What Does Dill Symbolize In To Kill A Mockingbird

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"Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy... That’s why it is a sin to kill a mockingbird." Published in 1960, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee has become a classic in modern American literature. The story is told as a flashback, in the point of view of a little girl named Jean Louise Finch who goes by Scout. It takes place in Maycomb County, a quaint small rural town in Alabama, United States. As time goes on, Scout, her brother Jem, and best friend Dill go through experiences such as witnessing discrimination, judgment, and much more. Therefore throughout the book, Harper Lee uses symbolism to show us that as we get older, we start to slowly lose our morals and innocence.
Charles Baker Harris, also known as Dill …show more content…
In To Kill a Mockingbird, it shows various innocent people being destroyed by the injustice and immoral ways of Maycomb County. After Tom Robinson is shot, Mr. Underwood compares his death to “the senseless slaughter of songbirds” (241) Tom Robinson was innocent just like a Mockingbird. So, if the mockingbird seems to represent the idea of innocence, then to kill a mockingbird is to destroy that innocence. As we get to know Dill more in the book, it becomes more apparent that he has lost his innocence along with Jem and Scout, who are forced to grow up when they are not ready …show more content…
As kids, our innocence gets ruined because we start to realize that the world isn’t all sunshine and rainbows and that there are actually real life problems that need to be solved. Dill starts to realize this early after he watches Tom get pleaded guilty and wishes that Tom would get treated equally instead of having to suffer unfair consequences because of his skin color. In the end, the only way to fight back situations like this is if we all treated each other fairly and judged on our personalities, not the look of our
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