Menacing a Mockingbird
This novel is titled To Kill A Mockingbird because Lee suggests that killing something that only does good, and causes no harm, is prejudicial. To Kill a Mockingbird, by author Harper Lee, is a novel centered around a black man accused of raping a white woman. The narrator is a young girl named Scout who has a brother named Jem and her dad, Atticus, is a lawyer. In this novel, Harper Lee focuses on the meaning of the mockingbird: it is pleasing to us and does no harm. Characters in To Kill a Mockingbird have very similar traits, and are a representation of the mockingbird. Boo Radley, a character who demonstrates traits such as timidity, innocence, and kindness, is seen by others as the opposite because of rumors and …show more content…
When Scout is shooting things with her air rifle, Atticus says, “ ‘Shoot all the Blue Jays you want if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird. … “(Maudie) 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 119). The mockingbird is known for doing good for others, but can sometimes be mistaken for other birds, like blue jays, which are mean and do no good. This can represent Boo Radley because he is seen as crazy and deranged when all he does is good for others. Another example of this is when Boo saves the Finch kids by accidentally killing Bob Ewell. After this happens, Heck Tate knows that it was Boo who killed Bob Ewell but tries to cover it up by saying Bob killed himself, “ ‘It was like this,’ he said. He held his knife and pretended to stumble; as he leaned forward his left arm went down in front of him. ‘See there? Stabbed himself through the soft stuff between his ribs’ ” (Lee 367). Heck Tate knows that if people find out that Boo Radley killed someone, they would always think of him as a deranged killer, even if it was an accident. The rumors of Boo Radley would make matters worse because, in a way, it would give more evidence of them being supposedly true. Heck Tate knows that even if Boo did this to save two children, people would only see that he murdered someone. Mockingbirds can often be mistaken for Blue
This novel is titled To Kill A Mockingbird because Lee suggests that killing something that only does good, and causes no harm, is prejudicial. To Kill a Mockingbird, by author Harper Lee, is a novel centered around a black man accused of raping a white woman. The narrator is a young girl named Scout who has a brother named Jem and her dad, Atticus, is a lawyer. In this novel, Harper Lee focuses on the meaning of the mockingbird: it is pleasing to us and does no harm. Characters in To Kill a Mockingbird have very similar traits, and are a representation of the mockingbird. Boo Radley, a character who demonstrates traits such as timidity, innocence, and kindness, is seen by others as the opposite because of rumors and …show more content…
When Scout is shooting things with her air rifle, Atticus says, “ ‘Shoot all the Blue Jays you want if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird. … “(Maudie) 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 119). The mockingbird is known for doing good for others, but can sometimes be mistaken for other birds, like blue jays, which are mean and do no good. This can represent Boo Radley because he is seen as crazy and deranged when all he does is good for others. Another example of this is when Boo saves the Finch kids by accidentally killing Bob Ewell. After this happens, Heck Tate knows that it was Boo who killed Bob Ewell but tries to cover it up by saying Bob killed himself, “ ‘It was like this,’ he said. He held his knife and pretended to stumble; as he leaned forward his left arm went down in front of him. ‘See there? Stabbed himself through the soft stuff between his ribs’ ” (Lee 367). Heck Tate knows that if people find out that Boo Radley killed someone, they would always think of him as a deranged killer, even if it was an accident. The rumors of Boo Radley would make matters worse because, in a way, it would give more evidence of them being supposedly true. Heck Tate knows that even if Boo did this to save two children, people would only see that he murdered someone. Mockingbirds can often be mistaken for Blue