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To Kill A Mockingbird Innocence Quotes

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When one witnesses the brutal act of harming someone or something that is innocent it leaves an indelible mark on her coming of age. This is done by overturning her naivement into maturity and encouraging her to form her own opinions on the world around her. In the book To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee these ideas are clearly portrayed. The ideas are demonstrated when the readers learn that killing a mockingbird in Maycomb is a crime due to the fact that it is immoral to harm something that is innocent. Tom Robbinson is symbolic of a mockingbird due to his innocence, and he facilitates Scout's coming of age by bringing out her maturity and showing her to formulate her own opinions about the world around her. “They’re burning all the witches even if they aren’t one.” -Taylor Swift Witch-hunts …show more content…

This quote is a perfect example of Tom Robinson, a black man who the people of Maycomb inappropriately label as a criminal and therefore act prejudiced against. Tom can be likened to a mockingbird in the sense that he too is innocent. Furthermore, it is a criminal offense to kill a mockingbird because everyone knows they are harmless creatures that do no wrong. Unfortunately for Tom, this precedent does not apply to black men in Maycomb even once they are proven innocent. This is seen during Tom Robinson’s trial just before Judge Taylor announces if he is guilty of asssuluting and raping Mayella Ewell. Bob Ewell says, “Oh, yes, that’d make it her right. It was her right eye, Mr. Finch. I remember now, she was bunged up on that side of her face…. ” (Lee 192). The fact that Mayella’s right eye was hit implies that her attacker is left handed. However, Lee’s audience learns Tom cannot be a lefty when Scout speaks about Robinson saying, “His left arm was fully 12 inches shorter than his right, and hung dead at his side. It ended in a small shriveled hand, and from as

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679 Words | 3 Pages

Mr. Finch asked Mr. Tate if he called for a doctor, and Heck Tate said Mayella did not go to the hospital after he found her. Mayella’s father also did not call for a doctor. Secondly, some of their stories don’t line up together, and they had more evidence proving him innocent than guilty. At the end of the trial, it still wasn’t clear what side of Mayella was banged up, two said right, and one said left.

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965 Words | 4 Pages

Harper Lee is a very famous Author who wrote the book to kill a Mockingbird. The title of the book mean to kill innocence because a Mockingbird is a symbol of innocence. The book takes place during the Great Depression in Maycomb Alabama. In her novel to kill a Mockingbird lee uses Tom, Atticus, Boo Radley as the human embodiment of the Mockingbird.

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505 Words | 3 Pages

We know this because Mr. Tate says on trial ” Oh yes, that makes it her right eye. It was her right eye”. When someone is inflicting harm to the face using a fist by instinct you usually punch straight toward the face not diagonally. This is important to note because Tom Robinson didn't have a left arm as he told Atticus I can't “use my left hand at all.

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134 Words | 1 Pages

The trial that was held two days ago included an innocent man, Mr. Tom Robinson, being tried in court for rape and abuse. Miss Mayella was badly beaten on the right side of her face. For Mr. Robinson to beat Ms. Ewell on the right side of her face it would require him using his left hand. When Tom was a boy, he got his arm caught in a cotton gin while working for Mr. Dolphin Raymond. When his arm got caught in the gin, it made his left arm twelve inches shorter than his right.

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698 Words | 3 Pages

‘Her left.’ ‘Wait a minute, Sheriff,’ said Atticus. ‘Was it her left facing you or her left looking the same way you were?’ Mr Tate said, ‘Oh yes, that’d make it right. It was her right eye, Mr. Finch.’”

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432 Words | 2 Pages

In the novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, the idea of innocence is said in the most wises quote “it is a sin to kill a mockingbird”. Lee develops the idea of the point of view and symbolism throughout the novel. Throughout the novel, Scout is portrayed as innocent, since it is told by Atticus, a child, meaning that scout won't be able to fully understand all the racism happening in Maycomb. Scout won't have a fully understandable meaning of all the bigotry until after the trial, she finally realizes after Tom Robinson's trial and sees how unfair all this is.

