To Kill A Mockingbird Analysis

975 Words4 Pages
Boo Radley, a character who never comes out of his house and sounds as scary as his name portrays an important theme in Harper Lee’s classic To Kill A Mockingbird. The classic is rich with themes and inspires many people to learn from these themes. One of the main themes is developed by Tim Johnson, the pet of Maycomb, Tom Robinson, a black man convicted of rape, and Boo Radley. The theme these characters are developing is that it is a sin to hurt or kill something that is not harmful. Tim Johnson is a marvelous dog that brings joy to the town of Maycomb, but Atticus kills Tim. While Jem and Scout are playing, they see Tim Johnson down the street. Scout describes him as, “Tim was a liver-colored bird dog, the pet of Maycomb,” (Lee 122). This shows how Tim is an old dog that is originally the “pet of Maycomb”. Since he is the pet of Maycomb, he must be nice and joyful. He brings no harm to the town instead, brings joy to the town so, in this case, he is the mockingbird. Jem and Scout find Tim acting strangely so, they call Calpurnia. She runs inside then, calls Atticus and says: “‘I swear to God there’s a mad dog down the street a piece—he’s comin’ this way’” (Lee 123). Tim is a “mad dog” and he is coming towards them. Tim has rabies, a disease, and this is not his fault, but he is a real threat and can harm someone. Then, Atticus arrives with Heck and Atticus is being forced to kill Tim and Atticus does. Scout says: “The rifle cracked. Tim Johnson leaped, flopped over and