In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, the reader is introduced to the character Miss Maudie within the first few chapters. Miss Maudie initially appears as a flat character who is friendly to the Finch kids and loves to tend to her garden. However, Miss Maudie has been shaped by the racial and social injustices she both witnesses and experiences, which turns her into a fearless, stubborn defender of the metaphoric mockingbird. Maudie is proven to come to the defense of those who cannot or will not defend themselves. This is proven in the subtle way she cares for Scout; besides being very friendly and sweet to the children, going as far as to bake them her famous cake, Miss Maudie will do her best to make Scout feel most comfortable. When Miss Stephanie Crawford teases and embarrasses Scout in front of a group of women, Scout states that Miss Maudie, “...never laughed at me unless I meant to be funny...Miss Maudie’s hand touched mine...closed tightly on mine, and I said nothing. It’s warmth was enough.” (Lee 307, 308). Scout, so embarrassed she becomes mild, finds comfort in Miss Maudie’s simple yet impactful action. …show more content…
“Your father’s right. Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, the don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” (Lee 119). The metaphorical mockingbirds of the story are Boo, Tom, and, to a certain extent, Scout. Boo and Tom are victims of the circumstances, and their lives are forever ruined but the decisions, or “sins”, other people decided for them and Scout is no longer the innocent six-year-old from the beginning of the book. Miss Maudie has relentlessly protected the mockingbirds of this novel, both literally and
This symbolic and significant statement is found being spoken by Miss Maudie, a neighbor Jem and Scout were extremely fond of. Throughout the entire book, these incredible words find themselves thought of constantly by the reader. The mockingbird Miss Maudie was talking about can come in many different forms. This quote is perhaps one of the biggest themes present in this book. Atticus put this in the mind of Scout after giving her and Jem air rifles. When he
Tom Robinson is wrongfully convicted of rape and eventually killed in prison, whereas Boo Radley is killed emotionally because he is not accepted by society. Since it is a sin to kill a mockingbird, it is also a sin to kill innocent souls like Tom and Boo. When Scout tries to understand why it is a sin to kill a mockingbird, Miss Maudie elucidates Atticus’s opinion more clearly by stating, “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy...They don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (103). Mockingbirds sing and make beautiful music; however they mimic the songs of other birds, so they are seen through others. Tom and Boo are like mockingbirds because they are subject to the perceptions of the people of Maycomb. The townspeople knew these characters based on what others said about them. Consequently, Tom and Boo do not have their own “song” and are portrayed by others’ views of them. The mockingbird emerges as a metaphor for the wrong in harming innocent and defenseless people.
"Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird" (pg. 119.) Miss Maudie spoke the previous quote with deep thought going into each and every word. She wasn't just trying to teach Scout a lesson, but she wanted there to be a powerful meaning behind it. Miss Maudie's main purpose was to stress that you shouldn't kill something that is doing no harm. Everyday "mockingbirds" are killed, broke down, and mistreated by society.
There were several “mockingbird” personalities in To Kill a Mockingbird, but the two that stood out to me were Miss Maudie and Scout Finch. They’re not always happy and were never ideal people, but they never caused any harm during any major conflicts in the novel. Their attitudes were usually positive, and could sometimes get too positive. Both Scout and Mrs. Maudie were always in a better state of mind than people who constantly had ideas about business and never had much fun.
Mockingbirds bring beauty and happiness into the world. Miss. Maudie said, "Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."(119). This is referring to Tom Robinson and Boo Radley who are both portrayed as mockingbirds in the book. They both brought happiness into the world and did nothing wrong, but were punished and in Tom’s case, killed.
It's a sin to kill a mockingbird because they don't do anything to hurt people; they only help farmers out and sing beautiful songs. To Kill a Mockingbird is about a little girl named Scout who sees her town as a beautiful place where nothing unpleasant happens until accusations of rape occur. Then she realizes how racist and negative her town people can be. This occurs when her dad defends an innocent African American man. She realizes that Macomb has deplorable individuals living there, and this reality hit her hard. Atticus Finch, Tom Robinson, and Boo Radley are metaphorically portrayed as mockingbirds.
