“Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy....That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” The mockingbird then comes to represent true goodness and purity. Tom Robinson is one example of a human “mockingbird”. He stands accused of raping and beating Mayella Ewell, the daughter of Bob Ewell, but is innocent of the charges. The town commits the ultimate sin by finding Tom guilty and sentencing him to death. In effect, they have killed a mockingbird.
A mockingbird is a harmless bird that makes the world more pleasant. In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the mockingbird symbolizes Boo Radley and Tom Robinson, who were both peaceful people who never did any harm. To kill or harm them would be a sin. Scout's father, Atticus, tells Scout and Jem, "I'd rather you shoot at tin cans in the backyard, but I know you'll go after birds. Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.
To Kill a Mockingbird Theme Essay According to the dictionary, a mockingbird is a long-tailed songbird, related to the finch and is a native to the southern states of America. It is a plain bird that is so named for its imitation of other birds’ songs. This mockingbird represents the loss of innocence for Scout, Jem, and Dill. This bird also represents Tom Robinson, the “mockingbird” that it is a sin to kill and Boo Radley who is a victim of neighborhood children. It could also be said that Scout is small and plain like the mockingbird, but sings her own song.
It is symbolic for the simple fact that Tom Robinson is just an innocent man trying to live his life. All he ever did was try to be a good, honest person and help Mayella Ewell when she was in need. In return he lost his freedom and his life. All because Mayella Ewell felt the need to cover up the fact that “she kissed a black man” and broke “a rigid and time-honored code of our society, a code so severe that whoever breaks it is hounded from our midst as unfit to live with”(232). Another event compared to killing a mockingbird is Boo Radley and the death of Bob Ewell.
Atticus Finch is ridiculed by the townspeople for being a moral human being and sticking to his beliefs in defending an innocent colored man. As explained by Lee through her characters Tom Robinson, Boo Radley and Atticus Finch, the mockingbird is a symbolic representation of innocence, purity and virtue. To begin, the community of Maycomb basically indirectly murdered Tom Robinson. Despite the fact the man was helpful and kind - especially toward Mayella, who charged him of raping her - Tom was sent to trial and then found guilty even after Atticus Finch had verified his guiltlessness. His responsibility was all based on the color of his skin, not his true moral character.
Maudie, try to teach the children not to hurt mockingbirds as they don't harm anything and "...don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy" (90). While the comparison of a mockingbird to Tom Robinson illustrates the sin of hurting the innocent, it is also used to show the goodness of an unknown neighbor, Boo Radley. I. Describe what Tom Robinson is on trial for. A. summarize one of the reasons we believe he is innocent 1. his left arm is useless a. find quote where Tom says it got caught and the muscles were ripped (#).
To Kill A Mockingbird: Compare and Contrast Essay The Mockingbird “Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird”(Lee, 90). In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, Atticus Finch explains to his daughter Scout, that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird because these birds do not do anything to harm or bother others. All they do is sing pretty music for all to enjoy. Within the novel, the theme of the mockingbird is present through the characters of Boo Radley and Tom Robinson. These two execute the theme of the mockingbird through the misinterpretation of themselves by the people of Maycomb, their innocence, and bravery throughout the novel.
The meaning of killing a mockingbird, how it represents Tom Robinson and how it represents Boo Radley. To kill a mockingbird means to kill something innocent, something pure, something that does no harm to anyone. Mockingbirds do nothing but make music for people to enjoy that is why “it is a sin to kill a mockingbird” (pg.90) In the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” Tom Robinson is one of the characters who represent the mockingbird. He is a lot like the mockingbird because he did nothing but try to help Mayella Ewell who is the daughter of Bob Ewell. Tom Robinson was blamed for raping Mayella Ewell because her father has caught her kissing a black man, Tom Robinson, and at that time it was unacceptable to do so.
Underwood simply figured it was a sin to kill cripples, be they standing, sitting, or escaping. He likened Tom’s death to the senseless slaughter of songbirds by hunters and children…” (241). Tom’s comparison to a song or mockingbird was best conveyed in the novel by the previous quote, which refers back to Atticus’s earlier quote. Atticus’s quote is best clarified by Miss Maudie, who states that mockingbirds not only have no detriment to people, that they create music for people (a benefit). Tom Robinson died a mockingbird because not only did he not
Therefore, to kill a mockingbird is to destroy innocence. Throughout the book, a number of characters can be identified as mockingbirds - innocents who have been injured or destroyed through contact with evil. One of the main examples of the mockingbirds mentioned throughout the story is Tom Robinson. Tom is an innocent black man who has been wrongly charged with the rape of a white female. The racism and stereotypes presented in America at this time was one of the main and only reasons Tom was found guilty of his charges although everyone knew that he was innocent.