...In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, there are several instances where the symbol of the mockingbird appears.The mockingbird symbolizes innocence, which makes it a sin to kill mockingbirds. “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. 119) is a quote by Miss Maudie that best describes the meaning of the mockingbird symbol. The symbol embodies innocent people, who have been injured or destroyed through contact with evil. Harper Lee does a great job in portraying the mockingbird symbol by shedding some light on the innocents in the book, and focusing on the most prominent mockingbirds, Tom Robinson, Arthur (Boo) Radley, and Mayella Ewell. Tom Robinson is a crippled Mockingbird, who has been wrongfully...
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...Historical Paper “The era can be summed up in two words: breadlines and debt (McCabe 12).” This quote is a great description of the time period the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee took place. Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is a book about a young girl growing up in a small town in Alabama. Throughout the book, there are many historical references including the Jim Crow laws, mob mentality, and the Scottsboro trials. One of the very first historical references in To Kill A Mockingbird is the Jim Crow laws. The Jim Crow laws were a set of laws that were made to separate Blacks and Whites (Pilgrim). They separated colored people from white people and made a mindset among people that white people were better than Blacks (Pilgrim)....
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...Everyone knew Tom Robinson was not guilty, but because of Maycomb’s prejudice community, he lost his innocence. In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Tom’s mockingbird was killed. This is because he was wrongly accused for beating Mayella, concluded as guilty, and was killed in prison. Tom Robinson was put on trial for raping Mayella and was accused of choking her too. Tom Robinson’s mockingbird was killed when he was charged for hurting Mayella when he did not. Heck Tate falsely told the jury that Tom beat Mayella up. “ ‘There were definite finger marks on her gullet-’(said Tate). ‘All around her throat? And the back of her neck?’(said Atticus). ‘I’d say they were all around, Mr. Finch.’ ”(226) By saying this Heck Tate said that Tom used both of his hands when choking Mayella. Although, Tom Robinson can only use one of his arms. “Thomas Robinson reached around, ran his fingers under his left arm and lifted it. He guided his arm to the Bible and his rubber-like left hand sought contact with the black binding. As he raised his right hand, the useless one slipped off the Bible and hit the clerk’s table.”(254) This shows that Tom cannot use his left hand. Heck said that there were fingerprints around her whole throat, so it could not have been Tom. Tom lost his innocence during the trial when he was hearing all the lies that were...
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...Reading To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, there are many scenes and events that show who symbolize the “mockingbird”. A mockingbird, according to Atticus Finch, is simply someone or something that is perfectly innocent and does no harm to anyone. Being a mockingbird is something very powerful in this era just because it is during the Great Depression and segregation. In the book, Atticus says “shoot all the bluejays you want if you can hit em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (119). Atticus is pointing out that killing an innocent is wrong. I think that in a sense, the mockingbird symbolizes the innocent and the innocence in people. Although there are many mockingbirds that can count in this novel, I have carefully analyzed the material and chose Atticus Finch and Tom Robinson as my two “mockingbirds”. I chose Atticus Finch as my first mockingbird because he is the one who got chosen to defend Tom in his trial. Although he got chosen to do his job, he actually tried to save Tom which showed a lot of courage in this time. Atticus truly put forth all his effort in defending Tom even though before he took on this trial, he knew that they would not win. He still tried. For Atticus trying,...
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...Ada Lin Ms. Alburger English ½ Honours- Period 6 10 November 2015 To Kill a Mockingbird: Symbolism of the Mockingbird Thesis: In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Tom Robinson can be represented as a ‘mockingbird,’ or a symbol of innocence, because he is unjustly accused of a crime he does not commit. Throughout the story, he is a victim of racism. Even though he is accused of raping Mayella Ewell and is found guilty by an all white jury, Tom Robinson is actually an innocent man who has never done anything to hurt anybody, similar to a mockingbird. Body Paragraph 1: Tom Robinson represents a mockingbird because he receives an unjust sentence for a crime that he does not commit. Tom Robinson is found guilty by an all white jury that does...
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...In the novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, a character that shows true courage during the trial is Atticus Finch, lawyer and loving father to Jem and Scout. True courage is being able to defend and fight for something despite the circumstances.Numerous times Atticus shows courage in the story which all relates to the theme, having to be faced with the harsh reality of the world which ruins your innocence. Atticus Finch stays strong and practical during the trial, defending Tom Robinson with his life. Atticus’s effort during the trial shows his courage because, despite it being tricky to get the judge and people of the racist South to side with Tom Robinson, compared to Mayella, who claims to be the victim. Atticus does not give up and continues to fight for Tom Robinson’s justice. Atticus shows courage through logical...
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...To kill a Mockingbird is said to be about Harper Lee’s life; however, she never did interviews so there is some evidence, but not enough to say for certain. With Harper Lee’s death in 2016 no one will ever know for sure. To Kill a Mockingbird is about Scout and her family going through Tom Robinson's trial and the family living through the Great Depression. Scout is six at the beginning of the story, but we watch her grow up through the book. Scout's older brother Jem is ten in the beginning of the book we watch him grow up in the book as well. To Kill a Mockingbird was published on July 11th 1960 by Warner books the book takes place in the 1930’s great depression times. The book was written to show you the life of scout as a kid. The meaning...
