To Kill a Mockingbird On a rainy day, a man at the bus stop asks for change. The two choices are walking past him avoiding eye contact, or giving him the change with a smile. Before even talking to this man, one may have already made the assumption that he is homeless or a drug addict wanting to buy his next high. But assumptions cannot accurately explain who he is or why he needs money. The novel To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee explores this idea of judging others before looking at the world from their perspective. Scout and Jem, although raised in a prejudice town, learn from their father Atticus that who a person is racially, does not define them as a person. Although the children make up stories about Arthur “Boo” Radley to pass the time in part one of the novel, in part two the Tom Robinson situation widens their eyes to the biased ways of their town. In the end, Jem and Scout are rescued by Boo Radley, the very person they feared during their childhood. Mockingbirds are used as a symbol in the novel to portray the fact that innocent and caring people are sometimes the most abused. The theme of presumptions and the dangers of judging others are explored through the childhood fable of Boo, the story of Atticus, and the trial of Tom Robinson; the mockingbirds. The residents of Maycomb County delight in gossiping about their neighbors, including those who are isolated. Because Arthur Radley, in most of the novel remained inside with no contact to the