In life people make a lot of friends and sometimes they do not know why. Sometimes friendships and bonds with other people change the appearance of what that person can see. There is always someone new to meet who makes life easier. In Harper Lee's novel To Kill A Mocking Bird the symbolic mockingbird is personified in the characters of Tom Robinson and Arthur "Boo"ÃÂ Radley in the way that these characters enrich the lives of other people and require protection from those who seek to harm them.
In Harper Lee's novel there is a story of two different mockingbirds (in a metaphorical sense). The first mockingbird is Tom Robinson. Tom Robinson was a local in Maycomb, Alabama. Mayella Ewell, another local in Maycomb, accused Tom of raping her. The case really shook the town, because nothing ever happened here.
With all the commotion in Maycomb, it resulted in a young black man's early devastating death.
Screenshot of To Kill a Mockingbird(an American mo...
President George W. Bush awards the Presidential M...
Film producer Alan J. Pakula with Lee; Lee spent t...When the case was over the jury found Mr. Robinson guilty. Mr. Robinson was really sad and gave up all hope. The Mayor sent Mr. Robinson back to jail, but Mr. Robinson tried to escape. The escape failed, and Mr. Robinson was shot seventeen times and died.
The second mockingbird in this novel is Arthur "Boo"ÃÂ Radley. Even after the tragic loss of Tom Robinson there is still another story to tell about Maycomb. For a very long time there had been a neighborhood legend. The legend that was very deep and mysterious.
Arthur "Boo"ÃÂ Radley was rarely seen, but in someway showed his friendships. When Arthur was younger, Arthur was involved with a bad group of young men that caused all kinds of ruckus around Maycomb. When Arthur's father found out about the problems, Arthur's father gave his word that his son would not cause any more trouble. Desperate to keep his son out of trouble, Mr. Radley locked Arthur in the basement. Arthur was not seen again for another fifteen years. Although Arthur was locked up, Arthur still managed to give friendship outside the house. Every once in a while Arthur would put dolls or some kind of toy in the tree for two curious kids in the neighborhood, Jem and Scout Finch.
This friendship caused this mockingbird (Arthur) to be looked at in a different way. One night while coming from a party, Jem and Scout was walking through the woods, and someone was trying to harm the kids. Arthur being the (mockingbird) one to protect the children from harms way, fought off the attacker and took the children home. For a while it was a mystery as to who the hero was, but finally Scout came forward and told the whole story. This heroic deed caused the people in Maycomb to look at Arthur "Boo"ÃÂ Radley in a different perspective, and Arthur made some new friends.
In conclusion there is a lot to be learned from this novel. When things go wrong do not give up hope or faith. Although people may not know if there is a mockingbird somewhere in this world for them, there can be one. It may take all of that person's life to find that special mockingbird to enrich and protect them. Those special friendships and bonds with people do change the appearance of what that person can see. Remember there is always someone who makes life easier, even if it is a person who is strange and mysterious.
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