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.
This allows the message to sink into the reader. The title of the novel is an obvious indicator to the author’s purpose which is to criticise prejudiced societies and people in the world. The mockingbird symbol is referred to by a variety of characters; from Atticus to Miss Maudie to Mr Underwood who “likened Tom’s death to the senseless slaughter of songbirds”. Atticus’s message against harming those who have done no wrong is passed on to his son Jem who advises Scout to let a roly poly bug live “because they don’t bother you.” By doing this, Atticus exhibits that all it takes is the power of one to make a change to overcoming prejudice in people. His courage in defending ‘coloured’ Tom Robinson in a court case and enduring insults such as “nigger-lover,” helped to bring about the beginning of change in Maycomb.
However Candy later regrets letting Carlson shoot his dog for him as he says ….. “I shouldn’t ought to of let no stranger shoot my dog”- The shooting of the dog foreshadows the death of lennie. Candy’s final comment about the dog truly influences George’s decision to kill Lennie. Later George will shoot Lennie to spare him from the unbridled violence of candy. For both, death is to be seen as a merciful release.
“Remember, it is a sin to kill a mockingbird” (pg 90). Mockingbirds are animals that don’t do us any harm. It is the type of animal that will give its heart out to you. Every morning you can find mockingbirds sitting out side a window chirping a pleasant tune. It is a sin to kill the innocent and helpful mockingbird.
Hutchinson and Schwartz. In “The Lottery”, when Mrs. Hutchinson realized that she was the chosen one by the community to be killed, she did not tried to run, beg for mercy or ask her family for protection and save her from being stoned to death. She accepted her death without fighting for her life. On the contrary, in the case of “The Jewbird”, Schwartz did everything he could to survive, he even reached and caught Cohen’s nose, but he manage to get the bird by its legs and break it in pieces. These two actions are seeing now as very cruel acts in human society and should be
Prejudice is a preconceived opinion not based on reason or experience. Sometimes prejudice is a destructive force in society. In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, prejudice is shown in many ways. Prejudice was shown when Atticus was defending the jail, a group of men came to kill Tom and also when Scout was getting teased at school by other kids because her dad was taking Tom’s case. Furthermore, when Tom Robinson was accused of being guilty even though he was not, and died because of it.
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.
Lennie had no idea what he was doing, and it wasn’t fair that he should be killed out of hate. George had learned from Candy when he said: "I ought to have shot that dog myself, George. I shouldn't ought to have let no stranger shoot my dog." (Page 86) Candy had taught him that if Lennie's death was unavoidable, it might as well be done by someone who cares about him. Lennie had to be killed out of
When people see or hear the word “murder,” their minds will automatically transition to wrong, inhumane, cruel, vicious, diabolical, evil, or words with negative connotation. This transitional thinking shows the human morality, their belief that to annihilate life is wrong. However, there are exceptions to this belief. An exception can be found in the novella Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck, when George Milton kills his mentally disabled friend, Lennie Small. In this case, Lennie’s death was justified because of the reasons behind the kill.
Boo Radley is portrayed as en evil figure for most of the novel, mainly due to rumours circulating about him. For example, Jem is told by Miss Stephanie Crawford (the town gossip) that Boo “[drives] [a pair] of scissors into his [father’s] leg, pull[s] them out, wipe[s] them on his pants, and resume[s] his activities” (11).Boo’s innocence is shown, however, when Jem says to Scout; “I think I'm beginning to understand why Boo Radley's stayed shut up in the house all this time. It’s because he wants to stay inside"(231). This passage reveals to the reader that Boo Radley is not a figure to be afraid of, but to be pitied. Boo is afraid of how Maycomb will judge him, much like how the blacks are judged and prejudiced against by the whites.