ipl-logo

To Kill A Mockingbird Shot Analysis

1233 Words5 Pages

Why is it wrong to shoot a mockingbird? After Uncle Jack taught Jem and Scout to shoot guns, Atticus told them they could shoot bluejays, but to “remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird”(119). Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird explores the idea of prejudice through this metaphor of shooting at birds. Bob Ewell is the bluejay of Maycomb. In Maycomb, Boo Radley, Tom Robinson, and Atticus Finch are mockingbirds. Ewell is used by Lee to illustrate how the majority of people give bluejays free reign to do harm even though they deserve to be ‘shot’. Through Boo, Tom, and Atticus, Lee demonstrates how mockingbirds are nothing but altruistic, despite the fact that they are victimized. Bluejays like Bob Ewell are given the blind eye by the majority …show more content…

Boo Radley is a harmless person. Yet, rumors run rampant around the town. Some folks say that Boo stabbed his father in the leg. Others whisper that he eats raw animals and has bloodstained hands. He is made to look like a monster. For a man who is shy and kind, these rumors would feel crushing. Jem, Dill, and Scout also partake in the hunt of Boo. When the kids try to force Boo to come out, they are in essence trying to bring him into the limelight. The situation is further exacerbated when Jem, Dill, and Scout compose a play out of his life. Later, Scout says that bringing Boo out into the public eye would be like “shootin’ a mockingbird”(370). Putting the life of an innocent recluse on display would be horrifying for that person. Boo has no desire for that attention and to force him into that situation is cruel. As Boo knows, even those who love you can harm you. After Boo has a run-in with the law, his father kept him inside the house. This seclusion may have led to Boo’s reclusive nature. Jem and Scout, Boo’s ‘children’, are his only interaction with people outside his family. When Nathan Radley fills the knothole, he severs the possibility of Boo’s relationship with the children to grow. It is obvious that Boo cares about Scout and Jem deeply. To take away part of this relationship, would be devastating for Boo. In a sense, everyone around Boo Radley is trying to kill the soul of a

Open Document