¨ ‘Your father’s right,’ she said. ‘Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it is a sin to kill a mockingbird.’ ” (Lee 119) This symbolic and significant statement is found being spoken by Miss Maudie, a neighbor Jem and Scout were extremely fond of. Throughout the entire book, these incredible words find themselves thought of constantly by the reader. The mockingbird Miss Maudie was talking about can come in many different forms. This quote is perhaps one of the biggest themes present in this book. Atticus put this in the mind of Scout after giving her and Jem air rifles. When he …show more content…
At the end of To Kill a Mockingbird Scout and Jem were almost brutally stabbed and suffocated by Bob Ewell. However, Boo came out of his house them. This took him so much courage as he was afraid of the world outside of his “prison”. His love for the children drove him to do this. Even though in the beginning he did a small bit of bad, he is truly a“mockingbird”. Boo was even referenced by Scout as a mockingbird after he saved Jem and her’s life by killing their attacker. When Boo’s actions were to be covered up, she stated, “Well it’d be sort of like shootin’ a mockingbird (by giving Boo undesired attention), wouldn’t it?” (Lee 370). Miss Maudie's quote morphed into describing Boo, just one of many ways it was seen in the book. The story of Atticus Finch and Tom Robinson, the second of the two main conflicts in this book also represented the sin of killing a mockingbird. Atticus Finch, the father of Jem and Scout was a lawyer, and in a court case, Atticus was assigned a black man, Tom Robinson. Atticus was tasked with defending Tom from a false conviction of rape by the Ewell family. Atticus was given a very hard time,and was even threatened by Bob Ewell, who was angered that Atticus ruined the reputation and respect he thought he’d gain. . Bob even tried to murder Atticus’ kids. Atticus
Prejudice is one of the world’s greatest struggles. It does not only hold society back, but is harmful to the people who do good .In Harper Lee’s book To Kill A Mockingbird, Scout and Jem live through and witness prejudice and racism in the small town of Maycomb. They see someone wrongly accused of a crime because of his race. Scout and Jem also witness and take part in prejudice against a man no one knows anything about. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird Harper Lee uses characterization to show the negative effects of prejudice and racism.
“I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do.” (Lee 149).
Do you know what it feels like to be powerless? A white nineteen year old woman named Mayella Ewell Falsely accuses a black man of raping her in Maycomb, Alabama, in the 1930’s, and is rendered powerless, due to being recessive in her social class, race, and gender. She does so in hopes of escaping her abusive father, and a chance to have a better life. Although Mayella is white, she has been shunned by African Americans and other white people. Mayella is a very young woman that does not own anything nice, nor clean, besides geranium flowers. During the 1930’s, men were the dominant sex, as a female, Mayella has to obey her father, Bob Ewell. As a result, Mayella was mistreated and abused.
The mockingbird metaphor applies to several characters in the book. One particular character that may not be as obvious to some people is Jem Finch. In Jem’s case, he starts out as a young boy full of innocence. As he grows up his father, Atticus, teaches him to judge an individual based on their character instead of how society teaches us to treat people; as well as, do what is right. Atticus reinforces this belief when he says, “They're certainly entitled to think that, and they're entitled to full respect for their opinions... but before I can live with other folks I've got
Scout, Jem, and Dill then discuss why Boo stays hidden. This is when Dill explained, “Maybe he doesn’t have anywhere to runoff too” (Lee 192). Dill suggest that Boo might have been through a l;ot and doesn’t have any loved ones to go to. We then realize Boo symbolizes innocence being destroyed because when he was little he has had no one to care for or love. One of the most memorable scenes is when Atticus and Heck Tate realize that Boo killed Bob Ewell. They discuss whether or not to expose him but Scout comes in and states “well, it’d be sort of like shootin a mockingbird, wouldn’t it?” (Lee 370). Scout believes that by exposing Boo to the public after all these years of him locked in his house, it would be like killing an innocent mockingbird. At this moment Boo Radley officially becomes a mockingbird.
“Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ’em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird (119).” In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird this quote from Atticus Finch alludes to one of the central themes the novel focuses on. The mockingbird is an innocent creature that does not cause harm, it is purely for the enjoyment of others. When killing a mockingbird it symbolises destroying this innocence. There are many incidences in this novel which display this theme, as several characters are unjustly persecuted by the people in Maycomb. The significance of the title To Kill a Mockingbird is a main theme throughout the novel. It shows that in a society that carries prejudice, innocence is easily destroyed and good does not always triumph over evil. This can be supported through the characters of Arthur “Boo” Radley, Jeremy “Jem” Finch, and Tom Robinson.
Instead of allowing the overwhelming hypocrisy and hatred of the town to get in his way, Atticus
Atticus Finch is a man with strong morals. In Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, the people of Maycomb County have finally met their match. Tom Robinson is a negro in early 1930’s Maycomb County. Tom has been accused of rape and Atticus FInch is his best hope. It makes sense for Atticus to be the one defend tom because he is compassionate and very brave.
Harper Lee’s best-selling novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, is a book with many themes and ideas across the whole thing. Some of them are hidden in characters’ quotes. One character that has many of these “hidden themes”, is Atticus Finch. His quotes display the real meaning of To Kill a Mockingbird because he is very loving and forgiving. Which I believe is the real theme of the novel, love.
Prejudice in the 1930’s destroyed many African-Americans chances at a normal life, how does Harper Lee show that in “To Kill a Mockingbird”? Harper Lee’s “To Kill A Mockingbird” is a story depicting a family (Atticus, Scout, and Jem) living in the fictional town of Maycomb county, and a world of racism. Harper Lee shows in To Kill A Mockingbird how biases of skin color won over jurys and policemen, the hard living conditions that the African-Americans had to go through, and the outcomes of whites who were against the prejudice. First of all, the living conditions after African-Americans were freed weren’t the best, houses were often shacks with walls made out of scrap.
There are many memorable quotes in the thousands of novels around the world, but there is definitely a good number of them in the popular novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. These quotes vary from many different kinds of topics. Some of these topics include being courageous, seeing something from someone else’s point of view, and mockingbirds. Courage sticks out out of all these examples. Quotes of courage and what it means, plus the different variations of it, are scattered around the book and can be tracked and analyzed to a few specific quotes.
The true message behind her saying all this is for Lee to showcase the blindness and ignorance of society. In addition, Atticus will no longer have the authority to lecture Jem and Scout because it is not fair of him to maintain power and status. A second reason is that he is a lawyer who values integrity and taking risks when it is for the greater virtue of humanity. Miss Maudie, one of the Finch family’s neighbours, comforts the kids after Atticus loses his trial, “Atticus Finch won’t win, he can’t win, but he’s the only man in these parts who can keep a jury out so long in a case like that.” (216).
Kim Kardashian an inspiring business woman once said “My decision to end my marriage was such a risk to lose ratings and lose my fan base. I had to take that risk for my inner peace and to be happy with myself””(Kim Kardashian Quotes.)” Kim like the Finch family is judged by society, and when they go against society and they both face the harsh consequences of society. However, Kim and the Finch family both do what’s best for them and don’t give in to society and its standards. To Kill a Mockingbird took place in the 1930s and it was written by Harper Lee. The book is based on how a high class family; the finches. Throughout the story you are learning about the racism and stereotypical behavior in their town Maycomb. Jem Finch is stripped
In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, there are a wide variety of characters throughout the story. There is a father named Atticus Finch. He is a father of two children named Jem and Scout. Atticus wants to set a good example for his children and make sure that they make the right decisions as they grow up. He is an attorney defending a black man named Tom Robinson. This was tough for Atticus because during this case he lived in a majority white county in Maycomb, Alabama. Atticus believes that he should stand up for what is right even if the whole county disagrees with him.
The way Miss Maudie explains the phrase is simple, don’t kill a mockingbird because they do nothing wrong, they’re innocent, you could say. This interpretation of the phrase gives it the depth of a kiddie pool. If you take the time to actually think about it, this can relate much more to the story than one would expect. Some story aspects seem as if they take this idea, and twist it into their own beautifully, morbid creations and some seem to simply keep it more basic.