TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
It is common belief in Alabama, where the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee takes place, that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird. To Kill a Mockingbird is a classic novel about the lives of twoy children living in the southern United States in the thirties, along with the racism and prejudice which occurred there. The trial of Tom Robinson, which could be compared to the infamous Scottsboro Trials, entails Tom being unfairly tried for rape. Tom Robinson bears the most resemblance to that of Harper Lee's figurative mockingbird, as he matches Mrs. Maudie’s depiction of a mockingbird almost faultlessly, and his conviction can be associated with killing a mockingbird. Some may say that Atticus could be Lee's mockingbird, but there is more evidence supporting the claim that Harper Lee intended for Tom to symbolize the bird.
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Maudie’s portrayal of a mockingbird almost identically. She explains that “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...” (Lee 119). Tom Robinson resembles the mockingbird as there are certain details or qualities of the mockingbird, principally a constant innocence and inoffensiveness. As he expounds during the trial, Tom helps Mayella merely out of pity, doesn’t do anything to harm or affront anybody, and he works hard for Mr. Link Deas. Since Mr. and Ms. Ewell’s stories contradict each other in various instances, it’s safe to assume that Tom Robinson’s version of the story is the closest to