According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, innocence is a “lack of worldly experience or sophistication.” Someone who is innocent has not been affected by the cruelty of the world, and has retained some of their purity and naivety. Children are almost always a prime example of innocence. They haven't been in the world long enough to develop some of the nasty habits adults have. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the most prominent motif is the mockingbird. Mockingbirds are beings who embody innocence. Jem and Scout were often told by their father not to kill mockingbirds. To kill a mockingbird means to destroy innocence, either by physically killing the aforementioned mockingbird, or corrupting them with cruelty. Dill Harris, …show more content…
During the Tom Robinson case, Scout, Jem, and Dill snuck into the courthouse in order to see the trial that had the town so worked up. Sitting on a balcony with some members of Calpurnia’s church, they watched multiple testimonies and cross examinations. During one particularly harsh examination, Dill began to cry and had to be taken out of the courthouse. Dill was the epitome of childhood innocence all throughout the story. He was empathetic towards almost everybody, and was overwrought with emotion during the cross-examination of Tom Robinson. He had the naiveté that most of Maycomb lacked. One of the most prominent traits of a mockingbird is their innocence and purity. Because Dill has not lived in Maycomb for all of his life, he hadn’t been corrupted by the closed-mindedness of most of the citizens. When he saw how mean the prosecutor was being towards Tom, it broke his heart. Dill was too innocent to realize how much racial prejudice affected daily life. Ultimately, Dill Harris is a mockingbird because he has the innocence and goodness that only a child can …show more content…
He was discriminated against and eventually killed because of his race. Tom Robinson was a black man who was convicted of a crime he didn’t commit. He was accused of beating and raping Mayella Ewell and was pronounced guilty by the jury, even though the evidence was on his side. He was sent to a prison nearby, and a few days later was shot while trying to escape. Atticus, who was his lawyer, told the news to Calpurnia and Aunt Alexandra in the middle of a get together with the neighborhood ladies. Distraught, Atticus said “‘Seventeen bullet holes in him. They didn’t have to shoot him that much’” (235). The reason Tom was shot so many times was the same reason he was convicted of the crime. During the 1930’s racial prejudice was a popular concept, and it ended up being the reason for an innocent man’s death. It was unnecessary to shoot him seventeen times. It would only take one or two non-fatal shots to get him down from the fence. It was their anger and bigotry that caused them to shoot him. Also, Tom Robinson was crippled. He got his arm caught in a cotton gin when he was younger, so that arm was useless. His physical disadvantage made his slaughter even more unjust. During the trial, his testimony made it clear that he was always kind to Mayella. So not only was he innocent, he was a kind-hearted man killed only because of the color of his skin. To conclude, Tom Robinson was a good man who didn’t have the means to protect