To Kill A Mockingbird: The Symbolism Of Mockingbird In The Book
In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, two men who live completely different lives are on trial against one another. Even though they seem to be only compared as different from each other, they also have compared similarities of each other throughout the novel. Moving from parallel to conflicting traits seems as if it would be hard, but this novel ties them all in expertly in just over thirty chapters.
Although Tom Robinson and Boo Radley live completely different lives, there are several similarities between the two in the novel. To start, Both Boo and Tom are considered symbolic mockingbird. This is due to their innocence and kindness to their community. Even if a person is kind, there are still people who will find something wrong with them. In this case, both characters are victims of descrimination from the town people. Tom Robinson is discriminated against due to his color while Boo Radley is discriminated against due to the fact that he’s like a shadow who never leaves his home. On the other hand, Boo Radley and Tom Robinson also have convictions that were totally blown out of proportion as well. Despite the fact that both characters have many similarities, they also have many differences. Tom Robinson is a loving father and a well-to-do man, respected by his community. In contrast, Boo Radley is a shadow, who spends most of his days away inside his home. Since he is not seen to defend himself, Boo Radley has a negative reputation and is the victim of many unwanted rumors.. Tom is also a black man while Boo Radley is described as being extremely pale and awkward.
The quote “It’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” can be defined as “mockingbirds don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do things but sing their hearts out for us’ ‘. This evidence can be directly correlated back to Tom Robinson and Boo Radley resembling a mockingbird. Boo Radley and Tom Robinson do show many similarities to that of a mockingbird, but sadly people chose not see it. The two characters are innocent people who do not try to bring any unhappiness to the harsh town of Maycomb, Alabama. They try to coexist in peace in their own ways, but society finds a way to figuratively and literally kill them. To start, society uses race, location, time and many other factors to impact these men’s life. Society killed off Tom Robinson by changing him from a respected, happy man with positive morals, to a person who thought he had nothing to live for. This resulted in him getting shot by police guards from attempting to escape from prison. Boo Radley was killed by society by turning him into a lonely outcast who never really comes outside for fear of rumors floating around from person to person about him. The town people judged him and damaged his inner spirit by scorning him and treating him like he was worthless; all the while feeling like he cannot do or say anything to defend himself.
In our current society, a person who fits the description of a mockingbird would be Steph Curry. Steph Curry is a two time NBA champion, Has earned MVP twice, and has been selected for five all star games. He believes his faith in God and christianity has put him in the position he is currently in. On and off the court, Steph is a very motivational person who cares for his teammates and his city. Whether its making sure all his teammates are doing and performing well to making sure homeless people are being fed, Steph Curry does as much as he can to help. With a person like this, how could somebody hate on him? Society figuratively kills Steph Curry because they focus on the bad things he does rather than the good. People seem to forget the fact that he is a walking sports champion and they only focus on one bad game he had, which was due to an injury. Steph Curry constantly being figuratively killed by society has led to him not performing as well as he has been the past four seasons. The motivation for him to play as hard as he can on and off the court hasn’t been the same since all of the hate he has been receiving these past couple of years.
It is a very disheartening thing that people can take a good person and tear them down with their words. All it takes is one singular person speaking their opinion negatively, and society will feed off of that. This world needs more people who are not afraid to use their voice for good and positivity. Could you imagine how different life would have been for Tom Robinson and Boo Radley if more people recognized the ‘mockingbird’ inside of them? All people are worthy of being treated with respect and helped up when they fall, not broken down further. We should be singing each others praises, much like the mockingbird sings his beautiful song into the morning sun.
