“Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy...But sing their heart out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird” (Lee 94). In the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, there are plenty of symbols to learn from. This essay will focus on just one: The mockingbird. Harper Lee uses the mockingbird as a symbol to represent kindness, peace, and love of someone who is innocent that is being discriminated upon due to their differences. One lesson the mockingbird teaches the reader is to never discriminate others. For a mockingbird represents the kind hearted innocent being hurt upon in anyway. In the book, Scout finds an inch worm and starts playing with it until Jem tells her to stop as he sees Tom Robinson …show more content…
For when the innocent are being hunted, the mockingbird appears. Arthur (Boo) Radley saves Jem and Scout’s life. Later on Scout figures out who the man is that saved her and Jem, while Atticus and the Sheriff argue over if Jem killed Mr.Ewell or not. Scout says to Atticus, “‘Well, it’d be sort of like shootin’ a mockingbird, wouldn’t it?’ [Atticus responds] ‘Thank you for saving my children, Arthur’” (Lee 370). This quote shows the readers proof again that Arthur (Boo) Radley is a mockingbird for he only contributes to the good of others. Atticus describes a mockingbird as a peaceful creature that brings cheer while never bothering anyone. Arthur shows this characteristic by never damaging anyone and sharing his enjoyment with Jem and Scout. He does this while also being persecuted by the county for being an outcast. In a similar way, Tom Robinson was convicted by the jury of Maycomb while being an outcast beforehand. He is sent to jail after the trial and loses hope of ever being free. Scout explains what Tom said to Atticus, “The last thing he said to Atticus before they took him down to the prison camp was, ‘Good-bye, Mr. Finch, there ain’t nothin’ you can do now, so there ain’t no use trying’” (Lee 314). The quote is showing the death or dying of a mockingbird. The mockingbird represents the decaying of the innocent. As readers, Tom Robinson is seen as a mockingbird due to him being truly innocent and now has to suffer the pain, while also losing all hope. This happens to him for he is made an outcast by the whole community; not for what he did, but because he was black and not white. Already before the trial, he was seen as guilty by the people, for he was a colored man and not a white man. Both Tom Robinson and Arthur (Boo) Radley represent mockingbirds. Innocent men that have done nothing wrong, that are persecuted because they are different. While they try to only do what is