Theme Of Victors And Victims In To Kill A Mockingbird

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To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a novel that explores many aspects of a community in the 1920’s. Set in the fictional town of Maycomb, shown to be a peaceful town on the outside while harbouring unseen conflicts within. Disagreements within the novel are started when society's moral laws are taken to the limit or broken, resulting in an outcome of a victor and a victim. These titles are given according to a person’s social status and not on basis of competition. The motif of victors and victims present throughout the novel is represented by characters of varying status and is enhanced by characterization, setting, and literary devices. The most significant factor that furnishes the overall motif of victors and victims is characterization …show more content…

The word “mockingbird” has been implemented within the novel to symbolize innocence.Through the use of characterization, a number of individuals such as Boo radley can be identified as mockingbirds. Theses individuals have been victims of evil that destroys their innocence. The importance of the mockingbird has been described by Miss Maudie when she says to Scout, “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but . . . sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (Lee 49). The reader realizes that by killing a mockingbird, one destroys it’s innocence and makes it particularly a vulnerable victim of the biased world of Maycomb. After the death of Tom Robinson, Mr. Underwood compares his murder to “the senseless slaughter of songbirds”(Lee 128). Thus comparing his innocence to songbirds, who do nothing but sing and are vulnerable to hunters of evil and corruption. The reader may think that the victors oppress the victims, however the statuses of both rotate around within the novel by making the victors seems like victims and vice-versa. The usage of symbolism contributes to the motif of victors and victims by attaching labels to individuals, helping the reader distinguish the prey and the

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