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An Analysis Of Pivotal Characters In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

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An unfortunate truth is that those who differ from the norm are easy prey. Pivotal characters in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird who fit this description and are compared to mockingbirds. Miss Maudie describes these birds as innocent creatures that, unlike other animals, do not damage property and make music for the enjoyment of people, making it deplorable to kill one (119). Arthur Radley and Tom Robinson represent Miss Maudie’s definition of a mockingbird because they are benign and beneficial to Maycomb, yet targeted due to their vulnerability. Arthur Radley, better known as Boo, exemplifies a mockingbird through his amiable actions and susceptibility to being misunderstood by society. During a fire at Miss Maudie’s house that causes …show more content…

As the trial progresses and Tom is questioned, he elaborates on his repeated contact with the woman he allegedly raped, Mayella Ewell: “I was glad to do it, Mr. Ewell didn’t seem to help [Mayella] none, and neither did the chillum, and I knowed she didn’t have no nickels to spare” (256). Although the racial norms prohibit it, Tom’s kindness spreads even to Mayella Ewell, who is disrespectful and unappreciative of him. After noticing that Mayella is incapable of paying him for his labor, he willingly works for free, paralleling how a mockingbird chirps for the enjoyment of the listeners without any incentive. Later on, in a conversation at the Finch home regarding the Tom Robinson trial, Mrs. Farrow, a devout woman, gives her perspective: “We can educate ‘em till we’re blue in the face, we can try till we drop to make Christians out of ‘em, but there’s no lady safe in her bed these nights” (311). Albeit Tom has the truth on his side and an accomplished lawyer, he is still impotent against the prominent stigma regarding black men and rape. Mrs. Farrow, as well as many others in Jim Crow, associate these stereotypes with Tom, deeming him guilty before the trial begins. Therefore, just like mockingbirds, he has no means to protect himself against the larger power at hand, be that merciless hunters or societal

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In the historical fiction novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the issues of racial inequality and injustice towards the innocent are exposed and clearly stated. The novel is a story of a young girl and her coming of age in the Deep South. As she grows in age, she begins to understand the unjust ways of the world, and how some people who are accused, such as Tom Robinson and Arthur “Boo” Radley, are faultless. Lee’s symbol of the mockingbird is a representation of these characters. She shares her opinion that it is a sin, physically and verbally, to attack them.

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Despite race discrimination around the world, there are still people who overcome and persevere through these challenges - often at great risk to themselves. During the 1930s, in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, a small town called Maycomb held a trial against an innocent African American man accused of raping a Caucasian woman. The reader experiences life in Maycomb through the eyes of ten year old girl name Jean-Louise Finch, Scout. In this case, Atticus Finch, Scout’s father, was assigned to be the lawyer for the accused, Tom Robinson. However, Atticus has integrity and tries his best for Tom even if his own life is at risk.

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Jasmine Guinness, a designer and a fashion model, once said “Be kind, don’t judge, and have respect for others. If we can all do this, the world would be a better place. The point is to teach this to the next generation.” In the small town of Maycomb there are many characters that get wrongfully accused that are like mockingbirds, they never do anything that is harmful to anyone else, and all they do is help. In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee there are many mockingbird figures including Tom Robinson, Arthur “Boo” Radley, and Jem Finch.

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In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Tom Robinson and Arthur “Boo” Radley are two characters who represent the mockingbird. In the midst of finding who Boo truly is, Atticus Finch explains to his children, Jem and Scout, that it is a sin to kill the bird because they don’t do anything but make music. As the story progresses, and the two “mockingbirds” are being accused and attacked both verbally and physically, the identity of the mockingbirds surfaces. Tom Robinson was a crippled African American man whose left arm was a foot shorter than his right, where it was caught in a cotton gin.

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To Kill A Mockingbird Literary Analysis Throughout To Kill A MockingBird, by Harper Lee there are many acts of courage. This is shown in Atticus Finch, Jem Finch, and Boo Radley. Atticus shows the most courage in the book but all three of these characters show true courage in some way, shape, or form. Boo Radley showed a lot of courage, but he was not in the storyline as much as Atticus. Throughout To Kill A Mockingbird, courage is defined as standing up for people and doing what’s right.

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In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee many characters are victims of the harsh conditions of Maycomb County. Often those who are seen to be metaphorical mockingbirds are punished the most. A mockingbird is one who only wants and attempts to do good. Characters such as Boo Radley, Jem Finch and Tom Robinson are exemplars of mockingbirds in Maycomb. In the novel it is explained by Atticus that killing a mockingbird is a sin because they do not do anything to harm to us like nesting in corncribs, or eating up the gardens, they only sing for us.

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You probably heard of the golden rule” Treat others how you want to be treated” In to kill a mockingbird. That rule is expressed within many characters. To kill a mockingbird by Harper Lee is a realistic fiction book. Tkam has many characters.

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Three Mockingbirds In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird shows three people that symbolize a mockingbird. Mockingbirds are known as innocent creatures in this novel. The novel takes place in Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930’s. It’s about two children growing up to learn the harsh and racist world they live in.

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Option 2 Literary Analysis To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a novel set during the 1930s in a small town in Southern Alabama called Maycomb. The story is told through the narrator, Scout, a young girl who lives with her father, a lawyer, and her older brother Jem. As a child, Scout is portrayed as a stubborn and obnoxious little girl who loves to read, play with her brother Jem, and fantasize about her mysterious neighbor, Boo Radley. However, her life gets turned upside down when Scout’s father agrees to do something that is deemed unacceptable in the south; he agrees to defend Tom Robinson, a black man who is accused of raping a white girl. Instantly, Atticus and his family go from being respected and beloved by their town, to being

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Tom Robinson is a young African-American who's been accused of raping and abusing Mayella Ewell, a young and closeted white woman. Racial discrimination is hinted throughout Tom’s trial as Atticus Finch explains to Jem that a white man’s word will always win over that of a black man’s - "... In our courts, when it's a white man's word against a black man's, the white man always wins. They're ugly, but those are the facts of life" (220). Atticus explains to Jem that in the courts of Maycomb, a black man’s state of innocence or guilt is truly determined by a white man’s testimony.

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In her novel, Harper Lee uses the aforementioned mockingbird analogy many times to call to a common theme: someone being attacked, despite their innocence. With the most prominent “Mockingbirds”

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In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee the term mockingbird symbolizes innocence in a person. In the novel it focuses on the fact that innocence, represented by the mockingbird, can be wrongfully harmed. There are two characters: Tom Robinson and Arthur “Boo” Radley that are supposed to represent the mockingbird. In the novel, Tom Robinson is the best example of a mockingbird because he is prosecuted for a crime he did not commit. Also, he was judged unfairly based on the color of his skin in his trial.

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