Throughout the novel, mockingbirds and other songbirds are representations of purity and generosity. Many characters refer to the killing of a mockingbird when a character is hurt or corrupted by prejudice and the harshness of society. “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 father’s right,” she said. “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy .
Therefore, the black community in Maycomb was crippled with fear. A fear that they will get lynched for a crime they did not commit. Stereotyping is a human instinct. We will always stereotype people's race, class and families. When Aunt Alexandra lived with the Finches, she said this to Scout about the Cunninghams, "Because he is trash, that's why you cant play with him.
To kill is to destroy and a mockingbird is a symbol of innocence. A mockingbird is any of several gray, black, and white songbirds of the genus Mimus, esp. M. polyglottos, of the U.S. and Mexico, noted for their ability to mimic the songs of other birds (Lexico Publishing Group, LLC). With this definition, I am focusing on the fact that all mockingbirds do is sing. Considering the characteristics of a mockingbird, it would be a sin to kill a mockingbird.
In To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, it is a sin to kill a mockingbird. Mockingbirds, such as Atticus, Boo Radley, and Tom Robinson are mistaken as blue jays because of persecutors such as Bob Ewell, Miss Stephanie, and the angry mob. As Miss Maudie says, “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy,” (Lee 90). Atticus is an innocent man who attempts to help Tom Robinson as much as
Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed.” (Lee 266)EGDV “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 father’s right,” she said. “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy . . .
Lee includes Dolphus Raymond in ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ to explore the issues of racial prejudice surrounding the time in which the novel is set and in the novel itself. Lee uses this extract to show us the challenges that mixed children faced at the time as a result of segregation. During the trial, the events of it cause Dill to become overwhelmed to the point of which he starts to cry, so Jem and Scout take him to the square outside the courthouse. This is where the children first encounter Dolphus Raymond. Dolphus Raymond sees that Dill is crying and responds with ‘cry about the simple hell people give other people – without thinking.
Thus, to kill a mockingbird is to destroy innocence. Throughout the book, a number of characters (Jem, Tom Robinson, Dill, Boo Radley, Mr. Raymond) can be identified as mockingbirds—innocents who have been injured or destroyed through contact with evil. This connection between the novel’s title and its main theme is made explicit several times in the novel: after Tom Robinson is shot, Mr. Underwood compares his death to “the senseless slaughter of songbirds,” and at the end of the book Scout thinks that hurting Boo Radley would be like “shootin’ a mockingbird.” My second source relates to the use of Boo Radley as a symbol because it shows how Jaden Smith’s outlook towards fame changed from when he was a child to now as a teenager. This relates to the symbol because as the novel progresses, the children’s changing attitude toward Boo Radley is an important measurement of their development from innocence toward a grown-up moral perspective. At the beginning of the book, Boo is merely a
From the racial prejudice used against Tom Robinson, to the economical prejudice against the Cunningham family, To Kill a Mockingbird has shown how people in Maycomb look at people. This book truly shows how the people in Maycomb Alabama are prejudice towards each other. It is very devastating that people would ever treat people like this and be prejudice like they are in this
Arthur Radley is later called a mockingbird by Scout, after she realizes that bringing him to court for saving her and her brother by stabbing Bob Ewell would be similar to shooting a mockingbird. Taking this man who has only ever done good for the two children, and dragging him out of his comfort zone to be tried for a crime that did away with one of the town’s worst, and protected some of the town’s
In To Kill a Mockingbird, the most important symbol is the mocking bird. It symbolizes innocence. For instance, Tom Robinson was the mockingbird, because “It’s a sin to kill a mockingbird”. He was killed even though he was an innocent man. Jem was also a mockingbird.