The Mockingbird

 

Scout tells us Atticus’s opinion:

 

“‘it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.'

That was the only time I ever heard Atticus say it was a sin to do something”

 

Miss Maudie holds the same idea:

 

 

'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.'" 

 

The adage that it is “a sin to kill a mockingbird” is a recurring symbol in the novel.  It is the line from which the novel takes its name so therefore it holds a great deal of significance. It comes to represent innocence.

 

The mockingbird is a central symbol in the story.  The mockingbird symbolises the characters of both Tom Robinson and Boo Radley.  They are both harmless creatures who are at the mercy of society.

 

 

·        Tom Robinson did not “do one thing” but be an upstanding neighbour to Mayella Ewell.  He was trying to be the best person he could be by lending a hand to a woman in need of help.  However, in the 1930s no matter how much evidence pointed to his innocence “when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins”. In the end it was Tom Robinson’s kindness that got him killed. We as the reader feel that he is a ‘mockingbird’ because he did not deserve his end.

 

·        Boo Radley was a recluse who was made into an urban legend.  People were afraid of what they did not know or understand, so they persecuted Boo and his way of living.  It is Boo, who in the end becomes a hero to Atticus and his children.  However, because society has mocked and ridiculed him he can not assimilate into the Maycomb community.

 

 

At the end of the novel Scout comes to realise the significance of the mockingbird.  She uses it in reference to Boo and the fact that he remained innocent of his crime. 

 

“Well, it’d be sort of like shooting a Mockingbird, wouldn’t it?” – She is referring to putting Boo Radley in jail.

If you think about innocence - who else may be a symbol of the mockingbird?

 

 

 

 

What do you think the mockingbird symbolises?

 

The mockngbird in ‘To kill a mockingbird” is the symbol of peace and innocence because after all “it’s a sin to kill”. And we see these symbols through characters in the novel, Jem, Tom Robinson, Dill, Boo Radley, Mr. Raymond. Who are peace symbols. Espeacially Arthur!

 

Finally, the deepest symbolism conveyed is through the use of the mockingbird. The mockingbird is a symbol of everything that is harmless. They only make music for others to enjoy but to kill one is a sin. Boo and Tom Robinson, who never intend to hurt a soul. Yet Tom’s life is lost, and this is like shooting a mockingbird. As Scout wisely says, “to hurt Boo Radley too would be like killing a mockingbird”. Thus the mockingbird has been used to symbolize the good and the harmless things in this world which should not be abused.   Dnt dnt Dnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnt

 

 

 

 

1. Discuss the symbol of the mockingbird. Explain what it means and its importance in the story.

 

 

The mockingbird represents innocence.  Like hunters who kill mockingbirds for sport, people kill innocence, or other people who are innocent, without thinking about what they are doing.  Atticus stands firm in his defence of innocence and urges his children not to shoot mockingbirds both literally and figuratively.  The mockingbird motif arises four times during To Kill a Mockingbird. 

 

First:  When Atticus gives Jem and Scout air guns for Christmas and instructs them not to kill mockingbirds. 

 

Second: When B.B. Underwood writes about Tom Robinson's death in his column. 

 

Third: A mockingbird sings right before Bob Ewell attacks Jem and Scout.  Finally, Scout agrees with Atticus that prosecuting Boo for Ewell's murder would be like killing a mockingbird.

 

 

(http://www.novelguide.com/tokillamockingbird/metaphoranalysis.html)

 

 

After giving Jem and Scout air-rifles as Christmas presents, Atticus warns the children that, although they can "shoot all the bluejays they want," they must remember that "it's a sin to kill a mockingbird". Miss Maudie Atkinson, the children's neighbour, later explains that it is a sin because mockingbirds do no harm. They only provide pleasure with their songs: "They don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us". The mockingbird is used as a recurring motif to symbolise innocence and victims of injustice throughout the novel.

 

 

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Kill_a_Mockingbird)

 

 

The title of To Kill a Mockingbird has very little literal connection to the plot, but it carries a great deal of symbolic weight in the book. In this story of innocents destroyed by evil, the “mockingbird” comes to represent the idea of innocence. Thus, to kill a mockingbird is to destroy innocence. Throughout the book, a number of characters (Jem, Tom Robinson, Dill, Boo Radley, and Mr. Raymond) can be identified as mockingbirds - innocents who have been injured or destroyed through contact with evil. This connection between the novel’s title and its main theme is made explicit several times in the novel: after Tom Robinson is shot, Mr. Underwood compares his death to “the senseless slaughter of songbirds,” and at the end of the book Scout thinks that hurting Boo Radley would be like “shootin’ a mockingbird.” Most important, Miss Maudie explains 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.” That Jem and Scout’s last name is Finch (another type of small bird) indicates that they are particularly vulnerable in the racist world of Maycomb, which often treats the fragile innocence of childhood harshly.

