Tom Robinson tries to help the people around him, and means no harm to anybody. However, when Mayella Ewell tries to kiss Tom Robinson and gets caught by her father, she is ashamed of the “code” that she had broken by “tempting a Negro”, and turns around to accuse Tom Robinson of raping her, so that she could “put the evidence of her offence away from her”, as Atticus puts it. Mayella Ewell essentially kills Tom Robinson, because the moment she cries rape, Tom Robinson is a dead man, because no white jury would take a Black man’s word over a White’s.
Tom Robinson meaning no harm to anybody, becomes accused of rape, and is sentenced to death, not so much dissimilar from a mockingbird who does no harm to humans, but is shot nonetheless, for no particular reason except for the amusement of hunters or children.
The second and perhaps less obvious character that is symbolized by the mockingbird is Boo Radley. Boo Radley, as suggested by Jem at nearing the end of the novel, stays shut up in his house all the time because “he wants to stay inside”. Boo Radley is seemingly free to come out of the house anytime he likes, seen from the fact that Boo Radley is able to get out of the house to wrap a blanket around Scout during the fire of Miss Maudie’s house, and to place gifts in the knot hole of the tree, but somehow he doesn’t want to come out.
Even though it is a person’s personal choice as to whether he wishes to stay inside or come out, the fact that the Radley family stays in is almost seen like a sin to Maycomb:
“The Radleys, welcome anywhere in town, kept to themselves, a predilection unforgivable in Maycomb.”
As of a result of the Radley’s strange behaviour, Boo Radley becomes subject to wild rumours in the neighbourhood, which are not restricted to childish talk. According to Miss Stephanie, she “saw him looking straight through the window at her… said his head was like a skull looking at her.” There was talk also that Boo Radley was responsible for animal mutilation in town, even after it was found that Crazy Addie who was the culprit.
However, we know from Scout and Jem’s experience Boo Radley that he was nothing of that sort. Boo Radley helped keep Scout warm on the night of the fire at Miss Maudie’s. Boo also stitched up Jem’s pants. Boo gave Scout and Jem chewing gum, a pair of Indian heads, a watch, and a spelling medal. Boo also gave them their lives by saving them from Bob Ewell. Boo Radley who has very little himself, gives all he can to the children that he cares for, and he never expected any form of return.
Even though Boo Radley was the secret protector of children and was by far a good person, he still nonetheless is subjected to the attacks of the people of Maycomb. In this way, he is harmless, and in fact contributes in his own secret way to the society of Maycomb, but however ends up becoming the target of the town, much like a mockingbird.
Evidently, prejudice is one of the major themes of the book, and from these two characters, the children learn the most about prejudice.
From Tom Robinson, Jem and Scout learn that “‘there’s something in our world that makes men lose their heads – they couldn’t be fair if they tried,’” and they learn to accept the existence of prejudice in society. They also go through the trial to understand that prejudice is not right, that the assumption that a Black man is always guilty is not right at all.
From Boo Radley, they learn that people are often nice when you finally see them, and that what is said about other people cannot be trusted. When Scout stands on the Radley porch made her learn the importance of what Atticus says, that “you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them.”
These two characters teach her and Jem innumerable lessons about life and prejudice. Thus, it is apt to name the book after these two characters. These two characters are punished by society for no apparent reason, but from what we know, they are innocent and good people, if not better than the other men around them. These two mockingbirds were “killed”, and it was a sin to kill them. Thus, Harper Lee wishes to draw our attention to these two mockingbirds, and how killing them is a sin.
Harper Lee places the mockingbird quote in two people’s mouths: Miss Maudie and Atticus. Atticus tells the children not to shoot at mockingbirds, while Miss Maudie explains to the children why they shouldn’t shoot at mockingbirds. The final touch of using this quote for the title of the book, is that this truth is said by these two people. It suggests to the reader that Miss Maudie and Atticus are the upholders of truth, as they are in the novel.
Thus by using the Mockingbird as the title, it tells us that the central message of the novel is in the trial of Tom Robinson and Boo Radley, and that Miss Maudie and Atticus are the upholders of truth in the novel.
