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Cliff notes to kill a mockingbird summary
The symbolism of the mockingbird
To kill a mockingbird summary chapter 1 5
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How are birds symbolized to the human mankind society? Eagles are a symbol of bravery and great strength. Parrots are a symbol of intelligence. What about mockingbirds? How do they treat and contribute to the human mankind? Mockingbirds symbolize those who are innocent, helpful, and caring but are punished and treated badly. It is a skin to kill a mockingbird because they do not harm us in any way but sings wonderful songs to us. Some of the characters like Boo Arthur Radley, Tom Robinson, and Mayella Ewell symbolizes the mockingbirds in Maycomb. Boo Arthur Radley who is innocent is segregated from the outer world and dominated and injured by the evil. Tom Robinson who also is an innocent man is convicted and is found guilty die to the colour of his skin. Mayella who has done nothing wrong is punished severely and forced to lie to convict Tom Robinson.
In the town of Maycomb, innocent recluse, Boo Arthur Radley is injured by the evil and separated from interacting with the outer world. In the beginning of the story, the children assumes Boo is evil because Radley’s such awful past. The children imitate and exaggerate Boo’s character in their play. “Give me those scissors,” said Atticus. “They’re no things to play with. Does this by any chance have anything to do with the Radleys?” This scene clearly shows that the children are imitating Boo’s character in a play to get a sense what he is really like. They are being disrespectful to Boo even though Boo is actually innocent and cares about children. In the beginning of the story, the children are fascinated by Boo’s assumed character and want to have a chance to see him. They try many different tactics to get a glimpse of him. “Why do you want Mr. Radley to come out?” Dill said , ...
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...n’t have any friends. Due to the Ewells cruel and injustice past, innocent and loving Mayella could not get a chance to make any friends. Even though Mayella has done nothing wrong, she is tortured and punished for standing up for justice and contributing goodness to the society. All these identify her as one of the mocking in the story.
At the end, Boo Radley, Tom Robinson, and Mayella Ewell symbolize the mockingbirds that are innocent, contribute goodness to the society, and stand up for justice but are treated unfairly. Boo who is innocent and cares about the children is injured by the evil and is segregated from the outer world. Tom Robinson is convicted and found guilty by the manacles of injustice for being beneficial to the community. Mayella Ewell who stood up for justice is punished and forced to lie to convict her love. Is it a sin to kill a mockingbird?
It teaches them to not be prejudice and get to know a person before making a judgement. Arthur ‘Boo’ Radley, was frowned upon by many people in the Maycomb community. He was rumoured to have been locked in the basement by his father and older brother after an incident involving scissors. Though never seen stepping outside his house, he intrigues yet also frightens Scout, Jem and their friend Dill. After different events in the novel, the children come to find that Boo Radley is not intimidating, but a man who due to his father, is emotionally damaged. Miss Maudie, a neighbour of the Finch’s, explains to Scout that "Mockingbirds don 't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don 't eat up people 's gardens, don 't nest in corncribs, they don 't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That 's why it 's a sin to kill a mockingbird.” The mockingbird is a symbol for innocent people, who are judged for no reason. Like the mockingbird, Boo Radley has people prejudiced against him when he is an innocent man. By using this metaphor, the reader is able to understand the link between Boo Radley and the innocence and morality. As well as the mockingbird, he also symbolises goodness. By secretly watching over Scout and Jem, he protects them from later being attacked by Bob Ewell, a symbol of evil. When Jem and Scout begin to trust Boo, they are paying the highest tribute they could pay him.
A symbol in literature is an object that stands for a word, cause, belief, or another object. A metaphor is a figure of speech where a word of phrase is applied to something but it should not be taken literally. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, the mockingbird symbolizes innocence. The mockingbird is innocent, singing for people to hear its music. In the book Atticus says to Scout, “Remember it is a sin to kill a mockingbird.” When Scout asked Miss Maudie about it, Miss Maudie tells her, “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy… but they sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” Killing something so innocent would be a sin because it had never done anything to hurt you.
Boo Radley is seen as an outcast. He is characterized by stereotypes and rumors. People assume that he is a bad guy, because of a mistake he made in the past. Rumors are passed on to children like Scout, Jem and Dill about Boo Radley that scare them to go near him. “Boo wasn't crazy, he was just high strung at times, it was alright to shut him up” (Lee 15). Mr.Radley said. Boo Radley did not act like everyone else but wasn't a crazy freak, so Mr.Radley thought it would be okay to sustain him in thehouse. Since his dad characterized him as high strung people just assume what he is like. Boo Radley never had a chance to show people what he was like he was portrayed as the bad guy by his dad, Boo is victimized by people because he can't stand up for himself so therefore he is considered the “bad guy”. Throughout the remainder of the book Boo shows his honest self when he leaves gifts for Scout and Jem, when he puts a blanket over Scout, and specially when he saves Scout and Jem from Mr.Ewell. It is obvious that he is a nice person and just wants to help, but of course his so...