 

 

(http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/mocking/themes.html)

 

 

 

There are many symbols that are very important to the overall story
itself. Throughout To kill a mockingbird. we observe that nearly every
character is a mockingbird. The mockingbird symbolizes innocence and
purity. To kill a mockingbird is to destroy that innocence, by the end of
the book, every character's mockingbird is murdered.
The symbolism of the mockingbird is important because it helps create
parallels and connections to almost all the characters. Without this
theme, to kill a mockingbird would lose it's title and one of the most
important ideas.
The first character you meet starts out as a mockingbird. Scout Finch is u
young innocent child who has never come across anything bad. As the book
continues her innocence is slowly taken from her. She has encounters with
racism and prejudice which takes large bites out of her purity. Towards
the end of the book Scouts mind becomes more like an adults.
Dill is also a mockingbird. He represents innocence. He is a young child
who is not cared for as he is moved from family member to family member.
Although he is a lonely child he has a way to make others feel less
lonely.
Boo Radley is another mockingbird. All Boo ever did was leave presents for
Scout and Jem and save their lives at times, in doing this he was risking
his own. Boo Radley was a mockingbird, his heart was pure but it was his
abusive father who took that away from him, this is what damaged his
innocence.

Discuss the symbol of the mockingbird. Explain what it means and its importance in the story.
 

 

In the book, the mockingbird is a symbol of innocence and to kill a mockingbird is a sin because you would practically be killing innocence. There are a few characters in the book that can be called mockingbirds, due to their innocence being affected by the racism and “evils” of Maycomb. For example, Dolphus Raymond was due to get married, but because of his adulterous relationships with black women, his wife committed suicide on the day of their wedding. She knew the racism of the town and because Dolphus had practically picked black women over her, she would be shunned from society and laughed at, so instead of just leaving him and facing the town she chose to commit suicide.

“Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out, that’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”

This is an important quote because most of the Finchs are innocent. They are just trying to do what they believe is right and best for the people around them, again making them like the mockingbird because what they are doing is making the people around them feel better, it could be said they are singing the tune of the mockingbird.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mockingbirds

 

In this story of innocence destroyed by evil, the “mockingbird” comes to represent the idea of innocence. So, to kill a mockingbird is to destroy innocence. Throughout the book, a number of characters (Jem, Tom Robinson, Dill, Boo Radley, Mr. Raymond) can be seen as mockingbirds, innocents who have been injured or destroyed through contact with evil. After Tom Robinson is shot, Mr. Underwood compares his death to “the senseless slaughter of songbirds,” and at the end of the book Scout thinks that hurting Boo Radley would be like “shootin’ a mockingbird.” Most important, Miss Maudie explains 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.” That Jem and Scout’s last name is Finch, indicates that they are particularly vulnerable in the racist world of Maycomb, which often treats the fragile innocence of childhood  harshly.

 

 

 

 

 

The Mocking Bird is a singing bird that is harmless and likes to mimic the songs of other birds; they can also be very defensive of their nests. It is important in the story because it represents innocence. It represents the innocence of Boo Radley and Tom Robinson. To kill a mocking bird is a sin. “Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit them, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird”. The mocking bird symbolises these two characters because they do not have their own song. This means that the mocking bird is seen through the other birds and it is the same for Boo and Tom. Maycomb only knew things about Tom and Boo by what other people said about them. They are characterised by other peoples view points because they do not have their own “song”. Mockingbirds aren't harmful at all, they only do one thing, sing their hearts out for people to enjoy and that is why it is a sin.

 

 

 

 

The symbol of the mockingbird is used a lot in To kill a mockingbird, indeed the title incorporates it. The mockingbird represents mainly innocence and victims of injustice, people of purity and good will.

 

It is a repeating motif for innocence and victims of injustice, people of purity and good will. It means that the person that the mockingbird is portrayed upon is pure and easily misunderstood, they do only good. “All they ever do is sing their hearts out for us.”