To+Kill+a+Mockingbird

Throughout the novel __To Kill a Mockingbird__, by Harper Lee, the term "mockingbird" has been a major metaphorical theme of the book. As Atticus Finch explained, it is a sin to kill a mockingbird, because they do no harm; only sing their hearts out for the joy of others. Lee's portrayal of people throughout her novel shows that some characters are "mockingbirds" themselves, because they do nothing but benefit others and killing them would take away some of the goodness left in the world.

For example, take Maycomb County's treatment towards Tom Robinson. Tom said in regard to Mayella Ewoll [p.191] " she called me in suh... seemed like every time I passed by, She'd have some little something for me to do...I was glad to do it, Mr. Ewoll didn't help her none, the chillun didn't help her none, and I knowed she didn't have nickels to spare". Here is this good man, being looked down on and discriminated against, all because of the color of his skin. And despite this cruelty forced onto him, he decides to help a white woman out for a large period of time by doing labor demanding tasks for no charge at all, and for no reason at all, other than just to help another human being out. Tom Robinson IS a mockingbird.

Boo Radley is not only a mockingbird, but also misunderstood. At the beginning if the book, he was described to be [p.13] "6 feet tall; he dined on squirrels and cats, and that's why his hands were blood stained". He was made out to be this violent monster, which eats wild animals, but in reality, he was just reclusive and shy, portraying no malicious intent. He gave gifts such as soap dolls, a broken watch, and when his "children" needed him most, he was there to protect them, despite the risks involved, because that's who he is. Scout was afraid of Boo Radley and treated him the way she did, because she hadn't met him, until the end of the book. But after she stands in Boo's shoes (or his porch), she understands him, and why he did what he did.

Throughout the novel, it is shown that perhaps children have a better sense of justice and right/wrong than adults. For example, Atticus said to Jem [p.213]"it seems that only children cry". Mr. Raymond explains this by saying that they [p.203] "cry about the hell white people give colored folk." Children cry about this, because they recognize the social injustice around them and aren't used to the ways of the world, unlike the adults, who built up an immunity to see the injustice around them. Children offer a true sense of right/wrong because their views have yet to be corrupted and twisted to society's liking. Even they could see that Tom Robinson was an innocent man, and that the jury was against him because of the color of his skin. A child and an adult's sense of morality couldn't be more opposite from each other in this novel.

Throughout the novel, the word "mockingbird" was used as a figurehead that provides happiness to others and causes no wrongdoings. Such a word would accurately describe Tom Robinson and Boo Radley for all that they've done for people in their town. It was also shown that children had better senses of morality than adults, because they saw things for what they truly were, and had a pure sense or right/wrong- a quality that most adults lacked. In conclusion, I thought that the moral of the story was the world is full of horrible people who are capable of horrible things that cause pain to good people, but despite this, good people can transcend this and do extraordinary things.