In the beginning of the story, Boo represents the unknown. The children wonder about Boo and his strange way of life, but really have no concept of who he is. At first, the children ask questions about Boo with regards to his "weird" living style. When this does not satisfy their curiosities, they make up games and stories about Boo which present him as being a monster. At one point, the children invade the Radley property in hopes of finding some clue which will better explain Boo's character
In the case of Scout and Jem, they believed that Boo Radley, who is an outcast of Maycomb, possesses a horrific appearance, and that he is a savage, "he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that’s why his hands were bloodstained." However, as the story progresses, it is revealed that Boo is actually a kind-hearted person who has not done anybody wrong, but unfortunately, he was ruined by the hands of his family. Thus, Boo is an example of a mockingbird, as mentioned by Atticus. The disclosing of the character of Boo demonstrates Scout and Jem's loss of innocence. They can no longer see Boo as a mysterious threat in their life, instead they saw Boo as a person. "...he's crazy..but Atticus I swear to God he ain't ever harmed us, he coulda cut my throat...but he mend my pants instead..." In a way, Boo serves as a symbol of the transition of Scout and Jem's maturity, as the kids exhibit their ability to empathize with
Mockingbirds do no harm to anything they just sing. The two characters in this book that represents this symbol is Tom Robinson, and Boo Radley. Tom Robinson is a “mockingbird” because he is wrongfully accused of raping a white girl. Through the prejudice of the people in Macomb he later convicted and killed, even when he never did anything to Mayella Ewell. Boo Radley is also another great example of a “mockingbird” because no accepts him throughout the town which forces him to hide in his home. He had rumors spread about him how that he was a bad guy. But he was nothing but kind to the children and even saved their lives (Dave).
Boo Radley is the next door neighbor of the Finch’s. He is an outsider of the community, because he does not leave the house. He got in some trouble as a teenager, so his father locked him up inside the house. After his father died, his brother moved in with him. While Boo was locked up inside is house, the people of Maycomb County made up stories about him. The legend of Boo Radley was well-known to the people of Maycomb. Jem describes Boo, “Boo was about six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that’s why his hands were bloodstained—if you ate an animal raw, you could never wash the blood off. There was a long jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten; his eyes popped, and he drooled most of the time.” (Lee ). Boo is an innocent character because all he does stay inside his own house, and does not bother anybody. Yet the entire town believes that he could be a murderer. Harper Lee is showing that if you do not fit into southern society, they will make you into an outsider and a bad legend. Another example of Boo Radley being an innocent character is when he gives a blanket to Scout. Miss Maudie Atkinson, one of the Finch’s neighbors, had a house fire. Atticus (Scout and Jem’s father) woke up the kids and made them go outside, in case the fire spread to their house. While Scout was not looking someone gave her a blanket, “‘Someday, maybe, Scout can thank him for covering her up.’ ‘Thank who?’ I asked. ‘Boo Radley. You were so busy looking at the fire you didn’t know it when he put the blanket around you.’”(Lee ). Boo Radley is an innocent character because he helped warm up Scout in the cold, yet Scout was still scared that Boo had been near here. Harper Lee is showing us that Boo could do a nice thing, and yet Scout would still be scared because of his reputation. Finally, another
“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 1960, a novel was written to outline injustices and racism against those who were innocent, though unfairly judged because of social expectations and prejudiced beliefs. This novel not only presented these issues, but is also considered a revolutionary piece of literature, still being read by many people today, more than 50 years later. The novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, has caused some controversy about the intents of the book and the way certain people or groups are presented. Whether To Kill a Mockingbird as a narrative outshines the issue it presents is a debatable argument. However, I believe that the narrative of the novel supports the concerns exhibited for numerous reasons. In what follows, some of these are presented: the historical
It is then stated that killing a mockingbird is a sin, therefore meaning that killing innocent people is also a sin. Lee’s eye-opening novel reminds the reader that one should protect the beauty of the innocence by not allowing the society to promote their downfall. First of all, mockingbirds constantly reappear throughout the novel, as they are significant symbols. Mockingbirds are beautiful birds that are known for their remarkable voices. These birds are first introduced when Atticus instructs the children on how to use the toy riffles.
It is a sin to kill a mockingbird, mockingbirds are innocent birds that do not do one harm thing, but makes music for ones to enjoy. Tom Robinson is one of the novel’s “mockingbirds”, he is innocent but he was falsely convicted of rape and got killed. In a court, black man had never won over a white person. Tom Robinson, a black man was accused of raping Mayella Ewell, Mr. Ewell’s daughter. Atticus defends Tom Robinson because he had been appointed to defend for him, but it is also because of his morals. “Mr. Finch, I tried. I tried to 'thout bein' ugly to her. I didn't wanta be ugly, I didn't wanta push her or nothing” (Lee 260). During...
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee there are many representations of mockingbirds. A mockingbird in the novel, is an innocent soul. One of the most famous quotes from the novel is “It’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”( Pg. 103) The reason it’s considered a sin to kill a mockingbird is because they are innocent and do no harm. In the novel there are three main mockingbirds. Boo Radley, Mayella Ewell and Tom Robinson
Symbolism. Why is it important in a novel? Why do authors incorporate symbols into their writing? Symbolism aids the reader in understanding what the author wants to portray. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird, she writes about the racism in a small town in Alabama named Maycomb set in the 1930’s and about two children growing up and learning that their town is not as perfect as they thought. The theme topic appearance versus reality helps to get a better understanding of the symbols used in the novel and that you should not judge something by their appearance, you should judge by the reality of what it is. “As Atticus once advised me to do, I tried to climb into Jem’s skin and walk around in it.” (Scout page 77) In her novel, there are many symbols throughout the narrative that relate to the theme topic appearance versus reality. Harper Lee writes symbols into her novel, such as the snowman, Mrs. Dubose’s Camellia flower and Dolphus Raymond’s Coca-Cola bottle to help reinforce the theme topic of appearance versus reality throughout the novel.
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.
Mockingbirds don’t do one thing except make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corn cribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” This conveys the loss of innocence in ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ and thus killing a mockingbird is to destroy innocence. A number of characters (Jem, Tom Robinson, Dill, Boo Radley, Mr. Raymond) can be identified as Mockingbirds who have been injured or destroyed through their contact with evil.