"What does the mockingbird have to do with it anyway?" is probably one of the most common questions that many people ask when talking about Harper Lee's creation, "To kill a mockingbird." I know I and many other in my class wanted to know the answer to this question, and I'm sure of it that I now know the answer.
“I'd rather you shot 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.” That was the only time I ever heard Atticus say it was a sin to do something, and I asked Miss Maudie about it.
“Your father’s right,” she said. “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy . . . but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” (Chapter 10, page 99). This is the first time a mockingbird is mentioned in the book. This is one of the most important quotes in the book because you can really get an idea of how a mockingbird relates to the book. The mockingbird is harmless, that is why Atticus does not want his children killing the bird, but this is also related to characters in the book. Tom Robinson is harmless and innocent, a negro just trying to live in an unequal, racist world, but he is accused of raping Mayella Ewell whom is a white girl. Maycomb sees Tom as being guilty before it's even got the chance to be proven, just because its a black man's word against a young, white woman's. In chapter 18, in court Mayella says that she called Tom Robinson inside the fence that evening and offered him a nickel to break up a dresser for her, and that once he got inside the house he grabbed her and took advantage of her. Mayella had revealed that her life consists of seven unhelpful siblings, a drunken father, and no friends. Atticus then examines her testimony and asks why she didn’t put up a better fight, why her screams didn’t bring the other children running, and, most importantly, how Tom Robinson managed to bruise the right side of her face with his useless left hand, which was torn apart by a cotton gin when he was a boy. Atticus pleads with Mayella to admit that there was no rape, that her father beat her.
Mockingbirds represent innocence, to kill a mockingbird is a sin but in relation to humans if you were to take advantage of somebody weaker than you or take away their innocence, its a 'sin'. Tom Robinson is a mockingbird.
Another Mockingbird is Arthur 'Boo' Radley. Arthur is a very shy, misjudged person in the society of Maycomb. In chapter 28-31 when Jem and Scout are walking home and they get attacked by Bob Ewell, Arthur saves them by stabbing Bob in the ribs. Arthur even carries Jem back to his house, Atticus rings Heck Tate and he arrives, Heck reveals to Atticus that Bob Ewell is laying dead, under a tree, with his own knife in his ribs. They put it together and realise Arthur must've saved the children and stabbed Bob. After Heck and Atticus argue about it, Heck decides to call the death an accident, (Atticus doesn't want Jem protected from the law, as he thinks Jem killed Bob at the time.) he wants to hush up the whole affair, saying that Boo doesn’t need the attention of the neighborhood brought to his door. Tom Robinson died for no reason, he says, and now the man responsible is dead: “Let the dead bury the dead.” As the subject of telling the town about the incident between Boo and Bob (which means Boo would have the town on his doorstep to thank him, which would be a truly mortifying experience for him.) Scout says to Atticus "Well, it'd be sort of like shootin' a mockingbird, wouldn't it?" meaning they should just let it go because Arthur is an innocent man that did the right thing and doesn't deserve to be punished for ridding Maycomb of an evil man and saving herself and Jem from possible death.
That's how I think the mockingbird applies to the characters and storyline of the book.
“I'd rather you shot 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.” That was the only time I ever heard Atticus say it was a sin to do something, and I asked Miss Maudie about it.
“Your father’s right,” she said. “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy . . . but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” (Chapter 10, page 99). This is the first time a mockingbird is mentioned in the book. This is one of the most important quotes in the book because you can really get an idea of how a mockingbird relates to the book. The mockingbird is harmless, that is why Atticus does not want his children killing the bird, but this is also related to characters in the book. Tom Robinson is harmless and innocent, a negro just trying to live in an unequal, racist world, but he is accused of raping Mayella Ewell whom is a white girl. Maycomb sees Tom as being guilty before it's even got the chance to be proven, just because its a black man's word against a young, white woman's. In chapter 18, in court Mayella says that she called Tom Robinson inside the fence that evening and offered him a nickel to break up a dresser for her, and that once he got inside the house he grabbed her and took advantage of her. Mayella had revealed that her life consists of seven unhelpful siblings, a drunken father, and no friends. Atticus then examines her testimony and asks why she didn’t put up a better fight, why her screams didn’t bring the other children running, and, most importantly, how Tom Robinson managed to bruise the right side of her face with his useless left hand, which was torn apart by a cotton gin when he was a boy. Atticus pleads with Mayella to admit that there was no rape, that her father beat her.
Mockingbirds represent innocence, to kill a mockingbird is a sin but in relation to humans if you were to take advantage of somebody weaker than you or take away their innocence, its a 'sin'. Tom Robinson is a mockingbird.
Another Mockingbird is Arthur 'Boo' Radley. Arthur is a very shy, misjudged person in the society of Maycomb. In chapter 28-31 when Jem and Scout are walking home and they get attacked by Bob Ewell, Arthur saves them by stabbing Bob in the ribs. Arthur even carries Jem back to his house, Atticus rings Heck Tate and he arrives, Heck reveals to Atticus that Bob Ewell is laying dead, under a tree, with his own knife in his ribs. They put it together and realise Arthur must've saved the children and stabbed Bob. After Heck and Atticus argue about it, Heck decides to call the death an accident, (Atticus doesn't want Jem protected from the law, as he thinks Jem killed Bob at the time.) he wants to hush up the whole affair, saying that Boo doesn’t need the attention of the neighborhood brought to his door. Tom Robinson died for no reason, he says, and now the man responsible is dead: “Let the dead bury the dead.” As the subject of telling the town about the incident between Boo and Bob (which means Boo would have the town on his doorstep to thank him, which would be a truly mortifying experience for him.) Scout says to Atticus "Well, it'd be sort of like shootin' a mockingbird, wouldn't it?" meaning they should just let it go because Arthur is an innocent man that did the right thing and doesn't deserve to be punished for ridding Maycomb of an evil man and saving herself and Jem from possible death.
That's how I think the mockingbird applies to the characters and storyline of the book.