Mockingbirds In A River of Racism and Prejudice A mockingbird is a person of innocence, kindness and decency who is slowly washed away by the strong, flowing river of racism and prejudice. Sometimes, the mockingbird is completely washed away but in some cases, there are still little parts of them floating in the river. In the quiet town of Maycomb during the Great Depression, two mockingbirds fly closer to the river than anyone else. Boo Radley, a man who lives in the darkness, and Tom Robinson, a man with dark skin. In the the story ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’, the mockingbird is a symbol, represented by Boo Radley and Tom Robinson, because it shows how judging others based on appearance can be harmful to the person who is being criticized. Boo Radley is a man whose pureness was robbed because of the way people thought of him throughout the novel. First and foremost, in the very beginning of the book, Scout looks back on her childhood as an adult. She talks about how Maycomb was back in the day and describes how people in the neighborhood thought about Boo Radley. Scout explains, “People said he went out at night when the moon was down, and peeped in windows. When people’s azaleas froze in a cold snap, it was because he had breathed on them” (Lee 10). The people of Maycomb think of the Radley’s as an urban legend. Since Boo Radley hardly ever came out of his home, these accusations were made based on what people wanted to think of Boo. Without even knowing