To Kill A Mockingbird

The Mockingbirds Within To Kill A Mockingbird

Every child begins life as a naïve mockingbird, a recurring motif in the fictional novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. This novel is set in a small 1930’s town called Maycomb, Alabama, and the symbol of the mockingbird within this town illustrates the undeserved punishments of some and the enlightenments of others. The mockingbird is a symbol of innocence and compassion. Several characters living in Maycomb, such as Tom Robinson, Boo Radley, and Jem Finch, are symbolized by mockingbirds because of their innocence and the love they show to those around them. Miss Maudie, an older woman living in Maycomb, helps describe to Scout what she believes concerning mockingbirds. She says, “ ‘Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird’ ” (Lee 90). What she tries to teach Scout is that because mockingbirds only try to help out and bring joy to everyone’s lives, killing them would be cruel and completely uncalled for. There is no justified reason to end their lives because they are such beautiful, peaceful, harmless birds, and can be compared to some people living in Maycomb.
Tom Robinson is one of the kindest men living in Maycomb, but because he is black, very few people ever believe or trust him. During the trial where he is accused of raping Mayella Ewell, the prosecuting attorney, Mr. Gilmer, questions Tom. He asks him why he had tried to help Mayella with her chores, and Tom tells him that he felt sorry for her and the terrible family situation in which she is forced to live. Then Mr. Gilmer says, “ ‘You felt sorry for her, you felt sorry for her?’ ” (197). Mr. Gilmer cannot believe that a black person could possibly feel sorry for a white woman because blacks are supposed to be inferior. Tom, however, notices that Mayella is actually worse off than he is and decides to help her out of the goodness of his heart. Mr. Gilmer is still not convinced that Mayella could be worse off than Tom, so he gets upset with him for thinking that he is better than the world views him as being. Tom was only trying to help Mayella, but because of his race, no one believes him and thinks of him as being selfish.
As Atticus later discovers during the case, Mayella is actually the one who did something wrong, not Tom. She had tempted Tom and decided that she had to get rid of him in order to keep herself out of trouble. Atticus says, “ ‘She must put Tom Robinson away from her. Tom Robinson was her daily reminder of what she did’ ” (203). Mayella had felt guilty, and the only way that she could hide her mistake was to blame Tom. Tom is a mockingbird for this exact reason. He was only trying to help, but after being convicted, ends up getting shot seventeen times as he attempts to escape from the county jail. He had done nothing to deserve the trial, conviction, or horrific death he suffered, just like a poor, innocent mockingbird. Boo Radley is yet another character illustrated by a mockingbird. He is a grown man who has been living inside his house for the longest time. Hardly anyone has ever seen him before. Scout and her brother, Jem, are bent on getting Boo to come out, so they invent a plan to make him come outside. It does not, but one day Scout hears someone laugh from an upstairs window of the Radley house while she and Jem are out playing. “Someone inside the house was laughing” (41). Scout believes that this person is Boo. Because Boo is locked up in his house, he is not involved in the affairs of the town and feels awkward in social situations. He is distant from this harsh world. In terms of people, a mockingbird represents the inner innocence that children innately have until it is taken away from them after being exposed to the unfairness and cruelty of the world. Boo, for this reason, is a mockingbird since he is separated from the rest of Maycomb for many years, taking away the world’s opportunity to destroy his childlike innocence and inner mockingbird. He laughs because he sees children playing and having fun on their porch, which is enjoyable to a kind, innocent, child-like person such as himself. Bob Ewell was upset with Atticus for defending Tom Robinson in the trial and attempted to get back at him in the only way his cruel, drunk mind could come up; killing Jem and Socut. When Boo Radley sees Bob Ewell trying to kill Jem and Scout through his window, he finally leaves his house because he wants to protect them. Boo has started to think of himself as friends with Jem and Scout, even though they have never actually interacted with each other. Because he has developed a relationship of sorts with the children, Boo runs out with a knife and stabs Bob in order to save the children’s lives. Sheriff Heck Tate knows what Boo did but decides to pretend that Bob fell on his own knife by accident. He does this to save Boo from the attention he would have received afterwards for doing away with the most disliked person in Maycomb. Boo’s solitary, fragile nature would be destroyed if people started coming to his house to thank him and talk to him. Heck Tate knows this, so he decides to lessen Boo’s stress from unwanted attention by pretending Bob died on his own. Scout understands Heck Tate’s motives for lying about Bob’s death and explains them to her father, Atticus. She says, “ ‘Well, it’d be sort of like shootin’ a mockingbird, wouldn’t it?’ ” (276). Boo was only trying to help Scout and her brother, and giving him attention he does not intend to receive would only hurt him, just like shooting a mockingbird that is only trying to bring joy to the lives of those around him. Contrary to Tom’s case, however, Boo is spared, allowed to return to the sanctuary of his home, and is able to live out the rest of his life retaining his childlike innocence. Children are all mockingbirds before the world brings them to the realization that life is cruel and unfair. Jem Finch, Atticus’ son, discovers several terrible new facts of life that he fights against in a struggle to keep hold of his innocence. After the case where Tom is found guilty, Jem knows he was innocent and cannot understand how Tom, just because he is black, could be punished for something he did not do. Scout says, “It was Jem’s turn to cry. His face was streaked with angry tears as we made our way through the cheerful crowd. ‘It ain’t right’ ” (212). After the case, Jem realizes that life is not fair, and he takes it really hard. It starts to destroy the mockingbird and innocence inside him; but Jem fights this change. For example, when Scout is poking a roly-poly bug, Jem tells her to stop. Scout asks why, and Jem says, “ ‘Because they don’t bother you’ ” (238). Jem hates the fact that life is not fair, so he does all he can to fight the battle against it and make life fair, the way he believes it should be. Since the bug had done nothing to deserve being smashed, he keeps Scout from killing it. This simple act of mercy foreshadows that Jem will strive to retain his inner mockingbird, preserving equality and attempting to make life better for everyone. Because of Jem’s beliefs and inner strength, he is able to preserve his innocence and avoid losing his inner mockingbird, similarly to Boo.
People begin life as mockingbirds. It is not until later that people’s innocence is taken away by the world through the realization that life is unfair. Others are naturally kind people, but because of the cruelty of the world, their kindness may go unnoticed and the world may put them away. Hopefully, the world will eventually realize that those people are just mockingbirds, trying to bring joy into the lives of others. Sadly, the world is too selfish and unfair to allow this, but when it does, the mockingbird will get to live on and continue to sing for the pleasure of those around it.