Chattahoochee River
Friday, February 5, 2016
To Kill A Mockingbird: Section 4
Arthur Radley is the mockingbird, and for some reason, this surprised me. Somewhere around the middle of the book, I started expecting the titular metaphor to apply more to Tom Robinson, or even Atticus himself. In hindsight, ‘Boo’ Radley has been in the book since the beginning, whereas Tom came in a little later. The themes of justice and discrimination that become evident later in this book apply to him to some degree, but that’s not what is drawn to Scout, and therefore the audience’s attention. I suppose that the mockingbird symbolism could apply to multiple people, but it’s Arthur that Scout is talking about when she last references the saying, “To kill a mockingbird is a sin.”
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I feel like multiple characters in the story could represent mocking birds (Jem, Tom Robinson, Dill, Boo Radley, Mr. Raymond). They are all innocents who have been injured or destroyed through contact with evil.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure that I completely agree that Boo is the mockingbird. For the only reason he began his "sentence" in his house is because he got in with the wrong crowd and took part in mischief around the town. His being locked away is not exactly the putting away of an "innocent" since it was not without reason. However, in the end of the book you can see that he did have good intentions in maintaining the relationships he did with the kids. I guess determining who the mockingbird is all up to interpretation and perspective.
ReplyDeleteI, like you Isabelle, thought that Boo was the "mockingbird" also as soon as I finished the book. As soon as Tom's character was introduced I thought it had to be him though so I think I'd have to agree with Jasmin and Rachel and say that it's up to everyone's individual interpretation to say who the "mockingbird/s" are.
ReplyDeleteI believe both Tom and Boo can be symbolized by the mockingbird, though I am not sure other characters are.
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