Mockingbirds in To Kill A Mocking Bird

Mockingbirds in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch, Boo Radley and Tom Robinson all represent innocent mockingbirds. Atticus tries to always do the right thing making him harmless to the town. Boo Radley a caged bird in his own is innocent but still gets ridiculed by people for his reputation. Tom Robinson, a hardworking man, is brought down by the racism of the south. All three of these characters are innocent “mockingbirds” that it would be a sin to harm because of there delicate nature.
Atticus Finch, perhaps the greatest mockingbird in the book, desperately tries to always do the right thing no matter the cost. Atticus is the representative in the state legislature for the whole town year after year and has his own law firm in town. When faced with the decision to represent a colored man without having to think twice he accepts. Being a good man makes Atticus innocent to the harsh world around him yet still aware of all of it. He, like a mockingbird is harmless; he would never intentionally hurt someone or do anything out of character. Atticus is so well respected in town that when the angry mob came to the jailhouse to take Tom Robinson they kindly asked him to move aside. The mod did not tell him, they asked him to move like a mockingbird that no one would disrespect because “it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (Lee 94).
Boo Radley, often ridiculed by the town, Scout, and Jem, is like a caged bird in his own house. Although Boo’s reputation as a mentally unstable psychopath speaks for itself he is actually the most harmless character in the whole book. Like a mockingbird Boo never disturbs anyone he keeps to himself, but others are not as kind. The children, Scout and Jem, are infatuated with Boo like a young boy with a BB gun is with a mockingbird. They find a way to get into Boo’s life and when Boo leaves little treasures for them in the tree they warm up to the idea that he is not so scary after all. Like when mockingbirds give the gift of beautiful song, Boo gives the children his pocket watch since Boo does not have a son of his own to pass down the watch to, this represents Boo’s gained liking toward the kids. The town is not as forgiving at first, but when Bob Ewell winds up dead and the children and Boo are the only ones there they see the innocence in Boo. Convicting Boo of a crime he did not do would be like killing a mockingbird.
Tom Robinson, an innocent hardworking man brought down by the racism of the south, represents one of the mockingbirds in To Kill a Mockingbird. Tom works for everything he has and is always respectful to everyone he encounters even Mayella Ewell. Mayella receives no attention from anyone in the town, but when a nice man like Tom greets her, respects her and does not treat her like the white trash she is she goes a little overboard. Tom’s innocent nature, like a mockingbird’s, disregards Mayella’s desperate efforts to get him in the house; Tom only sees Mayella needing help. When Mayella and Bob Ewell, Mayella’s father, frame Tom for rape they are symbolically shooting mockingbirds that “don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy” (Lee 90). Tom did not do anything to harm Mayella; out of innocence he helped a white women when he should have just put his head down and walked away. Being accused of raping Mayella Ewell, when Tom goes to jail he resembles an anxious bird confined to a cage. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee shows parallels between characters and mockingbirds. Atticus Finch, not only a well-respected man in town, but also a man who always treats people well and never intentionally harms anyone, similar to a mockingbird’s nature. Boo Radley confined to his own home like a bird to a cage, is a result of his reputation. Boo is one of the most innocent characters in the novel, watching over the children as if he has a duty to them. Tom Robinson, accused of a crime he did not commit, a mockingbird killed for singing his sweet song. Although it is a sin to kill a mockingbird some characters in this book do not oblige by that unspoken rule. Just like in today’s society there are things you do not do out of moral duty yet some people still do them.