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To Kill A Mockingbird Innocence Quotes

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"I'd rather you shoot at tin cans in the back yard, but I know you'll go after birds. Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."(Atticus 90) Atticus mentions the mockingbirds in his quote to symbolize respect for innocent. The story is told through the character of Scout, a young girl living in Maycomb, Alabama during The Great Depression. Throughout the novel, Scout and her brother, Jem, try to convince Boo Radley, the town phantom, to show his face so they can find out who he really is. Additionally, Scout watches her father, Atticus Finch, defend Tom Robinson, a black man who has been falsely accused of raping Mayella Ewell who is an abused, white woman. In the end, Tom is found guilty and …show more content…

In To Kill a Mockingbird, the title itself is significant to the book. The author Harper Lee uses the symbol of the bird to reveal innocence. The symbol of the mockingbird, a bird that is beneficial because it gives pleasure, is reinforced through the characters of Tom Robinson and Boo Radley. Harper Lee uses Tom to develop her thematic statement that some people only want to help but get hurt by those who misunderstand them. “‘Mr. Finch, I got down offa that chair an’ turned around an’ she sorta jumped on me.’...he would not have dared strike a white woman under any circumstances and expected to live long.” (Lee 194-195) From the previous quote the audience learns that Tom was sexualy attacked by Mayella. Mayella thinks it’s okay for her to pursue a black man. She doesn't understand why she can’t

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408 Words | 2 Pages

Meanwhile, Scout and her brother Jem are interested in seeing Boo Radley, a man who has been rumored to had murdered his own father. On the other hand, the children’s father Atticus, a lawyer, takes on the case of Tom Robinson- a black man accused of raping Mayella Ewell. After Tom was declared guilty,a humiliated Bob Ewell tries to murders the Finch children for revenge, only for Boo Radley to save the children. Scout then looks at Boo, realizing to look from another person’s perspective.

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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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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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543 Words | 3 Pages

Mockingbirds: Emblems of innocence in To Kill A Mockingbird There are many mockingbirds in the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. The image of mockingbirds represent many people in the story and how many people take advantage of them for their own benefits. Scout, a young girl who lives in Maycomb is the story’s protagonist. She lives with her brother and father and occasionally meets Calpurnia their cook. For instance, Tom Robinson and Calpurnia are treated differently because of their skin color, however they are very close to the Finch family.

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1295 Words | 6 Pages

She did not have any friends and was a loner. When Atticus asked Tom why he spoke to Mayella, Tom responded “I felt right sorry for her, she seemed to try more the rest of 'em." (Lee 264). When another person saw Mayella talking to Tom, Mayella became scared and decided to lie that Tom raped her. The jury came into the court knowing they were going to be on the side of Mayella because Tom was black.

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885 Words | 4 Pages

Then some people thought that Tom was innocent but the judge decided to make Tom go to prison. In the book it said that Mayella hugged and kissed Tom on the cheek. From this I can infer that Mayella is desperate and can get away with this because Tom Robinson is a black person. This reminds me of a couple southern movies I’ve watched where black people are always the first to suspect because of their color. Tom Robinson on trial for his life said Bob Ewell yelled “whore I’ll kill you” when he saw Mayella kiss Tom from the window.

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623 Words | 3 Pages

Mayella lives with her father and her smaller siblings. In the book Mayella Ewell has accused Tom Robinson,a black poor man with a left crippled arm of raping her. During this time blacks were in a lower class than all whites. Atticus Finch has two children,Scout and Jem. Atticus Finch,Tom Robinson’s lawyer finds evidence that Tom is innocent.

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465 Words | 2 Pages

She accused Tom Robinson of rape to cover up for her dad who beat her up. Because Mayella is white, most of the whites agree with what she is saying and that she is telling the truth, on the other hand, the blacks do not agree with Mayella and they agree with Tom. “It is difficult to be compassionate in the midst of suffering.” (Six Habits) Scout wants to feel compassion for Mayella, but she is endangering a man's life by accusing him of a terrible crime he did not commit.

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953 Words | 4 Pages

“They don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” (page). The novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a fictional piece which captures the fictional lives of a small county set in Alabama during the 1930s. The novel takes place in Maycomb County, and is through the eyes of the narrator, Jean Louise or also known as Scout.

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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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1020 Words | 5 Pages

Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird”’[119]. Scout is confused about what Atticus said, so she consults her neighbor Miss Maudie for clarification. Miss Maudie tells her, “‘Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird”’[119].

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802 Words | 4 Pages

Scout, her brother, Jem, and their friend Dill are intrigued by Boo Radley, their mysterious neighbor. An African American named Tom Robinson is accused of raping a white woman called Mayella Ewell. Atticus, Scout and Jem's father, defends Tom in court but he is unfortunately convicted.

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635 Words | 3 Pages

“It’s a sin to kill a Mockingbird.. (119)” This is a quote from the renowned book ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ said by the character Atticus Finch to the main character's brother Jem Finch. Atticus says this to Jem because he doesn't want him to shoot the innocent birds or things. Mockingbirds are kindred souls, they’re wonderful creatures who don’t do anything but sing their divine songs. Furthermore mockingbirds are everywhere in life far and wide, but mockingbirds aren’t just birds, they can also be human.

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1310 Words | 6 Pages

That n***** yonder took advantage of me an’ if you fine fancy gentlemen don’t wanta do nothing about it then you're all yellow stinkin cowards”. (Pg 213) Everyone in town knows that Mayella, a white teenager, made advances toward Tom, a married black man, which would be a disgrace to her and the white community. The fact that she accused him of raping her, which caused him to be killed, is about the most evil thing a person can do. However, there is a flip side to Mayella. Mayella has an awful family life.

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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.

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