Innocent people are like mockingbirds. The title of the novel To Kill A Mockingbird symbolizes innocent people treated lesser than others because of stereotypes and being different. Arthur Radley, Atticus Finch, and Tom Robinson all represent mockingbirds. They have done nothing wrong but are associated with evil. Mockingbirds are innocent people made evil by prejudice and lack of understanding who should not be treated differently.
Arthur Radley seems strange to the children because he lived his life differently than they knew. Though they are just children, Jem describes “Boo [as] about six-and-a-half feet tall, judging by his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that’s why his hands are bloodstained” (Lee …show more content…
Francis does not see why Atticus would defend a black man in court. He tells Scout “it [is not] her fault if Uncle Atticus n****r lover besides, but I’m here to tell you it certainly does mortify the rest of the family-” (110) Because of the stereotypes against black people Francis thinks Atticus prefers one race over his own and makes fun of their family. It is not only children that do not understand why Atticus would defend a black man. When Scout and Jem go by Mrs. Dubose’ house she calls to them “yes indeed, what has this world come to when a Finch goes against his own raising? … Your father’s no better than the n*****s and the trash he works for!” (135) Atticus is seen as evil by most of the county because he is defending Tom Robinson. Atticus is an innocent man, but because of his association with a black man; especially one thought to have taken advantage of a white woman, it makes him a …show more content…
Atticus tries to explain to the children why Tom did not get a fair trial and he tells them “there’s something in our world that makes men lose their heads - they couldn’t be fair if they tried. In our courts, when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins.” (295) The children do not understand why this is because Atticus raised them to treat everyone fairly. Tom would never have a fair trial in that time because of stereotypes against his race. Tom was never seen as a normal man. He was always treated differently because of his race. Atticus finds out Tom was shot after he tried to escape prison. Atticus says “what was one Negro, more or less, among two hundred of ‘em? He wasn’t Tom to them, he was an escaping prisoner.” (315) Tom was never treated equal to white men, he was always treated lesser than them because of prejudice. People never knew him as a person they just assumed he was evil because of stereotypes against
Arthur Radley seems strange to the children because he lived his life differently than they knew. Though they are just children, Jem describes “Boo [as] about six-and-a-half feet tall, judging by his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that’s why his hands are bloodstained” (Lee …show more content…
Francis does not see why Atticus would defend a black man in court. He tells Scout “it [is not] her fault if Uncle Atticus n****r lover besides, but I’m here to tell you it certainly does mortify the rest of the family-” (110) Because of the stereotypes against black people Francis thinks Atticus prefers one race over his own and makes fun of their family. It is not only children that do not understand why Atticus would defend a black man. When Scout and Jem go by Mrs. Dubose’ house she calls to them “yes indeed, what has this world come to when a Finch goes against his own raising? … Your father’s no better than the n*****s and the trash he works for!” (135) Atticus is seen as evil by most of the county because he is defending Tom Robinson. Atticus is an innocent man, but because of his association with a black man; especially one thought to have taken advantage of a white woman, it makes him a …show more content…
Atticus tries to explain to the children why Tom did not get a fair trial and he tells them “there’s something in our world that makes men lose their heads - they couldn’t be fair if they tried. In our courts, when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins.” (295) The children do not understand why this is because Atticus raised them to treat everyone fairly. Tom would never have a fair trial in that time because of stereotypes against his race. Tom was never seen as a normal man. He was always treated differently because of his race. Atticus finds out Tom was shot after he tried to escape prison. Atticus says “what was one Negro, more or less, among two hundred of ‘em? He wasn’t Tom to them, he was an escaping prisoner.” (315) Tom was never treated equal to white men, he was always treated lesser than them because of prejudice. People never knew him as a person they just assumed he was evil because of stereotypes against