Unfair Judgement In To Kill A Mockingbird

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Unfair Judgement: Symbolization in To Kill A Mockingbird Symbolization can change the way you interpret a novel. Symbolism gives you a deeper meaning rather than what is just written on the page. To Kill A Mockingbird written by Harper Lee is a novel that thoroughly demonstrates a great deal of symbolization. Throughout the novel there are several innocent people that are judged unfairly and this all ties into the symbol of the mockingbird. The novel tells a tale of Tom Robinson, a coloured male whom is accused of raping a white woman and is overruled in court by the colour of his skin. Despite the amount of good points Atticus has proven, Tom is still determined to advance as guilty although he is evidently innocent. In Harper Lee's To…show more content…
A white lawyer standing up for a coloured man is how he was perceived through the eyes of Maycomb. Throughout To Kill A Mockingbird, Atticus continually chose to see himself in others positions: "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view, until you climb into his skin and walk around in it," this is Atticus talking to Jean Louis Finch (Lee 30). Atticus was always empathetic even towards those that mistreated him, in the novel a man Mr. Cunningham joined a group to go against Atticus and even after that Atticus says "Mr. Cunninghams basically a good man" (Lee 157). Atticus wasn't oblivious to the fact that racism would take over "Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed" (Lee 241). His safety and reputation was put on the line just to defend Tom Robinson. Tom meant a lot to Atticus and he did not agree with the fact that "To Maycomb, Toms death was typical." (Lee 240). Atticus' innocence was hidden behind his decision to stand up for a black male. Seeing that Atticus was only doing exceptional things for a man…show more content…
All of Boos teenage and beyond years he has stayed locked up inside his house and no one from Maycomb has seen him. There are rumours upon rumours about him: "Boo drove the scissors into his parents leg," (Lee 11), this being one, yet he hasn't talked to anyone outside of his house in years. Instead of getting absorbed into Maycombs crazy conflict and prejudice views he decides to stay inside: "its because he wants to stay inside" Jem said (Lee 227), him doing so causes him to become an outcast. In To Kill A Mockingbird there are very few people that can look past the rumours and think of Boo as a normal person, like Scout for example: "I took him by the hand, a hand surprisingly warm for its whiteness" (Lee 227). 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

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