14 March 2007
Mockingbirds
From the dawn of mankind, discrimination and prejudices have found innocent human beings guilty and have put the guiltless in harm’s way. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses mockingbirds to symbolize how the innocent are sometimes found at fault or harmed by others. Three examples of “mockingbirds” include Arthur “Boo” Radley and Tom Robinson in the novel, and Muslims in real life.
One of the major “mockingbirds” in the novel is the African-American, Tom Robinson. After a convincing testimony and circumstantial evidence, Tom Robinson is found guilty of raping Mayella Ewell, a white woman, a crime he did not commit. Tom Robinson actually helped Mayella Ewell with chores and never took advantage of her. Prejudice, a value that any member of the jury should have taken out of consideration before the trial, was the driving force behind the final verdict of the crime. Following his conviction, Tom Robinson was sent to prison and shot seventeen times during an attempt to escape. The primary cause of Tom’s conviction and his death was the guilt of Mayella Ewell. After tempting Tom Robinson, she wanted to destroy the evidence of her offense by putting him away from her. The fallacious testimonies of Mayella and her father caused the jury to conclude that Tom was guilty because Mayella and her father are white. Tom Robinson should not have been convicted and slaughtered because he was a “mockingbird” – an innocent human being.
