In chapter 10 of the novel Miss Maudie says, “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” (Lee, 119)..
Killing a mockingbird is all about prejudice and the many different forms it comes in. In the novel, it’s expressed through a seemingly innocent and harmful act of the children’s perceptions of Boo Radley, as well as in an ugly form like that of the false accusation and ultimate death of Tom Robinson. These two characters are ‘mockingbirds’ in a sense because they are kind, unassuming and selfless – they bring nothing but pleasure to the people they know. Boo’s kindness to the children is downplayed, and reflects significantly on his nature. Arthur literally becomes ‘Boo’, a boogieman.
Mockingbirds are innocent in the sense that they do nothing wrong, but yet they are destroyed by vicious gossip and painful actions. Tom Robinson was seen as guilty and destroyed by false accusations, leading him to an early death. Boo Radley is seen as a fearful, dreadful person through town gossip and put through years of torment from Maycomb citizens. In the end, Boo finds the courage to leave his house to save Jem, only making rumours start again. Tom and Boo are both social outcasts, yet live in completely separate worlds.
To Kill A Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, is a novel which utilises the symbolism of a mockingbird throughout the text. Mockingbirds are gentle, harmless creatures, therefore making it “a sin to kill a mockingbird” as Atticus so proudly announces. Lee depicts a dysfunctional American society with a narrow-mindedness towards racial segregation and inequality, and uses the imagery of the mockingbird to symbolise the destruction of innocence, This representation can be seen within Tom Robinson, who was killed by corruption within the system and racial prejudice, Boo Radley, who was slain by society’s judgement towards those who don’t conform, and Dill, who shows the happiness a mockingbird can bring, flitting in and out of one’s life, and then his loss of innocence after the trial.
The mockingbirds in the story, Tom Robinson and Boo Radley get undeserving treatment during the novel until it is known to the people of Maycomb that they are good and pure. In the case of Tom Robinson it was too late as they killed him before they could learn what a good person he actually was. He got charged for a crime he did not commit, and Boo Radley got rumors spread about him that were anything but true. “It is wrong to kill the mockingbird just because you don’t like its
They do hear plenty of rumours though from characters in the novel, building an aura of mystery and fear around Boo. The themes that Arthur Radley brings out include fear, compassion & forgiveness and youth. It brings out the theme of fear because the citizens of Maycomb are all scared of Boo and gossip and tell rumors about him like “Radley pecans would kill you” (Lee 11), “A baseball hit into the Radley yard was a lost ball and no questions asked” (Lee 11), “People said he went out at night when the moon was down, and peeped into windows” (Lee 10), “When people’s azalea’s froze in a cold snap, it was because he had breathed on them” (Lee 10) and “Any stealthy small crimes in Maycomb were his work” (Lee 10). The portrayal of Arthur Radley reveals the theme of compassion & forgiveness because at the beginning Scout and Jem think Boo is a “malevolent phantom” (Lee 10) and later in the novel they begin to realize that Arthur is a really good person and he just wants to help out. Jem realizes this when he says, “…he ain’t ever harmed us, he ain’t ever hurt us, he coulda cut my throat from ear to ear that night but he tried to mend my pants instead” (Lee 96).
They have done it before and they did it tonight and they still do it again and again and when they do it – seems only children weep.” (Lee 213) Therefore through the characters of Atticus Finch and Tom Robinson, the roots of behaviour were portrayed in the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Innocence and cruelty were portrayed through the treatment of Tom Robinson. He was an innocent man treated cruelly by the people of Maycomb. Even the title of the book had something to do with innocence. This can be seen in the famous quote where Atticus refers to the mockingbirds as innocent creatures: “It is a sin to kill a mockingbird.
Through the innocent eyes of Jem and Scout the world seems full of good. The only evils they know are “hot spots,” or ghost, which they both deny believing in and the mysteries of the Radley’s, their creepy neighbors, whom they avoid at all cost. When their father is assigned to defend an African American man accused of raping a white girl some of the town turns against him. Jem and Scout are forced to experience the harsh evil side of some people. By the end of To Kill a Mocking bird they both have grown to a more mature understanding of good and evil, and the importance of looking for the good in people and accepting
The chapter ends with O'Brien telling us what followed Lemon's death: when the unit comes across a baby water buffalo. Rat Kiley, encompassed with anger and gloom due to his friend’s death, shoots the baby buffalo consistently, yet does not fully kill it. These stories reveal that a true war story, is never about war; but rather these stories are about love, memory, and sorrow. More importantly though, we learn that not all true war stories are true. They are what we make them out to be: consisting of fragments of the imagination mixed with some
Atticus explains to Jem and Scout after receiving air riffles for Christmas that “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.” This direct speech presents the idea to the reader that mockingbirds haven’t done anything wrong, they only try to please people and are defenceless against people. Later Atticus says that the worst thing a white man can do is cheat a black man. This is the case when Tom Robinson tries to help Mayella Ewell. Mayella tried to do the unthinkable – kiss a black man.