To Kill a Mockingbird: Similar Creatures
“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” (103). This quote from Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird refers to the notion that mockingbirds are harmless creatures, they do nothing but sing and bring happiness to the world. Although mockingbirds are harmless and benevolent they are still susceptible to a hunter’s gun. This is also the case with Boo Radley and more directly, Tom Robinson. These two men can both be seen as symbolic mockingbirds through their innocence, kindness and vulnerability.
Tom Robinson and Boo Radley never had any intentions to do anything …show more content…
But these are merely lies. There is no telling where the stories end and the truth begins. It was said that Boo Radley had stabbed his father with a pair of scissors when he was a child, but it is more likely that ignorance and fear led to this kind of gossip and scorn. This is the same for Tom when Bob and Mayella Ewell perjured themselves as they testified that he was in fact the one who raped Mayella. It is known that Tom Robinson was an innocent man due to the evidence and presentation of his case. The only thing that made him seem guilty was the colour of his skin. Tom and Boo are also innocent in the sense that they are both unable to be harmful. As stated in the trial, “Tom Robinson now sits before you, having taken the oath with the only good hand he possesses—his right hand” (232), Tom only has one hand to work with making it very difficult to hurt someone else. Boo Radley was kept away under the close watch of his father and eventually his brother. Boo’s family made it …show more content…
Boo Radley and Tom Robinson also show vulnerability through their frightened attitudes. Tom shows his fear by trying to escape from the prison he is kept in. Boo shows that he is afraid when he is inside the Finch household. Scout describes Boo as quite skittish in the following quote:
When I pointed to him his palms slipped slightly, leaving greasy sweat streaks on the wall, and he hooked his thumbs in his belt. A strange small spasm shook him, as if he heard fingernails scrape slate, but as I gazed at him in wonder the tension slowly drained from his face (310).
Fear makes someone look weak and if someone is weak, they are immediately vulnerable. Lastly, both Tom and Boo are not very well educated as Tom is black and never had a chance at a good education and Boo could not have had a good education cooped up in his house nearly half of his life. Poor education leaves these men vulnerable as they can be seen as inferior to other men. This also leaves them liable to make faulty decisions. Tom Robinson and Boo Radley’s vulnerability is exposed through their differences, fear, and lack of
“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” (103). This quote from Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird refers to the notion that mockingbirds are harmless creatures, they do nothing but sing and bring happiness to the world. Although mockingbirds are harmless and benevolent they are still susceptible to a hunter’s gun. This is also the case with Boo Radley and more directly, Tom Robinson. These two men can both be seen as symbolic mockingbirds through their innocence, kindness and vulnerability.
Tom Robinson and Boo Radley never had any intentions to do anything …show more content…
But these are merely lies. There is no telling where the stories end and the truth begins. It was said that Boo Radley had stabbed his father with a pair of scissors when he was a child, but it is more likely that ignorance and fear led to this kind of gossip and scorn. This is the same for Tom when Bob and Mayella Ewell perjured themselves as they testified that he was in fact the one who raped Mayella. It is known that Tom Robinson was an innocent man due to the evidence and presentation of his case. The only thing that made him seem guilty was the colour of his skin. Tom and Boo are also innocent in the sense that they are both unable to be harmful. As stated in the trial, “Tom Robinson now sits before you, having taken the oath with the only good hand he possesses—his right hand” (232), Tom only has one hand to work with making it very difficult to hurt someone else. Boo Radley was kept away under the close watch of his father and eventually his brother. Boo’s family made it …show more content…
Boo Radley and Tom Robinson also show vulnerability through their frightened attitudes. Tom shows his fear by trying to escape from the prison he is kept in. Boo shows that he is afraid when he is inside the Finch household. Scout describes Boo as quite skittish in the following quote:
When I pointed to him his palms slipped slightly, leaving greasy sweat streaks on the wall, and he hooked his thumbs in his belt. A strange small spasm shook him, as if he heard fingernails scrape slate, but as I gazed at him in wonder the tension slowly drained from his face (310).
Fear makes someone look weak and if someone is weak, they are immediately vulnerable. Lastly, both Tom and Boo are not very well educated as Tom is black and never had a chance at a good education and Boo could not have had a good education cooped up in his house nearly half of his life. Poor education leaves these men vulnerable as they can be seen as inferior to other men. This also leaves them liable to make faulty decisions. Tom Robinson and Boo Radley’s vulnerability is exposed through their differences, fear, and lack of