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Who/what are the mockingbirds of the novel? Name at least two. Why are these characters/things the mockingbirds of the novel? How were they/it killed?
Posted by this-guy on Oct 28, 2009. |
To Kill a Mockingbird Group
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In the novel, Atticus tells Jem not to use his air rifle to kill mockingbirds because they make music and are not destructive or harmful in any way. Thus the mockingbird is established as a creature of innocence and one that enriches the world because of its basic nature and the fact of its existance. This is an important motif in the novel that culminates when Scout draws a parallel between Boo Radley and the mockingbirds that Atticus had told Jem to respect. Boo Radley, Tom Robinson, and the children themselves are all mockingbirds. They are all innocent of wrongdoing, and all of them are basically gentle and loving souls. They are not agents of destruction in the novel. Boo saves the children's lives, Tom tried to help Mayella Ewell out of compassion for her, and the children reject cruelty when they encounter it. Boo and the children do not die in the novel, but Tom is killed by some guards in prison where he has been confined for a crime he did not commit. Posted by mshurn on Oct 28, 2009. |
