Mr.Kasper
ENG 1D1
Wednesday, November-07-12
Mockingbird Essay How would you feel if a town full of prejudice tormented you because of your past? Well this becomes a reality in To Kill a Mockingbird for two very innocent people. Through the symbol of the Mockingbird, and the characters of Tom Robinson and Boo Radley, Harper Lee examines the necessity of protecting vulnerable members of society in To Kill a Mockingbird.
Jem introduces Boo as a blood thirsty animal, but when Boo unveils himself to save the kids he is actually a very shy and scared person, which goes to show the necessity of protecting vulnerable and innocent people in society. You first see the politeness and relationship of Boo and Scout grow when Miss.Maudies house is set on fire. “Boo Radley. You were so busy looking at the fire you didn’t know it when he put the blanket around you.”(Lee 96) With the distraction of the fire, Boo was able to show he cares by wrapping Scout in a blanket to keep her warm. This action shows that Boo is not what most people conceive him to be, and so it is important to protect innocent and vulnerable beings from today’s society.
Tom Robinson is first introduced when Mr.Ewells accuses him of raping Mayella, but actually is a nice man with a family and could not have possibly of raped Mayella because his left hand is “hardly nothing”. The first site of kindness from Tom Robinson is at the court when he did not want to accuse Mayella of lying. “’Then you say she’s lying, boy?’… ‘I don’t say she’s lyin’, Mr.Gilmer, I say she’s mistaken in her mind.’ (Lee 264) Tom Robinson resists accusing Mayella of lying because he does not want to look like a terrible man. This shows that not all black people are what Maycomb conceives them to be. If we do not protect people in society who are vulnerable and innocent consequences such as death could be the final product.
In the story To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses the symbol of the mockingbird as an archetype for protecting people in society who are innocent and vulnerable. The first sight of the symbolism behind the bird happens when the kids get air rifles. Atticus states, “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s garden, 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) The mockingbird helps Atticus to teach the kids a valuable life lesson. The mockingbird needs to be protected because it does no harm to others. If the mockingbird does not bring trouble into other’s lives then why give it trouble? The symbol of the mockingbird is also important because it describes a plethora of people in the novel. Thereupon, it is important to protect this beautiful, vulnerable bird whose purpose is to entertain others.
In conclusion, innocent and vulnerable people should be protected from society. We see the outcome of exposing these kinds of people to today’s society from Boo when he was at the Finch’s house; he was nervous and shy as if he was new to the world. Tom Robinson on the other hand had a very different experience. Death. Thus, it is important to protect vulnerable and innocent members of society.
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