To Kill A Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird is an appropriate title for the novel because it explains that mockingbirds are innocent and don’t harm people but there are still people that destroy the birds’ innocence. It's also referred too, very often there are mockingbirds placed in this story. Throughout the novel, Tom Robinson and Boo Radley are innocent, like mockingbirds. People like Bob Ewell are the people that try and destroy their innocence. This is an appropriate title for the novel because the mockingbirds, Tom Robinson and Boo Radley, helped people instead of causing harm. Tom Robinson helped Mayella Ewell by doing some chores for her and he did not want her to pay him for it. “‘She said,’I reckon I’ll hafta give you a nickel, won’t I?’ an’ I said,

He does things selflessly and for other peoples’ benefit. Tom Robinson is glad to help other people for example when he helps Mayella Ewell. “‘I was glad to do it, Mr. Ewell didn’t seem to help her none…”(Lee, 256) This quote gives an example of how Tom Robinson doesn’t harm anyone. He is happy to help and bring aid to Mayella. When he sees that no one else is helping he provides his assistance. Even though the kids do not know it yet, Boo Radley leaves them gifts in the knot-hole in the tree. “Jem and I were trotting in our orbit one mild October afternoon when our knot-hole stopped us again. Something white was inside this time.”(Lee, 79) The kids do not know who is leaving items in the knot-hole in the tree but the person that

By doing this the “mockingbirds” became outcasted from Maycomb thereby “killing them”. People say bad things about Boo Radley even though they are not true. “...he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that’s why his hands were bloodstained…”(Lee, 16) This quote supports the statement that people make up rumors about the mockingbird because even though Jem, Scout, and Dill have never seen Boo Radley they guess what he looks like based off of what they heard from other people. The kids make Boo Radley off as some kind of monster. When Tom Robinson was being questioned on the stand he was not treated very well unlike the other people being questioned. “‘The way that man called him ‘boy’ all the time an’ sneered at him…’”(Lee, 266) This quote gives evidence that people are judged on how they look and not their actions because it doesn’t matter if Tom helped people, he’s still a black man. The person questioning Tom did not treat any of the other witnesses like he treated Tom, because Tom was the only witness that had colored skin. People in the town gossip and make up lies to explain why Boo Radley disappeared. “As Mr. Radley passed by, Boo drove the scissors into his parent’s leg, pulled them out, wiped them on his pants, and resumed his activities.”(Lee, 13) Miss Stephanie Crawford does