Booradley and Tomrobinson

Booradley and Tomrobinson

In chapter 9 of the novel, Atticus says, “Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit em’ but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” Atticus claims that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird but not a sin to kill a blue jay because the mockingbird simply makes music for others to enjoy. Whereas the blue jay is loud and obnoxious, the mockingbird does not have its own song, but mimics other bird’s songs. The mockingbird symbolizes innocence, if hunters were to kill a mockingbird it is like killing innocence because a mockingbird doesn’t deserve to die because the mockingbird did nothing wrong. The mockingbird shouldn’t die because they are being blamed for something they didn’t do or just because that person doesn’t like them. Tom Robinson and Boo Radley are mockingbirds because they are both innocent. Since the mockingbirds dont have their own song, it is characterized only by what the other birds sing. Boo Radley and Tom Robinson didn’t have their own song, so the people of Maycomb characterised them both by other black people. Tom Robinson is the most important client of Atticus' career; he is a young, black Christian and father of four accused of rape by a white girl named Mayella Ewell. Tom Robinson is a mocking bird because his innocence is being taken from him because he didn’t do anything wrong and his life is now being thrown in jail. The white jury’s also took his innocence from him because of their racism towards black people. He is now in jail and he is “guilty” from the white people’s perspective, but we all know he is innocent. Boo Radley is also a mockingbird because the people who live in the town fear that if they make the wrong move and fail to follow the social rules they will end up like Boo Radley, isolated and remembered as a scary monster. He relates to a mockingbird because people judged him like others judge a mockingbird.