ipl-logo

Theme Of Innocence In To Kill A Mockingbird

921 Words4 Pages

Innocence is a rare thing in a world full of guilty consciences. Set in the late 1930’s, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird accurately portrays the idea of small town life where racism ruled all, opinions spread like wildfire, and the innocent were suffering while the guilty were saved. It can be difficult to find people with honest intentions and a pure heart, which is why Tom Robinson, Mr. Raymond and Boo Radley are such significant characters in the understanding of purity within the novel. Tom Robinson was a black man convicted for a crime that he had been proven innocent for as a consequence of his ethnicity. Mr Dolphus Raymond, the town “drunk”, was branded an outcast for his choice to have a Negro as a partner. Boo (Arthur) …show more content…

Dolphus Raymond this was especially tough. This man lived the life we wanted to live, loved who he wanted to love and did nothing to try and change this. He was constantly questioned by his neighbours, he was a white man with a Negro partner. Raymond enjoyed his life, he did nothing to disturb anyone around him. Although he was happy he felt the need to provide justification for his actions by acting drunk all of the time. Mr. Raymond had to ruin his reputation so that he could live a peaceful life without harassments, he suffered from social injustice from others when he was doing nothing wrong. This man had not done anything wrong to anyone but the citizens of Maycomb disapproved of his way of life and so he suffered. Mr. Raymond had a Negro partner and mixed children, he did not conform to the ways of the town, he was not racist and because of this he was exiled from society. He was considered a disgrace, and this mockingbird saved himself from the certain social death he would have faced had he not acted drunk to allow others justification for his …show more content…

In To Kill a Mockingbird we learn about how these sorts of judgements can effect a person, how this type of prejudice can damage an innocent soul. It is a sin to kill a mockingbird, “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing except make music for us to enjoy” (Lee, 103), their innocent. Boo Radley was unjustly defamed for the way of life he chose to live. Tom Robinson, a totally innocent man, was sentenced to death because of his skin colour. Mr. Raymond, a man essentially forced to ruin his own reputation to avoid cruel remarks from his neighbours. These three characters are all symbols of mockingbirds, they were innocent people who suffered from unjust discrimination. Innocence is rare, In To Kill a Mockingbird, rather than it being cherished and respected, it is destroyed. The innocents drown in society’s prejudice towards those who do not comply, and the deceitful raise

Show More
Related
501 Words | 3 Pages

In Harper Lee's coming of age book To Kill a Mockingbird unfair judgements affected characters coming from different upbringings. And although Boo Radley, and Tom Robinson came from different backgrounds they both had similar experiences regarding prejudice. To begin, both Boo and Tom have had trouble with the law through different incidents. For example, as a white child with a high socioeconomic status he was arrested for harassing a beadle when he was in a gang. He was arrested, and was going to be sent to an institution with the rest of the offenders, but as a foot washing baptist his father had no mercy decided to keep him locked up in the jail.

Read More
697 Words | 3 Pages

Raymond then met his wife, who is black. Ever since he got married to a black woman, the town of Maycomb had looked down on him just as they do on the rest of the black folks. Even though Dolphus Raymond came from a good, white family just like anyone else from Maycomb, he is hated just the same as the black folks but still does not wish to start controversy. Dolphus Raymond represents

Read More
147 Words | 1 Pages

In private, he's is sober and friendly family man who hates the cruelty of maycomb society. Dolphus Raymond builds a public identity of drunkenness to hide his disgust with Maycomb and allow his neighbors to think that they understand him; he is nothing but an alcoholic who doesn’t know what he’s doing. This allows him to live with blacks, to father mixed children, and to take a black woman for a wife, crossing the racial divide of Maycomb County. I feel that Mr. Dolphus

Read More
879 Words | 4 Pages

Tom Robinson is a vulnerable member of society, sent to his death by men privileged because of the whiteness of their skin, and a perfect example of a “mockingbird”: innocence tarnished by

Read More
543 Words | 3 Pages

I didn't wanta be ugly, I didn't wanta push her or nothin'. Her father then caught them and make an accusation that Tom was raping her, therefore got charged with rape and even though he had Atticus, a successful and respected lawyer by his side, Tom was found guilty because he was black. Tom tried to escape and while he was running, an officer shot him dead. He symbolizes a mockingbird because he was only doing good needs to a white lady and did not deserve what he got in return, which was contempt and

Read More
888 Words | 4 Pages

Showing them the harsh reality of life with honesty and fearlessness. During this time the Great Depression was hitting the southern town of Maycomb. This novel compares many of its characters to mockingbirds, a symbol of pure innocence. One summer, Atticus, who is a lawyer, finds himself in the middle of a controversial case, involving a African American man, Tom Robinson and a white woman, Mayella. Despite the town throwing hatred towards Atticus and his family, he doesn’t back down because he takes pride in helping the innocent.

