Mockingbird Metaphors

Improved Essays
In Harper Lee 's legendary novel To Kill a Mockingbird, the underlying theme is to find our metaphorical 'mockingbirds ' throughout the story and who they represent. In her words, "Mockingbirds don 't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy... they don 't do one thing but sing their hearts our for us" (Lee 90). She describes three people in particular who fit into this category, Atticus Finch, father of the story 's narrator, Scout, and her brother Jem. Next, Tom Robinson, a black man accused of an unspeakable crime he didn 't commit. Then finally Arthur "Boo" Radley, a man who has been holed up in his home for years and has a gentle hearted fascination with the Finch children. These characters all went through hard trials before, or are …show more content…
Father of several young children, husband to Helen Robinson, and a sturdy worker for Link Deas who states quite loudly in the courtroom, "That boy 's worked for me eight years an ' I ain 't had a speck o 'trouble outa him. Not a speck" (Lee 195), Tom 's song in To Kill a Mockingbird may be the loudest of the three, the most hauntingly beautiful and heart wrenching. Tom was known by many to lend a hand, the only one he had, to stop whatever he was doing whether you be black or white, "Were you paid for your services?" "No suh... I was glad to do it" (Lee 193). Tom was a gentle soul in a harsh world of segregation and a deep bred bigotry. He knew from the start he also wouldn 't win the case, knew it would be impossible for "...A nigger like me..."(Lee 195) to ever be given a fair trial even though Atticus did everything in his power. Tom lived in a county much like many others in the south, the blacks being subjegated and trodden over, not even considered human beings in some areas. He still kept his spirits up, still worked hard enough to provide for his family with one arm and was helping Miss Mayella out of the pureness of his heart and not some malicious intent. Mr. Robinson did not deserve his ending trying to escape the prison yard, and Mr. Underwood, the town newspaper author and editor, even says …show more content…
Atticus who defended a hopeless case, Tom who was punished for being kind, and Boo who risked his life to save two children he had never spoken to before. They are all mockingbirds in their own aspects and in the end Scout realized, "... when they finally saw him, why he hadn 't done any of those things . . . Atticus, he was real nice. . . ." (Lee 281). She realized why it is a sin to kill a

Related Documents

  • Decent Essays

    Quickwrite: I would like if this law passed because it is feeding the poor. Some kids don't have food to eat each day. They fired a teacher for giving a kid food.…

    • 234 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    A mockingbird is a unique type of bird that should never be harmed because all it does is make beautiful music. This special bird is the very symbol of innocence. Throughout Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, there are many important individuals that represent a mockingbird. From the beginning to the end of the narrative we have characters that are the embodiment of the mockingbird because all they do is help others and they themselves get harmed in some way. However, there are some characters that epitomize the qualities of the bird more than others.…

    • 864 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Boo Radley Maturity

    • 692 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The novel To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, is about a young girl, Scout, her brother, Jem, and their friend, Dill living in Maycomb County during the early 1930s. The three children hear stories about their neighbor, Arthur “Boo” Radley, and decide they want to try to get him out of his house. A few unsuccessful summers later, Scout’s father, Atticus, is a lawyer that has been assigned a colored man’s case. The man, Tom Robinson, was accused of raping a white woman. As the children know this isn’t true, they don’t understand why he was found guilty.…

    • 692 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Even knowing that by defending Tom he could put his entire future and reputation at risk Atticus courageously sticks by his decision. Atticus has countless people apologizing that he has to defend Tom. For the simple fact that Tom Robinson is black. The people of Maycomb can 't seem to believe it when Atticus says that he actually does think that Tom is innocent. Although he loses respect of many he only worries about the respect of the people that he actually cares for; his children.…

    • 1040 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    To Kill a Mockingbird Essay “In every conceivable manner, the family is link to our past, bridge to our future.” Alex Haley. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is about a journey the main characters, Jem, Scout, and Atticus take in defense of a colored man named Tom Robinson. Robinson was accused of raping a white woman named Mayella. Though Atticus is a dexterous lawyer, Robinson 's skin color is a detriment to his freedom.…

    • 1025 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    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.…

