Throughout ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’

Throughout ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’, there is a strong use of symbolism and comparison of characters to mockingbirds. The story of innocence destroyed by evil, uses the mockingbird to symbolise the idea of innocence and throughout the novel, explicitly connects the tale of the story to the novel’s title. Boo Radley, one of the story’s most notorious “mockingbird” represents the idea of it being “a sin to kill a mockingbird” as all they do is “sing their hearts out for us”, meaning that to hurt something or someone so innocent is a sin because all they do is help others. In the tale, Boo is an innocent person who has done nothing but help Jem and Scout. The writer conveyed to the reader, using little gestures of kindness Boo did, showed the innocence and purity of Boo. However, this innocence was damaged and attacked by his abusive father. Despite the pain Boo had suffered, the purity of his heart reigns supreme and in his eventual rescue of Jem and Scout he proves himself as a mockingbird. Boo’s mockingbird like traits are also explicitly told to the reader as scout tells Atticus that hurting Boo Radley would be “sort of shooting a mockingbird.”