... society there is a strong desire to find someone who is guilty, and since this desire is so strong, many times an innocent person is blamed. People don't care that the person is innocent; all they care about is the fact that someone has been found guilty. People want to get the feeling that justice has ... been served, even when they know that an innocent person is taking the blame. The first time I became aware of this fact was in seventh grade. One day, when my math teacher wasn't at ... so I walked down to the principal's office without any more arguments. I had been blamed for som...

• Word Count: 1514
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... fellow townsfolk ridicule Bob Ewell, yet sadly; because he is white he still has the power with the support of the white community to destroy an innocent black man. Chapters 18 and 19 Summary Mayella testifies, clearly terrified, and she reveals herself to be a lonely seventeen year-old, reasonably well kept ... if they acquit Tom Robinson who admitted in front of them all that he pitied a white person. However, if they convict Tom, they do so knowing that they are most certainly sentencing to death an innocent man. What eventually sways them is Mayella's outburst that nigger yonder to...

• Word Count: 10075
• Approx Pages: 40
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... to kill a Mocking Bird" The mockingbird represents innocence. Like hunters who kill mockingbirds for sport, people kill innocence, or other people who are innocent, without thinking about what they are doing. Atticus stands firm in his defense of innocence and urges his children not to shoot mockingbirds both literally ... man. Although he is black. And as a consequence was unfairly accused of raping Mayella Ewell. Even though it was painfully evident that Tom was innocent, he was proclaimed guilty and was later murdered. Tom Robinson is a perfect example of a mockingbird. All he was t...

• Word Count: 1255
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... his eyes popped and he drooled most of the time" (16). As the book continues Lee begins to uncover the real Boo. He is an innocent and childlike character and he starts to show through subtle acts of kindness that he cares for the children and his appearances grow becoming more public ... sick, he never hurt anyone. Yet, the whole neighborhood locked their doors and closed their windows because of something they were told by another person. Tim was misjudged and considered dangerous, when really he was just sick. Even though his appearance in the novel was brief he was still ... the moc...

• Word Count: 1225
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... sin to kill a mockingbird", sin being something that is morally wrong, meaning that although it isn't against the law or illegal to persecute an innocent, it is still immoral. Morality means essentially the goodness or badness of people based on their values and attitudes towards things. Your attitudes are what you ... Tom Robinson's verdict. Boo Radley is the other key mockingbird of the novel. Arthur "Boo" Radley is an isolated person who never sets foot outside his house. He is a shy person due to the abuse he gets from his "foot-washing" father Mr. Arthur, a strict man who bases his...

• Word Count: 1371
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... he speaks to Jem and Scout about his admiration for her courage in resisting morphine addiction. Atticus once tells Scout that "you never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view". During the night when Atticus visited Tom Robinson in the jail and the mob men came to take ... raping Mayella. Even though Atticus knew that they had a poor chance of winning the case, Atticus is still persistent to prove that Tom Robinson is innocent even though it was hard for them. After losing Tom Robinson's case, Atticus still believed in justice and equality in Maycom...

• Word Count: 1521
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... human. Atticus is the great one, but Miss Lee illustrates Atticus as being old and symbolically weak. Scout is the wise one but is young and innocent. Boo is the savior but he is initially feared. The most important theme in To Kill a Mockingbird is the one of good and evil. It ... evil. They then become more adult and lose their childhood innocence as they experience the sub-theme of the danger that hatred and prejudice causes to innocent people like Tom Robinson. Jem loses faith in the human race after witnessing what happens to Tom Robinson as a result of ignorance and racism. Atticus...

• Word Count: 1026
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... up so when Tom Robinson does get killed the reader realises that Tom Robinson was a "mockingbird". What the symbol is supposed to be showing is how innocent the mockingbirds are and this is done through the actions of the two acclaimed "mockingbirds", Tom and Boo. The quote mentioned above is really saying it ... harm. So the people like Tom Robinson and Boo are people who have not done anything to anyone except good things. Tom Robinson and Boo Radley are innocent people and are victims of prejudice. Tom Robinson is a "mockingbird" because he has no choice where he is on the "social la...

