Have you been blamed for something you didn’t do? It doesn’t feel good, especially if you know who did it. In “To Kill a Mockingbird”, by Harper Lee, Tom Robinson, an accused rapist, went through many trials and was still put in jail even though much evidence was shown to prove that he wasn’t guilty. All of this happened because of the color of his skin. In the book Harper Lee, the author portrays innocence and the value of protecting it. Lee shows the reader the symbol of “the Mockingbird”. Tom Robinson lives in a society where innocence is decided by the color of your skin. This sadly leads to his downfall. Atticus explains to Scout and Jem that Boo Radley, the mysterious neighbor, is an example of a mockingbird. In the text it says, “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy” (Lee 90). This piece of evidence shows that Boo has never intended to hurt or bother anyone. The book also explains how mockingbirds are innocent creatures that do not harm, Atticus explains to Scout that she can’t shoot mockingbirds because there's no need to kill them, "Remember it's a sin to kill a …show more content…
Atticus shows how this quote is wrong because he knew Tom’s case was going too hard, but he still did it and he taught his kids that you never give up on people. Atticus fought hard for Tom, and he talked about his situation, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view” (Lee 30). Atticus also talks about the trial and how people only believe in Mayella because she’s white. No one knows what happened between them, only they know “People generally see what they look for and hear what they listen for” (Lee 30). This shows how Tom was only guilty because of the color of his skin. There were multiple pieces of evidence showing he wasn’t guilty because Tom Robinson was as innocent as a singing