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To Kill A Mocking Bird Analysis

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In the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, mockingbirds symbolize innocence, as they are peaceful, sing beautiful songs and cause no harm. In chapter 10 of the book Harper Lee mentions something that is very eye catching which is “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.” This caught my eye as that it even mentions that it was the only thing that Atticus ever said was a sin. What made this even more interesting was Miss Maudie’s response to scout asking why it a sin to kill mockingbirds “‘Your father’s right,’ she said. ‘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. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.’” This made me see that mockingbirds have a deeper meaning in the story, especially that they are part of the title. Mockingbirds are called like that because they mimic or mock the songs of other birds. This means that a mockingbird is seen through the songs of other birds. The people of Maycomb only knew Boo Radley and Tom …show more content…

Both of them where innocent, but when people “Shot” them, they lost their innocence. People started hating them before they even knew about them. Many people spread rumors about Boo Radley, when in fact, none knew a thing about him. People thought he was a maniac, essentially “killing” him. The same goes for Tom Robinson. After the accusation of rape, Tom was a seen as an evil beast. Bob Ewell thinks that Tom is an animal who abused and violated his daughter. The sad part is that in the end Boo Radley is forced to kill Bob Ewell to save Scouts and Jems lives, while Tom Robinson is killed. This book tells a story of 2 “mockingbirds” that got killed through Scout’s

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I am reading To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. The book is about a child named Scout who grows up during the 1930’s around the time of the great depression. While she grows up she is taught life lessons and learns to see people in different ways. Some people she learns more about are Tom Robinson, a man who her father is defending in court, and Boo Radley, her neighbor who never comes out of his house. Scout is also confronted with a lot of situations where she is not old enough to understand at her young age, but as the reader hears her reading from an older perspective she realizes these situations were important.

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Later Scout asks Mrs. Maudie, the Finch's next-door neighbor, about what Atticus said and she explains, “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 103). This means mockingbirds directly symbolize innocents, when Mrs. Maudie says they don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs she means they don't do anything wrong. So it would be a sin to kill something or someone that is innocent. Later in the book after Tom Robinson is found guilty even though Atticus proves his innocence beyond responsible doubt and it is shown to the courtroom that Bob Ewell is the true perpetrator.

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It portrays mockingbirds as very innocent animals that do nothing to harm us. They do not bother humans but rather make music for us instead. This quote lays out the basis for what a mockingbird is and what they symbolize. The novel presents several characters as mockingbirds, a representation of innocence injured or destroyed through contact with evil; specifically,

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Lee uses the mockingbird as a symbol of evoking empathy in the novel. She writes, “I’d rather you shoot a tin can in the backyard, but I know you’ll go after the birds. Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit them, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (Lee119). Atticus is explaining to Scout to not kill the mockingbird because it’s a sin. Lee evokes empathy by using the mockingbird to symbolize innocence.

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The Mockingbird is originally brought up as the only thing Atticus has ever called a sin, which is why Scout remembers it. Atticus says, “Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a Mockingbird” (Lee 103). Later on, it is stated that it is a sin to kill a Mockingbird because they are innocent, and all they do is sing songs for other people to enjoy. As the plot thickens, we get introduced to a Mockingbird, Tom Robinson, someone who was innocent but got killed. Tom Robinson gets tried for rape and gets sentenced guilty, even though the story did not add up in the slightest, and quickly becomes a victim of overkill.

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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. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (To Kill a Mockingbird 119). Lee put this into the book because she wanted the Mockingbird to represent

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The mockingbird in To Kill A Mockingbird is symbolic of innocence. Early in the novel, Atticus, the father tells the children Scout and Jem that it is a "sin to kill a mockingbird". Later Scout asks Miss Maudie what he meant by that because she has never heard her father say anything was a sin. Miss Maudie explains his reasoning by saying that all mockingbirds do is provide beautiful music. They do not harm anyone, they don't bother anyone, and they "sing their hearts out for us."

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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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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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but I know you’ll go after birds. Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird’” (Lee 119). Atticus says that killing a mockingbird is a sin. It is a sin because a mockingbird is innocent.

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The saying “to kill a mocking bird is sin” is a common saying back then, maybe until now it’s still being used. The saying says “killing a mocking bird is sin” because mocking birds doesn’t really do any harm they just sing out with their hearts a tune. The book refers to this saying meaning that the innocence are taken away intentionally by the the accusers or townsfolk. In the book there are two or three “mockingbirds” they were misunderstood, accused, or just fighting for justice but the townsfolk just turned their backs on them.

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The novel To Kill a Mockingbird is so titled because there are several characters in the story which could be consisted mockingbirds. Tom Robinson and Boo Radley do not cause any harm, they go about their business without interfering in the lives of others, and however both of them are in turn harmed by the citizens of Maycomb. Harper Lee’s novel examines the dark side of human nature and explores the ramifications of prejudice, racism and bigotry in a time when people were openly hostile to anyone they considered different and inferior. Lee tells her story to highlight the injustices of the South during a time of inequality, discrimination, where the innocent are unfairly punished. Tom Robinson a character in the novel is accused of something

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1004 Words | 5 Pages

It is a sin to kill a Mockingbird. It is a sin because they are innocent, good, protective animals that mind their own business and don 't do anything but good for their community. In Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird there are three mockingbirds in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama. When there was a problem they could solve, they would solve it.

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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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1730 Words | 7 Pages

Scout and Jem have just received air guns from Atticus for Christmas, and they are learning what they’re not allowed to shoot at. Atticus tells them, “‘Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember 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” (119). This is the first time Scout hears Atticus say it is a sin to do something, which means that Atticus is being serious. We know that he hates shooting, because he has kept his skill as a marksman a secret, so when he tells the children they can try to shoot bluejays but not mockingbirds, he gives the idea that mockingbirds are special.

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