Throughout the story of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Scout Finch and her brother, Jem, encountered the many trials of living in the small county of Maycomb, Alabama. Within their society, the ingrained principle was that those of lighter colored skin were superior to those of darker skin. The black members of the community were looked down upon as slaves and simply used for labor. Although this was the common practiced belief, it created immense corruption and cold-heartedness amongst some of the white skinned dwellers of Maycomb. The word of a white man would always trump the word of a black man; this is shown in the narrative of the villain of the story, Bob Ewell, a man who enjoyed employing prejudice and racism towards black people to an …show more content…
Ewell being a malicious evil introduced to the children’s lives, his very presence contributed to the meaning of the story. Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, the children learn that every person is not what they seem and with every trial comes a lesson. In Chapter 10, Atticus Finch says, “‘ remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird’” (119). The significance of this quote is later understood by Scout Finch; it was a sin to kill a peaceful creature that never harmed anyone. Mr. Ewell’s wrongdoings lead to the death of Tom Robinson, and later he himself was killed for his unjust actions. The mockingbird was symbolic of Tom’s true, pure heart, and his death was because of nothing but the inequities within society. Mr. Ewell’s sin caused sorrow and horror in Scout’s life, but it also lead to her realization that discrimination was wrong, something that Atticus wished for her to know all along. Further along in the story, Scout’s growth is proved when Atticus suggests sending Boo Radley to trial for killing Bob Ewell. Scout says, “‘Well, it’d be sort of like shootin’ a mockingbird, wouldn’t it?’” (276). In summary, she learns from Bob Ewell that mistreating someone with good intentions was a sin in