Summary Of Harper Lee's 'To Kill A Mockingbird'

You Never Know What You Had 'Til It 's Gone To Kill A Mockingbird is one of those stories that gives a deeper meaning to the simplest things. As it is in the title, obviously mockingbirds are important to this story. The first that these mockingbirds seen are when Scout and Jem got their ar rifles. Atticus, not wanting to teach them how to shoot, gave them a rule he wanted them to follow. " 'I 'd rather you shot at tin cans in the backyard, but I know you 'll go after birds. Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember its 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 fathers right, ' she said 'Mockingbirds don
't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They dont eat up people 's gardens, don 't nest in corncribs, they don 't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. Thats why its a sin to kill a mockingbird. '"(90) In To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, we are shown important lessons that even now we can use. The story tells us that mockingbirds are harmless, innocent creatures, and killing them is wrong, because they don 't hurt anyone, nor do they want to. The symbols of the mockingird used in the story are generally important in the town of Maycomb. If one of them were taken away the whole town of Maycomb would be worse off because of it. Tom Robinson is one of those people that we need these days.
He would help others no matter what small thing it was, it might have not even mattered who it was, and wouldn 't take or ask for anything in return. He just knew how to be thoughtful like it was a second nature to him. In the story, Tom was first introduce as the man who was to be defended by Atticus, because it was claimed the he raped Miss Mayella Ewell. During his case he had two acclaims against him, Mayella Ewell and her Father Bob Ewell, but it was clear that Tom was innocent with every word he said in court. When it was said that Tom was killed it pulls at anyones heart strings, even to the citizens in Maycomb. Even Mr. Underwood, though without being exact, gave the message of the mockingbird in the editorial after Tom 's death. "Mr. Underwood didn 't talk about miscarrages of justice, he was writing so children could understand. Mr Underwood simply figured it was a sin to kill cripples, be they standing, sitting, or escaping. He likened Tom 's death to the senseless slaughter of songbirds by hunters and children, and Maycomb thought he was trying to write an editorial poetical enough to be reprinted in the Montgomery Advertiser."(241) He tries to get through to everyone in Maycomb to understand that Tom and the mocking bird are one in the same, because of him being a cripple. The senselessness of his death, as it seems, is the key: killing Tom didn 't make things good nor did it prevent something bad,
just like shooting a mockingbird. The price of this mockingbird may have been Bob Ewells life, for trying to kill him off for Mayella 's mistake, tempting a negro. The next time a mockingbird turned up in the book is with the assult of Jem and Scout in the end of the book. Scout shows how she understand how they shouldn 't drag Boo, Arthur Radley, into court. "Atticus looked like he needed cheering up. I ran to him and hugged him and kissed him with all my might. 'Yes sir, I understand, ' I reassured him. 'Mr. Tate was right. ' Atticus disengaged himself and looked at me. 'What do you mean? ' 'Well, it 'd be sort of like shootin ' a mockingbird, wouldn 't it? '" (276) All that Boo did was watch the neighbourhood, gave trinkets to Scout and Jem in the knot of a tree, and protected them when they were attacked. Harming someone who never ment to harm anyone and tries to help is like killing a mockingbird, and arresting Boo would serve no real purpose. Though the next example is not the typical idea for the mockingbird symbolisum he still gives the same message as his character further developes in the story.
Atticus Finch is on of those people who has a great influence on others because of his wisdom and kindness. "Judge Taylor was saying something. His gavel was in his fist, but he wasn 't using it. Dimly, I saw Atticus pushing papers from the table into his briefcase. He snapped it shut, went to the court reporter and said something, nodded to Mr. Gilmer, and then went to Tom Robinson and whispered something to him. Atticus put his hand on Tom 's shoulder as he whispered. Atticus took his coat off the back of his chair and pulled it over his shoulder. Then he left the courtroom, but not by his usual exit. He must have wanted to go home the short way, because he walked quickly down the middle aisle toward the south exit. I followed the top of his head as he made his way to the door. He did not look up. Someone was punching me, but I was reluctant to take my eyes from the people below us, and from the image of Atticus 's lonely walk down the aisle. 'Miss Jean Louise? ' I looked around. They were standing. All around us and in the balcony on the opposite wall, the Negroes were getting to their feet. Reverend Sykes 's voice was as distant as Judge Taylor 's: 'Miss Jean Louise, stand up. Your father 's passin '. '" (211) Atticus, with all the good intentions in his heart, did his best to defend Tom Robinson and even made
the jury stay out for longer than usual. With all the verbal and emotional abuse, Atticus was getting from everyone else in Maycomb, any normal person would buckle under the pressure, but Atticus stayed true to the end no matter how hard it was on him. He would always do all the hard things for the town. " 'I simply want to tell you that there are some men in this world who were born to do our unpleasant jobs for us. Your father 's one of them. ' 'Oh, ' said Jem. 'Well. ' 'Don 't you oh well me, sir, ' Miss Maudie replied, recognizing Jem 's fatalistic noises, 'you are not old enough to appreciate what I said. ' Jem was staring at his half-eaten cake. 'It 's like bein ' a caterpillar in a cocoon, that 's what it is, ' he said. 'Like somethin ' asleep wrapped up in a warm place. I always thought Maycomb folks were the best folks in the world, least that 's what they seemed like. ' 'We 're the safest folks in the world, ' said Miss Maudie. 'We 're so rarely called on to be Christians, but when we are, we 've got men like Atticus to go for us. ' Jem grinned ruefully. 'Wish the rest of the county thought that. ' 'You 'd be surprised how many of us do. ' 'Who? ' Jem 's voice rose. 'Who in this town did one thing to help Tom Robinson, just who? ' 'His colored friends for one thing, and people like us. People like Judge Taylor. People like Mr. Heck Tate. Stop eating and start thinking, Jem. Did it ever strike you that Judge Taylor naming Atticus to defend that boy was no accident?" (215) When Atticus is told by Scout what happened when they were assulted by Bob Ewell, he lost himself. He couldn 't keep his composure and for a bit Scout was really concerned. To Kill A Mockingbird tell us that in our lives there is always those people that, even if they aren 't noticed at first, they are important to us, and with them they make our lives better. It says that even animals should recive sympathy and respect of being left alone if they do not bother you. By considering killing mocking birds with destruction, the book encourages us to take a step back from thoughtless and automatic decions and ask, what benefit is there? Why do this? What does it accomplish?
Work Cited
Lee Harper. To Kill A Mockingbird. Warner Books, Inc, New York: 1982