Skip to main content

How is Scout Finch much like Boo Radley in Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird in the sense of being a "mockingbird"?

In To Kill a Mockingbird, author Harper Lee uses the mockingbird to symbolize innocence and purity.  Like the mockingbird, though Scout may have her flaws just like the rest of us, she can generally be considered innocent and pure, characteristics that actually develop more fully as the novel progresses.

We learn of the symbol of the mockingbird and its meaning in two different places. First, in Chapter 10, Atticus warns Jem and Scout not to shoot at any mockingbirds with their new Christmas air riffles, saying, "[I]t's a sin to kill a mockingbird." When Scout asks Miss Maudie for an explanation, Miss Maudie agrees with Scout's father and tells her the following:



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. (Ch. 10)



The symbolism of the mockingbird is further revealed when, after Tom Robinson's unfortunate death, Mr. Underwood, editor and owner of The Maycomb Tribune, draws a parallel between Robinson and a mockingbird, saying, as Scout paraphrases, "[I]t was a sin to kill cripples, be they standing, sitting, or escaping" (Ch. 255). Scout further paraphrases, "He likened Tom's death to the senseless slaughter of songbirds by hunters and children" (Ch. 25). Since mockingbirds are songbirds, we know that when Mr. Underwood uses the word songbird, he too is thinking of mockingbirds and calling Robinson an innocent man.

Early in the novel, though it is a bit more difficult to see Scout as an innocent songbird due to her tomboyish nature and other character flaws, as the novel progresses, Scout's nature actually improves and becomes more benevolent. At the start of the novel, Scout is a nuisance by virtue of the fact that she has a hotheaded temper, which makes her quick to pick physical fights. She is also guilty of prejudiced and racist beliefs, which can be seen in her reactions towards and treatment of Arthur (Boo) Radley and in the fact that she refers to Tom Robinson as "just a Negro" when Dill explains to her why he started crying during Robinson's trial (Ch. 19). Yet, by the end of the novel, the obvious kindness Arthur had showered upon her helps her dispel her prejudices, and the outcome of Robinson's trial helps her recognize and begin to reject racist beliefs. She is even infuriated when she hears her third-grade teacher speak out against Hitler's treatment of the Jews after having already heard her say hypocritically slanderous things about Maycomb's African-American population while exiting the courthouse after Robinson's trial. Scout's temper has even been quieted, and she no longer reacts violently.

Hence, by the end of the novel, Scout has developed into the sort of songbird that does nothing but strive to give people pleasure all day long. She even best exemplifies her mockingbird-like nature when, the night Arthur rescues the children, she shows him the respect he deserves by escorting him home with her arm linked through his so that they looked like a proper gentleman and lady walking together to any prying eyes, like those of Miss Stephanie Crawford.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

etymology - Origin of the greeting "Sweet dreams".

Does anybody know the etymology of the phrase "sweet dreams"? I tried googling but did not find anything satisfying. Is this a relatively new phrase of the modern world or has this been in use for some time? I think it's the latter one. Answer The OED has the interjection as "a farewell to someone going to bed" from the 20th century: 1908 Sears Roebuck Catal. 198/1 Tenor Solos..Good Bye, Sweet Dreams, Good Bye. But it goes back until at least the 19th and possibly 18th centuries. John Wolcot, writing under the pseudonym of Peter Pindar, used it in his poem "Orson and Ellen; A Legendary Tale" published in 1801: Also from 1801 in The infernal Quixote (Page 287) by Charles Lucas: In the March 1776 of The Universal Magazine was published "The Serenade. A Pastoral Tale. From the German of Gesner" , where the shepherd Daphnis watches over his beloved as she sleeps and sings: The same tale appears in 1776's as Idyl XI, " Daphnis ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Is there a word/phrase for "unperformant"?

As a software engineer, I need to sometimes describe a piece of code as something that lacks performance or was not written with performance in mind. Example: This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. Based on my Google searches, this isn't a real word. What is the correct way to describe this? EDIT My usage of "performance" here is in regard to speed and efficiency. For example, the better the performance of code the faster the application runs. My question and example target the negative definition, which is in reference to preventing inefficient coding practices. Answer This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. In my opinion, reads more easily as: This coding style leads to unmaintainable and poorly performing code. The key to well-written documentation and reports lies in ease of understanding. Adding poorly understood words such as performant decreases that ease. In addressing the use of such a poorly ...
Post a Comment
Read more

What are the similarities between the relationships of the characters in The Outsiders and Romeo and Juliet?

At first glance, it might appear as if the characters in  The Outsiders  by S. E. Hinton and  Romeo and Juliet  by William Shakespeare do not have much in common; however, when one isolates the core of the conflicts, it becomes clear that the relationships in both stories are rooted in rivalry and secrecy.  In both  The Outsiders  and  Romeo and Juliet , an overarching theme is rivalry. While   socioeconomic status separates the greasers from the Socs in The Outsiders , last names separates the Montagues from the Capulets, who appear to be relatively equal in terms of socioeconomic status. Due to these rivalries, there are instances of deadly interactions in both stories. In  The Outsiders , Johnny kills Bob (whether his actions were justified or not is debatable). In  Romeo and Juliet , Romeo kills Tybalt and Paris, and Tybalt kills Mercutio. These deaths have profound effects on the main characters. In Ponyboy's case, the Johnny's death and other events in the novel inspire h...
Post a Comment
Read more