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904 Words | 4 Pages

For example, when Tom Robinson’s court is in trial, the testimony stated that Mayella had hand marks all around her neck and a bruise on her right eye and Atticus shows how, “[Tom Robinson’s] left arm was fully twelve inches shorter than his right, and hung dead at his side.” Tom Robinson could not have choked Mayella with both hands since he was crippled. Tom Robinson also would have trouble punching Mayella in her right eye since when using your hand, you tend to swing at the nearest target, which would have been her left eye. Furthermore, when Atticus, distraught, is speaking about Tom Robinson’s death, he states “They said if he’d had two good arms he’d have made it, he was moving that fast. Seventeen bullet holes in him” (Lee 239).

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543 Words | 3 Pages

Tom Robinson is on trial for the sexual assault of a white woman also known as Mayella Ewell. Tom Robinson had to experience injustice and was criticized just because he is black and black men are all “bad”. There was no proof that he actually raped Mayella, but he was accused and really innocent. At the trial, the witness said, “Mayella Ewell was hit on her right eye.” But, how could he hit her right eye when Tom’s left hand was completely impossible to use.

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687 Words | 3 Pages

It states ““Her father saw it, and the defendant has testified as to his remarks. What did her father do? We don’t know, but there is circumstantial evidence to indicate that Mayella Ewell was beaten savagely by someone who led almost exclusively with his left. We do know in part what Mr. Ewell did: he did what any God-fearing, persevering, respectable white man would do under the circumstances—he swore out a warrant, no doubt signing it with his left hand, and Tom Robinson now sits before you, having taken the oath with the only good hand he possesses—his right hand.” (To Kill A Mockingbird).

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1299 Words | 6 Pages

“Another reason, the simplest, the ugliest, was that this hitherto peaceful congregation of neighbors and old friends had suddenly to endure the unique experience of distrusting each other; understandably, they believed that the murder was among themselves…” (pg. 88) Holcomb have been described as a town out in the countryside in which everyone knew each other. Before the murders of the Clutter family, there was a sense of security and comfort among the people of Holcomb. The significance of this quote shows the people’s loss of innocence and the sheltered lifestyle they once had. After the tragedy, they are forced to realize the true nature of humans.

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243 Words | 1 Pages

Jem is Shaped and Influenced by Society Jem, Scout's brother, from To Kill A Mockingbird is shaped and influenced by his society around him. Jem lives in the small town of Maycomb which is deeply rooted in racial injustices. Jem is initially unaware of the racial division but quickly sees the harsh reality of the world. Jem tells Scout, “There are just some kind of men who-who’re so busy worrying about the next world they’ve never learned to live in this one” (Chapter 23).

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989 Words | 4 Pages

To Kill a Mockingbird When you think of innocence do you think of a mockingbird? Well, in her novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee foreshadows the loss of innocence through her symbolic significance of the Snowman, Mad dog, and the Mockingbird itself. First, Harper Lee uses the Snowman to foreshadow the loss of innocence. The Snowman was built out of mud and snow by two innocent children, Jem and Scout. Scout says, “Jem I ain’t ever heard of a nigger snowman” (89).

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812 Words | 4 Pages

Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird is set in the 1930’s America. The main characters, Scout and Jem live in a world filled with racial bias and prejudice. While a major court trial is going on, Scout and Jem are trying to make sense of all that is happening, but they are pure children in a world filled with hateful people. Overall, Harper Lee includes a strong theme of innocence throughout her novel. This theme idea relates to the symbol of the book, the mockingbird, in the fact that, “it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird,” so killing a mockingbird is destroying this overall idea of innocence.

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1116 Words | 5 Pages

In the book To Kill A Mockingbird and Of Mice And Men, almost most of the characters lie about something. People lie even if they’re innocent because they want to protect themselves from being an outcast. Calpurnia lies about being able to read, Dolphus Raymond lies about being an alcoholic, and even worse, Mayella lies about Tom Robinson raping her. All of these false accusations lead to consequences and the only reason these people did this is because they’re too worried about their social standing in their community and they don’t want to be looked at any differently than anybody else.

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1411 Words | 6 Pages

Alexander Timmerman Vande Gutchte Honors English B May 9, 2024 To Kill A Mockingbird Symbolism Scout narrates, “When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow.”(Lee 3). Most readers may look past this because it may feel irrelevant to the rest of the story, but in reality, it foreshadows the end of the novel. Harper Lee published the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, during the Civil Rights movement in 1960. The novel is set in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama, in the early 1930s. It features the life of a 6-year-old girl, Scout, her brother, Jem, her family, and the people of Maycomb.

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