To Kill a Mockingbird Essay

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In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, the author Harper Lee uses the mockingbird to symbolize the innocence of many characters. A symbol is defined as, “Something used for or regarded as representing something else” (Dictionary.com). The symbol of the mockingbird is meant to represent the innocence of many characters in the novel. Miss Maudie says to the children, “They don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (Lee 119). In other words, to kill a mockingbird means to kill innocence. In this novel there are many characters that can be compared to mockingbirds. These characters are people that are innocent, but are killed or ruined by the evil of society (Lee).
Tom Robinson is an example of a Mockingbird in the novel. Tom Robinson is a crippled African American man who is accused of attacking and raping a white woman named Mayella. Tom loses the trial because of his race, not because of the evidence in the case. He tries to escape from jail after his sentence and is shot. Tom Robinson is one of the biggest examples of the mockingb...

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