Dont Harm A Mockingbird

Alexis Dye

Mr. Webb, 3

3-16-05

Don't Harm a Mockingbird

My brother was once accused of creating artwork with harmful intentions towards his art teacher. He had to go to court, and it is now permanently in his records. He was innocent and was harmed by the evil misconception of his art teacher. In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the death of a mockingbird is used as a symbol to portray the harm of an innocent person. Tom Robinson's death can be seen as the death of a mockingbird because though proven guilty he was truly innocent. Jem and Scout also symbolize a songbird, a finch, and are harmed by the atrociousness of Bob Ewell. Another "mockingbird" of the book would be Boo Radley, who was not harmed by evil but came awfully close to it.

Tom Robinson was an innocent, harmless man who was killed by the pure evil of prejudice. During the trial Tom Robinson said, "'Yes, suh. I felt right sorry for her, she seemed to try more'n the rest of them'" (Lee 197). Tom felt sorry for Mayella and all he wanted to do was help and befriend her. He was happily married and had no wrong intentions whatsoever towards Mayella Ewell. Despite that Tom was proven innocent he was still announced guilty, because the people of Maycomb couldn't bare to let a colored man be proven innocent. After Tom's death Mr. Underwood said, '"he likened Tom's death to the senseless slaughter of songbirds"'(241). When Tom Robinson tried to escape he was shot twenty-seven times. A logical thought for an authority to take care of a person trying to escape would be to shoot him once to get him down and if he doesn't go down try it again but only one more time. It is not logical for an authority to shoot the convict twenty-seven times. Tom was brutally shot and killed for doing nothing but trying to help a girl without friends. It was the death of a mockingbird.

Jem and Scout with the last name of a songbird, Finch, are two young, curious, and innocent minds. Scout explains, "' I'll send him home', a burly man said, and grabbed him roughly by the collar'' (152). Jem and Scout, who were curious were their father had gone to late at night, went out to search for Atticus. They intended no harm that night and their curiosity led them to where Tom was being held before the trial. After refusing to go home a man in the crowd grabbed Jem violently and said he would send them home. Jem did no harm to that man, and the man wanted to harm him. After Scout and Jem were attacked Scout said, " He was running, running towards us with no child steps" (261). Jem and Scout were on their way to the pageant when Bob Ewell attacked them, and tried to kill them when they never did anything