To Kill A Mockingbird Symbolism Analysis

Words: 1522
Pages: 7
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Zella DePesa
Genre Studies P6
Amanda Courchene
3/23/17

The Mockingbirds of To Kill A Mockingbird The titular songbirds of Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird are not actual animals within the story, as some might think, but a symbol of innocence too pure to kill. The meaning of the title first appears in chapter 10, with Miss Maudie saying, “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing except make music for us to enjoy.… That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird. (p119)” Because of their benevolent nature, killing one is simply wrong. Mockingbirds are represented by people who are mistreated, despite doing nothing wrong. This symbol applies to several characters in the novel, mainly Tom Robinson, a black man falsely accused and convicted of rape, and Boo Radley, a childlike recluse forced to live inside for most of his adult life. Both characters are viewed negatively by their hometown of Maycomb for different reasons, and meet very different fates. However, both are considered mockingbirds because of …show more content…
The children at Scout’s school taunt her about her father, repeating their parent’s words the way a mockingbird does other birds’ calls, showing the way we mimic those around us as children like mockingbirds. Calpurnia speaks differently when around whites or blacks to fit in or even avoid disrespect and harm, though she simplifies it for the children: “Suppose if you and Scout talked colored-folks’ talk at home it’d be out of place,...Now what if I talked white-folks’ talk at church, and with my neighbors? They’d think I was puttin’ on airs to beat Moses. (p167)” She, in a way, uses the same tactics the mockingbird does when it changes its call to fit in with its surroundings or deter predators. The things the mockingbird could represent go beyond the primary one of innocence, and applying it to different things can help further understand parts of the
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