• Word Count: 888
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... up so when Tom Robinson does get killed the reader realises that Tom Robinson was a "mockingbird". What the symbol is supposed to be showing is how innocent the mockingbirds are and this is done through the actions of the two acclaimed "mockingbirds", Tom and Boo. The quote mentioned above is really saying it ... harm. So the people like Tom Robinson and Boo are people who have not done anything to anyone except good things. Tom Robinson and Boo Radley are innocent people and are victims of prejudice. Tom Robinson is a "mockingbird" because he has no choice where he is on the "social la...

• Word Count: 884
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... a general consensus in the town that Tom is guilty and its Atticus's trying to make sure Tom is found guilty but Atticus knows he is innocent. The mob goes in and threatens Atticus. The author shows prejudice through three main characters, Author Radley, Atticus Finch and Tom Robinson. The most ... ;Negros" are bad people therefore Tom, never gets to create his own identity. He is not given a chance to be seen as a good honest person. Fear in 'To kill a Mockingbird' leads to narrow-mindedness and ignorance. Fear is the cause of most people's actions but also the effect of ... white...

• Word Count: 814
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... against a black man's, the final verdict pronounced Tom Robinson guilty of the rape and abuse of Mayella Ewell. It mattered not that he was innocent, but that he was black, which automatically decided his guilt. Tom was made to be locked up while the man who had truly committed the ... attack resulted in his own death, but two more innocent people's lives had been put at risk because of such a horrible, cruel person and his actions. However insignificant one individual person may seem, it's frightening to think about how much harm one small person can cause. Four characters lives were e...

• Word Count: 1706
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... of having raped a white man's daughter. A racist, all-white jury convicts the innocent Robinson, despite Finch's heroic and impassioned defense. Harper Lee's message about fairness in To Kill a Mockingbird is that societies views and actions towards a person, are based on their skin color, who they are, and their personal image. This ... is the most prominent occurrence of injustice at the time, there are other forms of prejudice that portray the unfavorable effects that were endured by innocent characters. These blameless individuals were referred to as mockingbirds, since it was a sin t...

• Word Count: 1230
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... of higher education or intellect than the household maid. If a black were to say or convey that they were higher or of equal stature with a white person they would be frowned upon and ridiculed. "Yes suh. I felt right sorry for her, she seemed to try more'n the rest of em" ... Tate. There wasn't much hope if any for Tom to win the juries verdict; the trial was more to make a point and show Tom Robinson is innocent and did not rape Mayella, even though both Atticus and Tom knew he would be convicted. "...Atticus Finch won't win, he can't win, but ... well, were making a step-it's just ...

• Word Count: 1244
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... Atticus proves he is not a follower by defending Tom. Several children and adults torment Atticus and his family because he is doing the right thing for an innocent black man. The rest of the town does not believe defending someone that is black is the proper thing for a white lawyer to do. By Atticus ... she no longer wants him to read to her. Atticus teaches his children to respect others even if they do not always respect them. Atticus believes when a person hurts you, you do not hurt them in return or get angry, you must kill them through kindness. That really gets to a people and wi...

• Word Count: 646
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... face it sooner or later and it might as well be tonight. We don't need her now" (137). Aunt Alexandria doesn't like a black person raising Jem and Scout so she tries to get Atticus to fire her. Tom Robinson symbolizes a mockingbird that never did anything wrong, but still many ... people don't care of his guiltiness and just want to see him dead. He symbolizes the mockingbird, an innocent bird that never harms anyone, because he has the same characteristics. Miss Maudie says: Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to ... . - 90 Tom Robinson shouldn't die for being a mockin...

• Word Count: 433
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... of the facts. Even Atticus' family sees the situation this way, which explains Scout's fight with her cousin. Harper Lee's choice of first person narrative through Scout makes for some minor complications when reading. Because Scout is such a young girl, she does not fully comprehend the meaning of many ... very powerful and lyrical, but also requires closer examination. Whenever dealing with first person a reader must realize the filters the narrator has as a character that affect the picture presented. Explanation of Chapters 15 - 21 ("Part 3") Again, Scout's innocent perspective makes...

• Word Count: 1364
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... Scout (Jeanne Louise), and a role model for Maycomb, Alabama. Atticus runs the race of persistence and perseverance when he is defending Tom Robinson in an innocent case of rape. The outcome of the race that Atticus runs is that Tom Robinson is found guilty. Atticus faces many obstacles throughout his life but most ... of the obstacles that he faces, even if it takes lots of perseverance. In the courtroom he keeps trying to give evidence that Tom Robinson is innocent and that it is Bob Ewell who beats up Mayella. Mr. Finch was very unsuccessful in this case because the jury found Mr. Tom...

• Word Count: 412
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... Scout that mockingbirds do nothing but "sing their hearts out for us" (p. 100), making music for us to enjoy. They represent a gentle and innocent creature and the destruction of these birds is a senseless act of injustice. The slaughter of a mockingbird can be likened to the bigoted treatment of Boo ... with a blanket as she witnessed the burning of Miss Maudie's house, the reader becomes aware, long before Scout does, that Boo is an affectionate person. He watches the children from a distance because he is too shy to come out and make friends. Because of Boo's unsociable manner he is ...

• Word Count: 938
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... intelligence, calm wisdom, and exemplary behavior, Atticus is respected by everyone, including the very poor. He functions as the moral backbone of Maycomb, a person to whom others turn in times of doubt and trouble. Jem - Scout's brother, still in the midst of growing up, meaning in his puberty. ... rumors say. Scout eventually starts going to school, where she learns a lot of new things that she had never known before, a word called prejudice. An innocent 6 year old is brought out of innocence and brought into the "real world", with all it's new experiences and injustices. She watches ...

• Word Count: 961
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... "It's a sin to kill a mockingbird," to explain a lot of parts in the story. A good example of this is when the people of Maycomb convict Tom Robinson, who is just an innocent man was going about his business and is basically being charged for being black. In this way the people are "killing a mockingbird." What is meant by this is that when ... he was just protecting the children, which in a sense would be the same as "killing a mockingbird." So, in away the two characters (Boo and Tom) are "mockingbirds," who are just innocent men, trying to live their lives the way they want, and in T...

• Word Count: 704
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... be applied to people? Characters who others distinguish as bad but who are in reality good. Such as Arthur Radley, ( otherwise known as Boo Radley) a person who other citizens make wild accusations about because of his reclusive lifestyle. When Jem gave a description of Boo, he said that Boo would dine on raw squirrels and ... birds. Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit "em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird." (90) As mockingbirds are innocent, and only sing for us, they represent the innocence of the town. blue jays are pretty birds and at first glance they do no...

• Word Count: 860
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... When looking from the mind's eye view of a child, life seems simple and innocent. It is not until a child encounters a traumatic event will the mind set change. Every child is born with such innocence; yet, no person grows or matures until they have lost such innocence. Scout loses her innocence after the ... their true selves so they hide behind the story of Tom Robinson. Scouts innocence is to show readers no to judge people before knowing the real person behind the mask. After losing her innocence, Scout sees how hypocritical and deceitful people are, " Jem how can you hate Hitler so ...

• Word Count: 1021
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

Even the most despicable of characters can be worthy of sympathy. Sympathy is defined as the feeling of pity for a person. One can only receive sympathy if they have been plagued with despair and misfortune. In a novel such as To Kill a Mockingbird, it ... seduce Tom can be justified because all she wants is attention. She has been neglected her whole life by her father and wants to feel loved. Every person is entitled to feel loved. Moreover, Mayella has inadvertently been robbed of her childhood and future. Mayella has been born into poverty, having no friends and living ... Tom is black....

• Word Count: 1484
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... Maycomb actively practices segregation, consequently exhibiting racism against blacks. The book follows the story of a mean and ignorant white man who falsely accuses an innocent black man of raping his daughter, purely to uphold his own family's values in the community as racists. The laws and culture of the Jim ... " 'before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience' "(120) Atticus is saying that one has to judge oneself before anyone else. If he did something he knew was wrong, and didn't ...

• Word Count: 1682
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... he entered a new one, which was similar to his old on. He knew that protecting the man was going to be hard, because he was familiar with a statement that a black person spoke to him before. The statement was "any such false accusation without regard to race is of course abdominal. However, given the history of this country, black targets are placed ... white girl, Mayelle, but a lawyer tried to prove her wrong. As it turned out, it was actually Mayell's father who physically raped her, and blamed it on a black person. Even though he was innocent, he was punished by the man's law. He wa...

• Word Count: 540
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School