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...People who think they are powerless do have power even though they may not realize it or know the source of their power. To Kill a Mockingbird explores the power relationship between the antagonist, Mayella Ewell, her father Bob Ewell, Tom Robinson, and the citizens in the town of Maycomb, Alabama. This story of power is told in two different perspectives of Scout Finch, as a child, and as an adult (Jean Louise Finch). To Kill a Mockingbird details a court case in which Tom Robinson is accused of rape and assault by Mayella Ewell. Scout’s father, Atticus, volunteered to defend Tom Robinson. As witnesses testify during the trial, the power relationships in Maycomb are shown. Even though Mayella was a poor (class) and dirty female (gender), she had some power because she was white (race). Because Mayella was white, Tom Robinson, a black man, was brought to trial based solely on accusations by Bob Ewell. Bob made these accusations against Tom Robinson to cover up the fact that his daughter was trying kiss...
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...To kill a mockingbird is a novel that that draws attention to the existence of social inequality. In to kill a mockingbird it tells a story about Scout Finch, her brother Jem and their father Atticus Finch in the town of Maycomb in Alabama, Maycomb is suffering through the great depression, atticus is a lawyer and his family is suitably better than the other families scattered across Maycomb, later in the novel atticus accepts the task to defend a black man named Tom robinson. During the trial tom robinson is accused of rape but atticus provides evidence that the defendants Bob Ewell and Mayella are lying and Mayella actually propositioned tom robinson then her father caught her and beat her but in court Mayella is just trying to hide the shame and guilt so she accuses tom robinson. Mr Ewell felt rage and swore revenge for atticus making a fool of him in court so Bob Ewell attacks jem and when that happens boo radley saves and stabs Bob Ewell and carries jem back to the finch house and in order to protect boo the sheriff insists that Bob Ewell tripped over a tree root and fell on his own knife. After watching the kids boo once again disappears once again into the radley house. In the end Two themes that can be found throughout the story are the...
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...Mara Arisman 8A Literature March 06,18 To Kill A Mockingbird Essay To Kill a Mockingbird was written by Harper Lee. This novel is set in Maycomb, Alabama around 1933. Scout, the narrator, Jem, her brother, and her father, Atticus Finch, have to help a black man, Tom Robinson, who was convicted of rape. Along the way, they meet many new people and learn a lot of valuable lessons like never kill a mockingbird. To Kill a Mockingbird is set in a “sleepy town” called Maycomb, Alabama around 1933 during the Great Depression. Scout said that Maycomb is a “tired old town” where “people seem to move slower” (6 Lee). This is s small town so everyone knows everything about everybody. Southern Alabama has “summers that drift into autumn, and autumn...
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...Analysis of Symbolism in To Kill A Mockingbird Most people would think of love when they look at the symbol ‘heart’. A symbol is an important literacy feature that is used to represent larger or abstract ideas. Symbols are often used by authors to deepen and further extend themes. In Harper Lee’s novel ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’, her effective use of symbols and their deep meanings contribute towards the development of some important themes. The uses of symbols, a mockingbird and blue jay, significantly develop the key theme that the coexistence of the good and evil always remain. A mockingbird and blue jay prove that the good and evil coexist by utilizing two characters, Bob Ewell and Boo Radley. First, Bob Ewell...
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...Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird (McCabe 12). The Depression was a time of devastation and debt for many companies and families all across the United States (McCabe 12). Lee used multiple historical events as her inspiration to write To Kill a Mockingbird. Those events are represented by mob mentality, Jim Crow Laws, and the Scottsboro trials. One of the influences in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird are the Jim Crow laws. The Jim Crow laws were laws created to make white people have more power than black people. One of these laws included that black and white people were to eat separately. If they ever did eat together, white people were served first (Pilgrim)....
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...Racism, Poverty, and Violence in To Kill a Mockingbird Maycomb, like other Southern towns, suffers considerably during the Great Depression. Poverty reaches from the privileged families, like the Finches, to the Negroes and “white trash” Ewells, who live on the outskirts of town. Racism violently attacks the people of Maycomb and causes many conflicts throughout the novel which causes violence amongst the citizens. Harper Lee uses the characters involved in To Kill a Mockingbird as symbols of the main themes of the story, which includes, poverty, racism, and violence and these recurring themes influence the actions of the characters in numerous ways. Poverty is repeatedly referenced throughout the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Many citizens...
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...In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, mockingbirds are animals that “... ‘ 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…’” (Lee). A few people in the novel also fit the description of this harmless bird, mainly Tom Robinson and Boo Radley. But another character, the lonesome but loathsome Mayella Ewell, has some traits that could classify her as a mockingbird. Living up to the stereotype of the Ewells, she faces isolation from the rest of society and has a lack of love from anyone, her dad, her siblings, and the rest of the town, except for the politeness she received from Tom. But as the story continues,...
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...events that happen in people’s lives are during their childhood and it impacts them for the rest of their lives. The emotion of the event stays with them forever, and it affects them In the future. The emotion by our childhood sometimes gets in our way of making our choices. in the book To Kill a Mockingbird, Helen Keller tells us a story about a five year old girl named Scout dealing with problems during her childhood and how the events that happen to her make her understand what problems that she may have in the future. The whole situation happen with Boo Radley, in Maycomb there was many rumors of horrible things he ever did and at the end there were all lies. It also happened with Tom Robinson but it was worst since he was an African American and back in 1930’s many people were racist and with one little bad situation they got in they got sent to jail. Tom and Boo are both of them both experience situations that people may believe they did and yet the still judged. Helen shows the symbol of the mockingbird with Tom and Boo Radley they don't bother anyone and yet they still judge them. When Atticus Tells Scout it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird she didn't understand why and when she asked Miss Maudie she tells her “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.”[Lee 90] Scout whatever rumor she hears...
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