"To kill a mockingbird" explanation of the quote

Essay by keiransearleA-, March 2006

download word file, 3 pages 1.0

Over a while strange things have happened blacks were slaves jews were in the holocaust, Native Americans had and Owned this land but what now our their still slaves, our their minorities, who owns this land. These are all good questions but what does "to kill a mockingbird" have to do with it .

It's a sin to kill a mockingbird." This line, spoken by Atticus, sums up the heart of this book. A mockingbird is a harmless bird that makes the world more pleasant with its song. In this novel, the mockingbird symbolizes Boo Radley and Tom Robinson, who were both peaceful people who never did any harm. To kill or harm them would be a sin.

Boo Radley went through life never wanting to hurt a fly. He left gum, pennies, and wax dolls for Scout and Jem. He sewed Jem's pants and left them on the fence so he could get them easily.

Lastly, he saved Scout's and Jem's lives while risking his own. Boo was a fragile and gentle person. To send him off to jail to be executed would be like killing a mockingbird. Scout makes this point when she says to Atticus, "Well, it'd be sort of like shootin' a mockingbird." And this statement means that when Boo radley got sent to jail that was harm being done.

Chopping wood and doing whatever he could for Mayella Ewell was Tom Robinson's only crime. The readers know Robinson is innocent, but they also know that he will be killed. Just like Boo Radley, Tom never harmed a soul. He risked his own safety by helping Mayella, and he did it because someone needed him. It was like a mockingbird being shot down when Robinson was accused of raping Mayella. In the moment that...