English 2P Final: to Kill a Mockingbird 

“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”. This proverb was said by Harper Lee, the author of To Kill a Mockingbird, it means that it is evil to hurt or destroy something innocent. Three characters from the story symbolize the mockingbirds in ways. The three characters are Tom Robinson, Arthur “Boo” Radley and Jem Finch.

Tom Robinson was a black man who worked in Link Deas cotton fields. He is twenty-five years old and has a wife and also has children. Tom was arrested and charged with rape and assault of Mayella Ewell. Mayella Ewell had claimed that Tom Robinson hit her on the left side of the face but that’s not possible because Tom is crippled. “He got it caught in a cotton gin, caught it in Mr. Dolphus Raymond’s cotton gin when he was a boy . . . like to bled to death . . . tore all the muscles loose from his bones”.(Lee pg. 249) Tom Represents the mockingbird in ways. He is an innocent man that was just trying to help Mayella Ewell and then was later killed for his kindness and because of the color of his skin. Arthur “Boo” Radley also represents the mockingbird.

Arthur “Boo” Radley is the son of Mr. Radley. Boo Radley had never set one foot outside. Jem and Scout describe Boo Radley as six and a half feet tall. They also said that he eats raw squirrel and cat, his hands were stained with blood, a long jagged scar across his face, yellow teeth, bug eyed and he drools most of the time. Boo Radley also mess with the imaginations of Jem and Scout. Boo Radley is seen like a mockingbird to Jem and Scout because of his kindness and innocence. Boo represents the mockingbird with his kindness by leaving gifts for Jem and Scout at the tree and defending the children from the evil Bob Ewell. Jem Finch also resembles the mockingbird.

Jem Finch is the son of Atticus Finch and the brother of scout. Jem Finch is only nine years old. In the novel Jem and Scout come upon a kid and his name is Dill. Jem, Scout and Dill try to see if they are able to get a glimpse of Boo Radley. They start playing games with the Radley House. “With that, I had no option but to join them. We thought it was better to go under the high wire fence at the rear of the Radley lot, we stood less chance of being seen.”(Lee pg. 69) Jem scout necessarily isn’t always like mockingbird during the novel due to the fact that it takes time for him to mature into one. Although Jem Scout is an innocent young man and he doesn’t give any harm.

With Tom Robinson, Arthur “Boo” Radley, and Jem Finch being characters of To Kill a Mockingbird, they all have ways they can resemble a mockingbird. Just imagine if everybody in this world could resemble a mockingbird.

Cite this page