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Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses mockingbirds to symbolically depict innocent people who bring happiness to the world. In chapter nine, Jem and Scout receive air rifles for Christmas. In the tenth chapter of the novel, Atticus tells Scout and Jem that they can shoot Blue jays with their new air rifles, but he tells them that it is considered a sin to kill a mockingbird. Miss Maudie Atkinson explains Atticus’ words to Scout and Jem, saying to them, “Your father’s right…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.” Mockingbirds do not hurt anyone or anything. This is why mockingbirds are used to represent a symbol of innocence in this novel.
In To Kill a Mockingbird, Tom Robinson and Arthur “Boo” Radley are shown to be “mockingbirds”. They both represent innocent people who have been corrupted by others’ evil. Tom Robinson, like a mockingbird, represents a true example of an innocent creature. He only intended to help Mayella Ewell. Unfortunately for Tom, he became a goner the moment Mayella Ewell saw her father and screamed. Tom Robinson could have slandered Mayella Ewell and used her promiscuous behavior against her, but he didn’t because he never meant to cause anyone harm. One of the many reasons that Tom Robinson can be considered a “mockingbird” in this story is the fact that he was wrongly convicted of a crime that he did not partake in. Tom Robinson truly represents a “mockingbird” in this story because of his wrongful death which was a direct result of him being unjustly imprisoned.
Arthur “Boo” Radley also represents a “mockingbird” in the novel. He is considered a “mockingbird” because the town makes assumptions and believes outrageous rumors about him, even though he is innocent. Based on how Boo Radley is described as a recluse, it proves that no one in Maycomb knew much or had any valid information regarding him.