Jawairia Malik
Cunningham
English 9A
1 June 2023
To Kill a Mockingbird: Wrong-Doing To Good People
"Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy…"(Lee, 103). Harper Lee published To Kill A Mockingbird in 1960. It follows six-year-old Scout, her ten-year-old brother Jem, and their friend Dill. The story takes place from 1933 to 1935, amidst the Great Depression. Maycomb Alabama is a town deeply rooted in racism, and as the kids explore the town of Maycomb, they learn many things along the way. Throughout the summer, Scout, Jem, and Dill stalk their “mysterious neighborhood phantom”, Arthur Radley, known to the kids as “Boo”. As the story progresses, the storyline of Boo intertwines with a trial Atticus takes on. Atticus defends
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Mockingbirds are an important symbol in the novel. Mockingbirds are distinguished for their pure, innocent personalities, and sweet music. Two characters who are representations of the innocent mockingbird are primarily Boo Radley and Tom Robinson. Through the theme of destroyed innocence, Harper Lee teaches readers that doing harm to undeserving people is morally incorrect.
Harper Lee’s first example of the mockingbird’s significance is through Boo Radley. Boo is perceived by the town as a “malevolent phantom”. Boo is described as “about six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and cats…what teeth he had were yellow and rotten; his eyes popped, and he drooled most of the time”. Other rumors include that Boo stabbed his own father with scissors, he peeps in people’s windows at night, and that he might be the culprit for a crime involving dismembered animals. However, Boo is not what the gossip in Maycomb makes him out to be. Boo is a kind soul, who is harmless. It is evident that Boo is a genuinely kind person through his care for Scout and Jem. Boo’s care for Scout and Jem begins when he observes them through his window. Over time, Boo grows attached