boo Radley. Jem and Scout were terrified of Boo but Jem still decided messed with him. People described Boo as being “ about six and a half feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that’s why his hands were bloodstained, there was a jagged scar that ran across his face and he drooled most of the time.” (Lee, pg 16) Harper Lee made Boo sound like the most terrifying person ever, but as readers get further in the book, readers and Scout realize he is not as terrifying as people make him sound. Scout realizes that Boo has a heart and he is not terrifying when he saves Jem.

The novel is written by Harper Lee The title, ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ is a very fitting title for the novel, because the story revolves around the idea of innocence being lost, destroyed by evil and the cruelty of a narrow-minded society. Mockingbirds are harmless creatures that ‘don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us,’ but it is powerless against its attackers. The main mockingbirds in the novel are the characters, Boo Radley, and Tom Robinson who are both attacked by the cruel society of Maycomb in different ways but are defenceless and cannot fight back. Mayella Ewell and Dolphus Raymond are symbolised as mockingbirds as well.

He is referred to as a mockingbird because he suffers he is stuck and constantly talked negatively by the town.It's the only form of contact he has with the outside world. Boo (Arthur Radley) is actually a very shy character who is often misjudged by society including scout and jem. As the story goes on, we find Scout beginning to realize Boo radelys true intentions and the situation when she tells Atticus that exposing Boo would be "sort of like shootin' a mockingbird, wouldn't it?” Throughout the novel, Scout, Jem, and Dill are curious about the "mysterious" Boo Radley because he never comes outside from his house or associates with anyone in the neighborhood.

Loss of innocence is a common and effective theme in young adult literature. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and I’m Not Her by Janet Gurtler both feature loss of innocence as a prominent theme, but in To Kill a Mockingbird, the theme is illustrated more in a more impactful and relatable way. Firstly, To Kill A Mockingbird presents a more realistic way of growing up, as opposed to the sudden, drastic changes in I’m Not Her. To Kill a Mockingbird also gives a stronger and more developed image of Scout from the beginning, back when she was innocent, which the readers don’t see in I’m Not Her. Finally, the writing style in To Kill a Mockingbird made Scout a more sympathetic and relatable protagonist than Tess or Kristina in I’m Not Her.

One of the first people to influence the justice system was Jim Crow. Or at least that was the name he gave himself and the name he used to stereotype a black man. His real name was Thomas D. Rice. He was a comedian that painted his face black and ruined the reputation of black people by acting as a neanderthal. In the book, To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee delves deeper about this by writing about the life of a young girl named Scout and her life in Maycomb County. We learn about the chauvinism that the white people had for themselves and the bigotry they held towards African Americans. Harper Lee's theme of loss of innocence is that everyone loses their innocence. It will happen. It could happen early in life or later. The main fact is, no one stays innocent and perfect their entire life and even the nicest, kindest person can lose their innocence and change to become entirely different.

In the book To Kill a Mockingbird Boo Radley, a known monster in the neighborhood, lives near Scout, six, and Jem, ten. Boo Radley is known as monster because he has not been seen out of the house in years and it has been said he stabbed his dad in the leg. Jem and Scout have been finding gift left by Boo in the hole of a tree.

Keeping her promise with Atticus to not mind what others say about him, Scout didn’t initiate a fight with Cecil Jacobs. Because of this, Scout has created a strong self-control for herself.

Thesis: Shooting a mockingbird is a sin and can be a saying or literal. In To Kill A Mockingbird there are “mockingbirds” such as Boo Radley, Tom Robinson and Atticus. Killing a mockingbird is a sin because they do nothing to you. All a mockingbird does is sing it's beautiful songs, it's an innocent creature that should not be killed.

The title, To Kill a Mockingbird is referring to false accusations/actions. In the book the story has many characters that are seen as wrong-doers when in reality they are doing no harm to anyone. Just like these people, the mockingbird does nothing wrong, it is only bringing joy to others. Atticus states this when he says “...it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” (10) and Scout realizes this towards the end of the book when she says “Well, it'd be sort of like shootin' a mockingbird, wouldn't it?" (30) To Kill a Mockingbird is a metaphor relating to characters in the book that have been mistreated.

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

did not allow anyone to visit him or have the slightest contact with him. Eventually Boo's mental state triggers him to stabbed his father with a pair of scissors. Boo's fathers causes Boo to suffer innocently by stealing his childhood experiences away from him. This indicates that Boo is a mockingbird because he did very little to deserve this torment and isolation that his father inflicted upon him. Then, Jem and Scout from the beginning of the story never fully understood Boo's past life at all, yet they judged him on things they hear about. They suspect he was basically an evil monster that never comes out of his house. Scout starts the stereotyping by creating a nickname “Boo” for the innocent Arthur Radley. This nickname robs Arthur of his true name and identity, causing him to suffer. Furthermore, Jem and Scout constantly pester Boo in an attempt to discover his actual identity. They tell their best friend Dill that Boo is like a zombie. Jem describes Boo as being: “About six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any cat he could catch, that's why his hands were bloodstained-if you ate an animal raw, you could never wash the blood off. There was a long jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten; his eyes popped, and he and he drooled most of the time” (Lee 13). The stereotypical image created by Jem completely robs Boo