An American author once said: “Without compassion, then community, commitment, loving-kindness, human understanding, and peace all shrivel.” Compassion and love thrives as one of the most important human attribute; it stirs in people and fictional characters. In the timeless classic of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, characters display determined compassion. Atticus Finch, a peaceful and justice-seeking lawyer sides a trial and case of blunt racism for a falsely accused victim; his children see his love for all people and races. The Finch children, Scout and Jem, also have their affectionate household caregiver, Calpurnia, who acts just like a warm mother-figure they never had. As well as their cherished neighbor, Miss Maudie Atkinson,
Harper Lee's 'To Kill a Mockingbird' is recounted by Scout, who at the time was six years old. This book follows her journey in growing up and eventually losing her innocence through realising the evil in the world, mostly portrayed by the racism and prejudice surrounding her. A mockingbird is a metaphor for the destruction of innocence. There are three mockingbirds in the text: Boo Radley, Scout Finch and Tom Robinson. Boo has done nothing wrong except sit in his house and 'mind his own business', and has done nothing to hurt anyone else. All that has happened is he has been accused once again of crimes he did not commit. Scout is a mockingbird because she is thrust in the middle of all of the adults and their prejudices. Tom has done
“Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy, that’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” The novel To Kill a Mockingbird is a book of exploration of the moral nature of human beings—that is, whether people are essentially good or essentially evil. A young girl named Scout deals with the issues of racism while gaining knowledge, experience, strength, and courage, while her father, a lawyer, is persecuted for defending a falsely accused black man being charged with raping a white girl. Many characters are judged upon their race, behavior, and social class.
Harper Lee's novel To Kill a Mockingbird occurs during the Great Depression. Despite the setting taking place fifty years after slavery had officially ended, Maycomb County is depicted as an immensely segregated and prejudiced town. As a result, many of the townspeople assume the characteristics of other residents through town gossip and rumors. Because having a strong opinion on controversial issues in the town could lead to cruel consequences, many of the residents’ opinions and ideas are greatly influenced by others. The fear of being judged and rejected from society causes many of Maycomb County’s people to conceal the truth about the false gossip which hoodwinks the others into misinterpreting and believing the gossip. Miss Maudie Atkinson, a young widow, is one of the few characters in the novel that displays her own individuality and protests against what she does not believe to be true. Miss Maudie's positive trait of bravery makes her an asset to the Maycomb community because through her distinctiveness, she becomes a role model for individuals such as Scout Finch.
Based on her actions in Chapter 22, it is clear that Miss Stephanie is extremely absorbed in drama. Rather than focusing on the actual trial, she focuses on the gossip points that arose in result of the trial. When the kids go to see her, she is recounting the events of the trial to Miss Maudie and Mr. Avery which demonstrates why she is considered the “English Channel of gossip.” Scout notes that “Miss Stephanie’s nose quivered with curiosity” which depicts Miss Stephanie’s temptation to ask them intrusive questions. Scout knew that the questions she wanted to ask included: “who all gave us permission to go to court,” “did Scout understand all the—?,” and “didn’t it make us mad to see our daddy beat?”
In To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, there is a character that stands out. The character of Miss Maudie Atkinson is truly one of kindness, familiarity, and auntliness. Miss Maudie is a kind person. *insert quote here* When her house burns down in chapter eight, she tries to make the best of the situation. In chapter 24, she puts the ladies at the missionary tea in their places when they start talking smack about Atticus.
Scout admires Ms. Maudie because of Ms. Maudies patience, respect, and kindness towards Scout and her family.
Scout and Jem were given air-rifles by their uncle Jack. With these new toys Jem started to have an interest in guns but Atticus wanted no part in the whole ordeal. Atticus says, “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird”(90). Lee uses this to point out the symbolic mockingbird and its deeper meaning of true innocence. When Atticus tells the children that it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird because they do no harm it can be traced to Tom. Tom had been falsely accused of rapping a woman and when a mocking bird dies so does its its innocence. As time swifts buy the children still have dirt on them because of the trial, this dirt causes both Jem and Scout to get attacked but luckily they are saved by a man known as Arthur “boo” Radley. This man had been cooped up in his house his whole life so when Atticus finds out what he killed the children's attacker he didn’t know what to do. Scout says, “Well it’d be sort of of like shooting a mockingbird”(276). Scout was replying to the ideas of not telling the town what Mr.Radley had done. When Scout says this it shows that she understands the depth behind this issue and the fact that she understood shows that this childhood blindness and innocence she had once had was now gone in a
To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel written by Harper Lee and published in 1960. It was a very successful book, winning the Pulitzer Prize and becoming a modern American classic. Ostensibly, the title of To Kill a Mockingbird has scant literary connection to the plot of the story, but the recurring mockingbird motif symbolizes the innocent and good characters in this novel. Miss Maudie explains to Scout why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird: “Your father’s right. Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” To Kill a Mockingbird likens three characters, Tom Robinson, Arthur “Boo” Radley, and Atticus Finch, to mockingbirds.