The biggest difference between the two characters Boo Radley and Tom Robinson are the endings they receive in the story. Tom Robinson is unjustly murdered and Boo is allowed to return home not to be bothered by anyone thinking he was responsible for the death of Bob Ewell. The other possible ending Boo could be given is him receiving lots of attention and being congratulated for his heroism. Since Boo is unable to interact with other people, receiving attention would be like killing the mockingbird. Therefore Tom’s murder is like killing a mockingbird and Boo being able to go home in peace is allowing the mockingbird to live.
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
To kill a mockingbird is a sin because they don’t harm anyone at all; all they do is sing and make beautiful tunes so why should they be killed? The title of the novel is explained in a secret way throughout the book but not openly explained. The mockingbirds of the story are Tom Robinson and Boo Radley. Tom Robinson, a black man, was accused of raping a white lady named Mayella Ewell. Tom was taken to court by her father, Bob Ewell, and he told the truth about the raping of his daughter.
All Boo did was mind his own business and got punished and judged for it. Boos innocence was hidden behind his way of protecting himself from turning into a cruel citizen of Maycomb like the rest. Boo was judged unfairly his whole life but in the end the only thing he did was save two young lives, this making him a representation of the mockingbird. In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee there are several people symbolized by the mockingbird. The mockingbird symbol is used to represent innocence and people getting judged unfairly which teaches those who read the novel, empathy and not to judge others by things heard by a second-hand
Mockingbirds Some things in life are innocent and pure by nature. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Lee shows that mockingbirds are one of those things. In fact, one of the main characters, Atticus Finch, tells his son and daughter,” I’d rather you shot at tin cans in the back yard, but I know you’ll get after birds. Shoot all the blue jays you want, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”[90]. Confused, the children asked one of their neighbors, Miss Maudie, what Atticus meant.
When Nathan Radley fills in the tree hole that Boo left gifts for the kids in, Jem cries because he realizes how important that was to Boo. Later in the story, Scout wants to kill a roly-poly bug, but Jem stops her, “Why couldn’t I mash him?” I asked. “Because they don’t bother you” Jem answered (Lee, 320). Most importantly, Jem protects his sister from an attack by Bob Ewell, but breaks his arm in the process. Bob is a symbol of hate and evil and by attacking the children in an attempt to get back at Atticus this is also symbolizing Jem
An article by Mr. Underwood in the Maycomb Tribune was written in the wake of Tom’s death, and explaining how killing Tom is like killing a mockingbird. Readers find Atticus having the same characteristics as a mockingbird, since the fact is Atticus does not hurt or bother anyone, but only contributes good deeds. Relating to what Mr. Underwood said about “killing a mockingbird”, it is only done by children or hunters. As of course children are those who choose to kill mockingbirds because of ignorance, while hunters do it for pleasure. Readers see that killing a mockingbird is a sin, because they only bring good, while society on the other hand is trying to destroy the
Boo was our neighbor, he gave us gifts and most importantly our lives, but neighbors give in return, we gave him nothing and it made me sad” (Lee 293). Lee tries to show that every person can have courage, they just chose not to. Moreover the next courageous thing that Boo does is sew Jem’s pants fast enough to have them waiting on the fence for him, Boo also covering Scout with a blanket without her even realizing it, besides all that on Halloween night in Maycomb when Scout and Jem have been walking home in costumes, Bob attacks them with a knife, in fact Boo is watching the kids the whole night. Boo immediately saves the kids by attacking Bob and stabbing him to death. Lee tried to show how much Boo loves the kids by risking his own life.
Last but not least Boo Radley was another character from to kill a bird that helped Scout learn her lesson. The town of May Comb all thought that Boo Radley is some kind of crazy, guy who kills people. Jim and Scout even though so. They were always scared to go on his porch or in his grass, even though Boo always stayed inside his house. Towards the end of to kill a mocking bird, Scout realizes that Boo Radley was never crazy to begin with.
Atticus came up with several points to try to change the jury’s mind about Tom’s innocence, but he could not. Throughout the novel, he teaches several lessons to Jem and Scout about treating other people and how not to harm them in any way. One particular event is when he did not want to teach Jem and Scout how to use their air rifles. However, he does teach them this lesson: “I’d rather you shot at tin cans in the back yard, but I know you’ll go after birds. Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (Lee, 90).