Read More
671 Words | 3 Pages

This shows that Mr. Raymond is willing to live with this lie in order to satisfy his neighbors' need to understand his lack of racism. Just like the mockingbird he means no harms to anyone and wishes only to live in peace with his family. Furthermore, Mr Raymond symbolizes a mockingbird because he doesn't like to fight. For instance, when scout asked him why does he pretend he’s drunk, he says When I come to town, if I weave a little and drink out of this sack, folks can say Dolphus Raymond's in the clutches of whiskey—that's why he won't change his ways. He can't help himself, that's why he lives the way he does" it indicates that Mr. Raymond's leads a double life instead of fighting for what he believes in.

Read More
1131 Words | 5 Pages

Lee uses Miss Gates’s ironic views of Hitler and Tom’s trial to show how racial prejudice causes crimes against African Americans to be considered less than crimes committed against white people. A mockingbird is then used to symbolize Tom Robinson as an innocent person wrongly convicted of a crime because of his skin color. The misunderstood characterization of Arthur Radley shows how society will let prejudice guide their imaginated view on the lives of people they don't understand. All three characters provide examples of how a preconceived opinion of one person or a whole race can cause drastic misunderstandings and

Read More
857 Words | 4 Pages

Essay In the novel ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee, there are many important messages shown throughout the book. However the primary focus was set on racial prejudice that existed in the 1930s-1940’s in the fictional town of Maycomb County. The racism in the novel was very much a reality in 1930s-1940s America. A very good example of the racial prejudice that existed was in the courtroom during Tom Robinson’s trial, an innocent Negro man held against his will for a crime he did not commit.

Read More
411 Words | 2 Pages

In the book there are certain characters that are considered mockingbirds because they are innocent and their innocence is destroyed by evil. These characters are Scout, Boo Radley, Jem, and Tom Robinson. Scout’s innocence was destroyed throughout the story as she was exposed to more and more stuff a child her age should not be exposed to. Such as racism. Scout did not really understand racism but because she was exposed she eventually found out about.

Read More
1218 Words | 5 Pages

Robert Adam (1728-1792) Scottish, son of established architect William Adam . He and his brothers created and developed a new trend of style refined from the Rococo style which had been fashioned for decades. The style is commonly known as Adams style. The success is not only because of the idea, the timing but also caused by the later development. Here are the following reasons based on my research.

Read More
747 Words | 3 Pages

Innocence is a word used to describe someone 's purity. Children are prime examples of innocence, as they don’t have judgments and don’t understand mature topics. In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the reader can interpret innocence as the growing up of the children. Specifically, Jem Finch showed a loss of innocence as he grew up. He showed his loss of innocence by not playing games, his more mature use of words and body language, and his different view of the world around him.

Read More
1115 Words | 5 Pages

In our society, innocent people, known as mockingbirds, experience prejudice in their lives. A/T: In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Background: Tom Robinson is a black person who’s was accused of raping a white girl named Mayella Ewell which he has never done. For this reason, Atticus Finch was appointed to be his lawyer. As a result, Atticus takes a stand for him by approving his case and standing up for him, but Tom was still found guilty.

Read More
732 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More
1730 Words | 7 Pages

Mockingbirds are an important symbol because they represent goodness and innocence. In this book, Tom Robinson and Boo Radley are two innocent men, similar to mockingbirds, who get taken advantage of due to their innocence. Atticus and Miss Maudie teach Scout and Jem that it’s a sin to harm anything innocent by using the example of mockingbirds. Mockingbirds are innocent because they only positively affect people through their singing.

Read More

More about Theme Of Innocence In To Kill A Mockingbird

Related Topics

Open Document