    • 1522 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    To Kill a Mockingbird is filled with symbolism used to display different themes. A major symbol is the mockingbird. Mockingbirds are harmless creatures that just sing and make the world a happier place. Lee uses three main characters that resemble greatly to mockingbirds to get her subtle, but imperative points across. One of these mockingbirds is forced to meet his maker, another is forced is forced to kill, and the last mockingbird’s innocence is forced to slowly die.…

    • 1251 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    As Miss Maudie Atkinson once said, “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy... they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” Mockingbirds live as purely innocent creatures, which happens to explain why killing them qualifies as a sin. In Harper Lee’s classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, the targeting of the innocent remains a key component. One very applicable theme to this novel is that sometimes the guilty are just the innocent being targeted.…

    • 1447 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    When discovering our own personal identities, there are a great number of things that can sway the way that identity ends up looking. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee explores how the influence of isolation, discrimination and loneliness can reflect upon our identities. Evidence of how these feelings impact our individual identities can clearly be seen in the lives of characters Tom Robinson, Mayella Ewell and Boo (Arthur) Radley. Boo Radley is perhaps the most misunderstood character that Harper Lee crafted. Scout and Jem believe he is a monster who eats raw animals, a great giant of a man with yellow teeth and perpetually bloodstained hands.…

    • 1065 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear”. In the award winning novel, To Kill A Mockingbird written by Harper Lee, Atticus Finch is a single dad with two children-Scout and Jem-who are six and nine years old. Throughout the book, Scout and Jem experience many mysteries, one being about Boo Radley; the neighbor who apparently has been locked inside for decades. Atticus had a predicament of his own.…

    • 1277 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    To Kill a Mockingbird was written by Harper Lee in the early 1960 's. The story takes place in the town of Maycomb, Alabama. All is normal in this southern town until a particular court case involving an African American man named Tom Robinson comes to the attention of the residents of Maycomb. The case has also come to the attention of Atticus Finch. Atticus is a small town defense lawyer who, unlike anyone else in the town, disagrees with the false accusation of rape againest Tom Robinson.…

    • 1429 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee exploits the toxic nature of the South, the early 20th century. The destruction of innocence is evidently shown throughout the rampant bigotry, through the explicit phrase of ‘…it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.’ Hence, To Kill a Mockingbird is to kill innocence. In the tale, from the very beginning, a threat that is based on generational racism is posed to destroy a number of innocents. Ultimately, the ‘Mockingbird’ is killed in ways that are worse than death and by the end results in the loss of innocence.…

    • 1001 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In addition, Tom Robinson was known as a humble well-respected negro, and the fact that he helped Mayella even when he was busy and tired, showed that he respects women and that he is a good man. Secondly, Even though Atticus and Tom knew that they were going to lose the case, Atticus wanted to prove something, he wanted to show the citizens of the county proof the racism and stereotypes are wrong. It was obvious that Atticus and Tom won, but the jury would never let a black man win over a white man because The jury would never want out from the norm, Society taught people certain rules and guidelines that they had to follow. Atticus took the case to prove to the county that colored people and whites are the same, they're both being accountable for what they…

    • 714 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    To begin with, when Tom felt bad for Mayella the whole courtroom was shocked. To explain this in more detail, when Tom says, ““Yes suh, I felt right sorry for her”” (264), and then Scout thinks, “Below us nobody liked Tom Robinsons answer” (264). This means that although Tom Robinson might have more money, works harder, and is more respected in the black society, he’s still black, and that’s below any white person, and since the society thinks you can’t pity anyone higher than you, they got offended. In fact, when the court session was over, the jury and the audience knew Tom wasn’t guilty, but voted that he was. To prove this statement, during Atticus’ final statement he says, ““This case is as simple as black and white.””…

    • 1192 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    To Kill a Mocking Bird is one of the most widely recognized pieces of American literature. Through the eyes of a child, Harper Lee takes the reader on a journey that examines one of the most controversial topics in history of the nation – civil rights. From Scout’s innocent perspective, Lee challenges cultural norms and stereotypes, and asks the audience to question their personal concepts of courage, justice, and morality. Summary Lee begins by introducing the audience to Scout, her family and Dill, and the notable inhabitants of Depression-era Maycomb, Alabama.…

    • 1735 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays