English Literature

It is fascinating that Harper Lee’s only novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, went on to be one of the greatest treasures of American Literature. As one reads the novel, it may seem that the story may have nothing to do with mockingbirds, as the title would imply. In fact, the mockingbird is only explicitly mentioned once in the whole novel. However, it should be understood that the mockingbird is used in reference to two important characters in the novel, Tom Robinson and Arthur “Boo” Radley. Harper Lee uses the mockingbird theme with Boo and Tom as examples and with fears and superstitions attached to the mockingbird and both characters.

    In order to truly understand how Harper Lee uses the mockingbird as a recurring theme, one must first understand what a mockingbird is like. A mockingbird is oftentimes also called a “songbird”. That is, it is a type of bird that appears to be singing as it mimics the cries of insects, amphibians, or other birds.

Additionally, a mockingbird does not act as a pest to the crops or animals of human beings. Thus, the only way that a mockingbird affects human beings is through its “songs” which can be heard. The birds do not harm humans, nor bother them in any other way. It can be said that by nature, the mockingbird willing “sings” for human beings while asking for nothing in return, and at the same time, not causing any harm to the humans. As stated earlier, the mocking birds are mentioned once in the entire novel, when Atticus Finch tells his children “shoot all the bluejays that you want” while adding, “it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird”. This is further explained when Miss Maude explains to Scout that mocking birds “don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us”. Using these lines from the novel along with an understanding of mockingbirds, Harper Lee intends to portray the birds as nothing but beneficial to human beings. As such, it would be unclear as to why anyone would want to harm, let alone kill, something that does nothing but good.

    With an understanding of mockingbirds in Harper Lee’s context, it is now possible to begin analyzing how this theme is used in the novel. Boo Radley is the first character that can be compared to a mockingbird. As stated earlier, mockingbirds do nothing but benefit human beings by giving their songs. How can this be seen in Boo Radley? It should not be taken literally that Boo Radley himself is a “songbird”, singing for the benefit of the Maycomb County folk. He does however also provide benefit to them, particularly to Jem and Scout. This is clearly seen in the various gifts that he gives them via a hole in a tree. The greatest gift given by Boo however was his act of protecting Jem and Scout from Bob Ewell at the end of the novel. It should be noted that these acts of generosity and kindness came with no price attached to them. That is, Boo never asked for anything in return for the gifts he gave, and not even for saving the children’s lives. Additionally, despite all the rumors and hearsay about the violent nature of Boo, he never did any harm to any other person, except of course to Bob Ewell. With this in mind, it can be clearly seen that Boo Radley did nothing but good things to the people of Maycomb. As such, similar to what Atticus said, it can be argued that it would be a sin to kill Boo Radley.

    The second character that can be compared to the mockingbird is Tom Robinson. Tom Robinson was the African-American field hand accused of the rape of Mayella Ewell, Bob’s daughter. Once again, in order to establish a comparison between Tom and the mockingbird, it must be proven that he provides nothing but benefits to people, while at the same time providing no harm to them. In this case, what are the gifts that Tom provides? Tom was field worker, while also doing odd jobs for people around the town. It is evident that the gift of Tom would be labor. He goes around town helping other people with manual labor. What about the point of not asking anything in return? How can Tom Robinson be considered a “mockingbird” if he willingly did odd jobs for money? It must be understood that Tom Robinson did the feats of manual labor out of the goodness of his heart, and that he never charged a price or fee. Whatever was given to him was given out of the kindness of the person whom he has helped. For the final point, can it be established that he has not done any harm to anybody else? With a shriveled, useless left arm, it would be near impossible for Tom Robinson to harm anybody. Also there are no indications of any criminal behavior by Tom aside from the accusation of Bob Ewell. With this information, it can be said that Tom did no harm to other people. Similar to the mockingbird and to Boo Radley, it would be a sin to kill Tom Robinson, as all he did for the people was help them.

    Having established that both Boo and Tom can be considered to be “mockingbirds” in their own rights, the next important aspect to understand would be the superstitions and beliefs attached to each. For the mockingbird, it should be clear at this point that one superstition attached to them is that they should not be harmed. All they do is provide good to human beings, to an extent, living their lives with nothing but the intention to sing for human beings. Would it be right to kill something that spends it live giving nothing but good things? As such, it would be a sin to kill such an animal. As for Boo Radley, the belief attached to him was that he was some kind of violent monster locked up in his house. With the rumors that he had stabbed his father in the leg with a pair of scissors, people began to think that Boo was a violent man who would harm anyone who came near his house. As for Tom Robinson, the beliefs that were said about him were not just for him as a person, but also rather for the entire race of African-Americans. People, mostly the white people, believed that the African-Americans were dangerous and were criminals. Take for example Mrs. Farrow, a member of Aunt Alexandra’s missionary circle. She says, in reference to African-Americans,  “We can educate ’em till we’re blue in the face, we can try till we drop to make Christians out of ’em, but there’s no lady safe in her bed these nights.” In short, Mrs. Farrow believes that the African-Americans will always be evil and that Tom Robinson is automatically guilty of the rape. Another character in the novel, the newspaper editor Braxton Bragg Underwood was another person who was not very fond of African-Americans. However, upon Tom Robinson’s death, he writes, “It is a sin to kill a cripple”. This can be understood as thinking cripples are harmless and should not be killed. In Underwood’s case it can be seen that his beliefs against African-Americans were eventually overpowered by his beliefs about cripples. These beliefs and superstitions are all attached to mockingbirds, Boo, and Tom for various reasons. What is more important though is how all these beliefs tie into the theme of Harper Lee.

    In conclusion, it must be understood that encompassing theme in To Kill A Mockingbird would be the usefulness of mockingbirds and how they should appreciated and not killed or harmed. It has been established that all three points of discussion, namely the mockingbirds, Boo and Tom, have superstitions attached to them. For the mockingbird, the superstition is that they are very helpful and should not be harmed. For Boo, the belief is that he is a violent man who should be avoided. Tom has two beliefs attached to him, one being that African-Americans in general are evil or criminal, while the other is that cripples are harmless and should not be harmed. Despite all these superstitions and beliefs, one thing is clear. That is, if something, or someone, does nothing but good, giving gifts and helping out, why is there any reason for harm? For Tom and Boo, initial beliefs would leave people in Maycomb to think that they are dangerous individuals, blinding people from seeing that they are “mockingbirds” in their own rights, and should not be harmed. The superstitions and beliefs about Boo and Tom blind people from seeing what the two truly are: good people who have not harmed anyone. It is unfortunate that a group of people who believe that the mockingbird should not be harmed can fail to see that fellow human beings should be treated the same way, all because of the beliefs that they have had previously. Harper Lee uses this recurring theme of mockingbirds to establish that no matter what initial belief or superstition, if nothing but good comes from something or someone, it must not be harmed. Boo and Tom were mockingbirds, no question about it. “Mockingbirds” can be seen in everyday life. It is up to a person whether he wishes to see them for what they are or whether to let previous beliefs blind them. At the end of the day, the fact remains; a person should never kill a “mockingbird”.