In To Kill a Mockingbird, how does Harper Lee use the symbol of the mockingbird?
The mockingbird is a songbird that sings beautiful songs, and Harper Lee uses it as a symbol of both Tom Robinson, and to a smaller degree, Boo Radley. No, Tom and Boo don't go around singing beautiful songs in the trees. :) The mockingbird is a symbol of innocence, and Scout mentions how after she and Jem got air-rifles, Atticus warned them not to shoot the mockingbirds, because "it's a sin to kill a mockingbird," meaning, a bird who is just innocently singing its song should not be shot or harmed. It is innocent, harmless, and just going about its business, and to harm a helpless and innocent creature is a sin. Later, B. B. Underwood makes a direct comparison between Tom and a mockingbird. He
"likened Tom’s death to the senseless slaughter of songbirds by hunters and children,"
meaning, shooting Tom, because of its senseless waste and cruelty, was like shooting an innocent songbird.
Tom represents a mockingbird because he was an innocent man who was unjustly condemned to jail and then killed, just for show and man's senseless pride. Boo represents a mockingbird because he is more or less just a man living his life, who is put on display for people's curiosity and fascination, just like a prize bird would be displayed. The mockingbird works well to symbolize the senseless harm that some cause in the lives of others. I hope that those thoughts help some; good luck!
How does Harper Lee symbolize compassion through the mockingbird in To Kill a Mockingbird?
The theme of the mockingbird is first introduced in Chapter 10 when Atticus reminds Jem, who is practicing with his new air rifle, that
"I'd rather you shot at tin cans in the back yard, but I know you'll go after birds. Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."
Miss Maudie confirms the natural sweetness of the mockingbird in a later conversation with Scout, explaining that they don't harm crops and only "sing their hearts out for us."
Most of the children in the novel serve as human mockingbirds, as do some adults, such as Boo and Tom. The author adds further symbolism in Jem's and Scout's names: They are Finches, a bird with similar characteristics to the mockingbird. They symbolize innocence in an often cruel world that does not always treat such people justly. Jem's and Scout's lost innocence is one of the major themes that connects them with the mockingbird, while Boo and Tom are charged with acts--and punished for them (in Tom's case, with death)--that they did not commit.
Scout comes to recognize the symbolism between the bird and the man when she tells Atticus in Chapter 30 that charging Boo in the death of Bob Ewell would
"... be sort of like shootin' a mockingbird, wouldn't it?"
How does Harper Lee use the symbol of the mockingbird to communicate meaning and theme?
To Kill A Mockingbird
In Chapter 10 of To Kill a Mockingbird, Jem and Scout are practicing with their air-rifles, and Atticus, their father, tells them to shoot cans instead of practicing on birds. However, if they have to shoot birds, he tells them to shoot bluejays, but says that "it's a sin to shoot mockingbirds." Scout is confused about what Atticus means, and she asks Miss Maudie, who says:
“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’s a sin to kill a mockingbird" (page 93; page numbers vary by edition).
Miss Maudie means that mockingbirds are the essence of innocence. They don't prey on anything, and their main purpose is to create beautiful music for people to enjoy. Miss Maudie reiterates that it's wrong to kill anything so innocent.
The mockingbird is a symbol for characters in the book. For example, Boo Radley is a harmless man who largely isolates himself inside his house. The townspeople, including initially Jem and Scout, believe he is creepy and perhaps evil, but in reality, he is harmless and entirely innocent. In that way, he is similar to a mockingbird. Tom Robinson, the African-American man who Atticus defends against charges of rape, is also innocent. He is only targeted because of his race, while in reality, he is an honest, well-meaning man. He is also like a mockingbird, and the theme of the book is that it is sinful to target such innocent people simply because they are in weak positions in society, much as the mockingbird is an easy target for shooting.
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