Laura Purcell. To kill a mockingbird
In what way does the symbol of a Mockingbird relate to the characters of Tom Robinson and Boo Radley?
In “To kill a mockingbird” Harper Lee seems to be telling two different stories, that of Boo Radley and Tom Robinson. Even though there characters in the book are different, there are similarities between them.
The first is that both Tom and Boo are Mockingbird figures. We know this because Atticus and also Miss Maudie tell the children,
" Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy… they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That is why it is a sin to kill a mockingbird." (Chapter X, page 96)
We see how Boo is portrayed as a mockingbird figure when he is locked away from any sort of normal life and society. This is because when boo was a teenager he did what all teenage people do, cause havoc. As rules and expectations in Macomb were strict, small things had big punishments. Boo started to hang about with the Cunningham’s from Old Sarem. They rode the bus on a Sunday, hung about by the barber shop and drank small amounts of whisky. They were sent to the state industrial school. But Mr. Radley managed to let Boo leave and stay at home. As all this happened he was shut out from everybody and lived a sad life by himself at home. However, Boo stays out of sight for many years and his only communication with anyone other than his family for many years when he leave gifts for Jem and Scout in the tree outside his house. The presents that Boo leaves show how thoughtful, caring and gentle Boo is. For example he leaves two dolls carved out of soap in the likeness of Jem and Scout. Much effort and thought would have gone into those dolls. He obviously liked to see the children play and maybe it reminded him of what he never had as a child, so he went to great lengths to make sure Jem and Scout were happy. This shows how Boo is being made a prisoner in his own home, for no reason, he isn’t doing anything wrong. Also near the end of the novel we know that if it hadn’t of been for Boo, the children would never have made it home that night, (Chapter XXVIII) This shows that Boo is like a Mockingbird, he doesn’t do any wrong at all, and just watches over the children to see they are safe and makes them nice things. We know now that a sin was committed when his parents secluded Boo in the house; they have committed a sin, as they would kill a Mockingbird.
This is where we see the first connection between Boo’s story and Toms because Tom Robinson is also a Mockingbird Figure. We know that Tom Robinson was found guilty to the charge of Rape to Mayella Ewell. This happened even though there was no evidence whatsoever to say that Tom did it, and plenty to say that he was in fact totally innocent. In the book it clearly outlines that Bob and Mayella Ewell made up charges against tom. This being because they thought, as Tom was black, no way would he get away with it, so he would be sent away for life. Mayella made up a plan to get Tom to go into her house, making out she needed help. Once he was inside she thought she could do what she wanted. Whilst Tom was standing on a chair to reach an object, Mayella pulled him off and kissed him. In shock Tom didn’t know that to do. At that time Bob Ewell arrived and that’s when all the real trouble started.
