“Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” (p.90) Miss. Maudie, one of the main protagonists in To Kill a Mockingbird, warns the young girl Scout that mockingbirds should not to be killed or hunted down because they represent those who are kind and innocent. So, on a broader spectrum, the term “to kill a mockingbird” symbolizes cruel and improper behavior towards people with good hearts and intentions. In the town of Maycomb, unethical behaviors, such as prejudice and gossip, are most commonly used against the “mockingbirds”. Three of those “mockingbirds” that are featured in this novel are Arthur “Boo” Radley, Tom Robinson, and Atticus Finch. Due to the depiction of the mockingbird symbol in the novel, the reader understands the consequences that immoral attitudes have towards those who are innocent and kindhearted.
In To Kill a Mockingbird there are a lot of symbolism and racism going on, but the subject that is going to be talked about today is how motifs connects to the theme of the novel. Harper lee uses motifs to support the theme of the novel.
Use of Symbolism in To Kill A Mockingbird
"I'd rather you shoot at tin cans in the backyard, 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. " This is what Atticus Finch tells his children after they are given air-rifles for Christmas. Uniquely, the title of the classic novel by Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird, was taken from this passage.
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee is an extraordinary story about a girl named Scout and her adventures growing up. At one point in the story, her father, Atticus, tells her not to shoot at a mockingbird, because “Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy . . . but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.”(119) this means that the people who are only nice and kind to the fellow residents of Maycomb, yet they get the unfortunate events that happen in the book, such as Atticus being put on Tom's case, and Boo being stuck inside his house. This becomes a major theme in To Kill a Mockingbird, and there are many characters in the book that could be classified as “mockingbirds”. In To Kill
Figurative language is in most well written novels. It helps develop the overall theme the author is trying to portray. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, I noticed Harper Lee distinctively used two types of figurative language. The first is symbolism, Lee used this twice during the novel with the mockingbird representing beauty innocence and Boo Radley representing the good in people. The second is motifs, Lee used this to emphasize the small town life in Maycomb, Alabama and helps give a better understanding of the people in the town.
The mockingbirds in the story symbolize peace and innocence because they don’t do anything wrong and they only bring joy to people. “‘But remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird [said by Atticus]’....’Your father's right,’ she [Miss Maudie] said. ‘Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy” (Lee, 119). The title also has meaning in it, since mockingbirds represent innocence, to kill a mockingbird means to destroy innocence. Some of the characters in the story can be represented as mockingbirds, or innocent people destroyed by evil things. One of the major mockingbirds in the story, Tom Robinson, who was killed by the police, was an innocent man who was destroyed by the evil of the Ewell’s. “‘Tom’s dead.” [said by Atticus]. Aunt Alexandra put her hands on her mouth. ‘They shot him,’ said Atticus. ‘He was running. It was during their exercise period’ (Lee, 315). Tom had the misfortune of knowing the Ewell’s, it was because of Mayella and Bob’s lies that he died. “Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed” (Lee, 323). There are other mockingbirds in the story too, such as Jem and Boo Radley. Jem’s innocence was destroyed during Tom Robinson’s trial, where he sees Tom undergo an unfair trial. Since the trial took place in the deep South in the 1930’s, what a white man says is held higher than what a black man says, even when it’s not true. "The jury couldn't
In the story To Kill a Mockingbird, Tom Robinson was discriminated against for being African American. A woman claims that he has raped her. When the jury hears the story in court, it is fairly obvious that she is lying. Atticus, Tom’s lawyer, makes several valid points that proves Mr. Robinson’s innocence. The jury still finds Tom guilty and it is solely due to the fact that he is black. He is discriminated against and automatically convicted of being the villain because of the color of his skin (Lee 192-214). “She did something that in our society is unspeakable: she kissed a black man,” Atticus says (Lee 206). Woman are seen as a disgrace if they are intimate with a black man.
Symbolism and Allegory in To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee uses symbolism extensively throughout To Kill a Mockingbird,, and much of it refers to the problems of racism in the South during the early twentieth century. Harper Lee's effective use of racial symbolism and allegory can be seen by studying various examples from the book, namely the actions of the children, of the racist whites, and of Atticus Finch.
One of the more effective allegories in the novel is the building of a snowman by Jem and Scout. There was not enough snow to make a snowman entirely out of snow, so Jem made a foundation out of dirt and then covered it with what snow they had. If the snowman was made completely out of snow, Jem's action would not be so significant.
Probably the hardest symbol to miss in the entire book, is the mockingbird. Not to be confused with the “Mockingjay” from The Hunger Games. This symbolic mockingbird represents the idea of innocence. And when you connect the title to that meaning, To Kill a Mockingbird means to kill innocence. Throughout the book there are a large number of characters like Jem, Dill, Tom Robinson, Mr. Raymond, and Boo Radley who are identified as mockingbirds, innocent people who have been hurt because of their interaction with evil. Some examples of this are when Mr. Underwood compares Tom Robinson’s death to “the senseless slaughter of songbirds by hunters and children,” (Lee) when Scout believes that hurting Boo Radley would be like “shootin’ a mockingbird”
I chose the symbol of the two birds on the branch because it represents the most important symbols, the “Mockingbirds”,in the book. The birds are facing different directions to depict the good and evil that affects them throughout the story. A definition of a “Mockingbird” is that, innocent people can be injured or hurt through contact with evil events or other people. Tom Robinson became a “Mockingbird ” because he was accused and convicted of a crime he did not commit. Boo Radley was a “Mockingbird” since he was thought to be an insane, violent person. Scout and Jem learned through their interaction with Boo that he was intelligent and a hero, even though he suffered through years of abuse. I feel that Jem Finch was also a “Mockingbird”,