Boo Radley And Tom Robinson example essay topic

The novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, by the American author Harper Lee, is about how society kills innocence with evil. The setting of the book takes place in the 1950's, where racism was a big deal to society. Throughout the novel, Lee uses a mockingbird as a analogy to the characters, which makes the title so convenient to the novel. If we were to view a bird's world, blue jays would be viewed as the bullies. They are loud, territorial, and aggressive. The blue jays represent the prejudice "bullies" in Maycomb and society.

The mockingbird is a symbol for two of the characters in the novel: Boo (Arthur) Radley and Tom Robinson. The mockingbird symbolizes these two character because they do not have their own songs. Whereas, the blue jay is loud and obnoxious, the mockingbird only sings other birds songs. If a mockingbird does not sing its own song, we characterize it only by what the other birds sing.

We see the mockingbird through the other birds. In the novel, the people of Maycomb only know Boo Radley and Tom Robinson by what others say about them. These characters do not really have their own "song" in a sense and are therefore, characterized by other people's viewpoints. Boo Radley, one of the well known symbolized mockingbirds, show how a good person can be injured by the evil of mankind.

Boo a character who never steps foot outside of his house, nor maintain any relation with the people of Maycomb; causes people to fear him and make up stories about him without even getting a chance to know him. Mainly prejudice like this is what keeps Boo in his house. In the novel, Scout connects Boo with the mockingbird. Mrs. M audie defines a mockingbird as one who "don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncrib's, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us".

Boo is exactly that. Boo is the person who put a blanket around Scout when it was cold. Boo was the one putting "gifts" in the tree. Boo even sewed up Jem's pants when they were tore. Boo was the one who saved their lives. On the contrary to Scout's primary belief, Boo never harms anyone.

Scout also realizes that she wrongfully treated Boo when she thinks about the gifts in the tree. She never gave anything back to Boo, except love at the end. When Scout escorts Arthur home and stands on his front porch, she sees the same street she saw, just from an entirely different perspective. Scout learns what a Mockingbird is, and who represents one. Tom Robinson, one of the best examples in the novel of how innocence is destroyed by evil.

Tom is a black man who, who the community of Maycomb judge him by the stereotype of black males. On his way home from work, he is often called upon by a young white girl, Mayella Ewell, to help her with her chores. Not because Mayella is white, but because Tom is genuinely and kind, he helps her with her chores. When Mayella shows her affections to Tom, he does not make any effort to physically push her away for her approaches, but instead decides to flee without harming her or Bob Ewell. Later in the story, the honest and helpful Tom is unfairly convicted of rape against Mayella Ewell. By running from the crisis that Mayella put him in, instead of staying and asserting himself, Tom gives the Ewell freedom to make whatever claims they want in court; which causes the stereotypes of black males to cloud the heads of the jury members and citizens, Tom is founded guilty for a crime he didn? t commit.

Before reading To Kill a Mockingbird, the title itself means nothing. The title is the foundation of a house. It is just a slob of cement, and cannot be interpreted. While reading the book, pieces of wood fit together and the house starts to stand up.

After reading the book, the house is fully painted and decorated. The landscaping is complete, and the house is beautiful. Several things and people represent the "Mockingbird" throughout the novel, but Hyper Lee mainly uses Boo Radley and Tom Robinson to represent the symbolic theme. Boo is an outcast in the neighborhood, and Lee is trying to show that every neighborhood has a Boo in it. She shows how Tom is the representative of the outcast in society throughout the United States, therefore showing us that there are Tom Robinson's in all of our neighborhoods or communities. When Atticus tells Jem and Scout that it is a sin to kill the mockingbird, this refers to the actions directed towards Tom and Boo.

It was a sin to dislike Tom and Boo based on what others say about them. They were punished by the people in Maycomb because they did not have their own voice. Lee is trying to explain to her readers that there are many people without their own voice in our society. But, as it is a sin to kill the mockingbird, it is a sin to kill those without a voice. The message of the novel is to stop knocking those people down who do not have a voice. Once again, it is a sin to kill a mockingbird, which is explained in To Kill a Mockingbird.

The mockingbird symbolized innocence and purity. To kill a mockingbird is to destroy that innocence.