Critical Analysis of To Kill A Mockingbird

Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird was a pioneer novel in its time. This literature classic challenged the prevalent racism and blatant problem of good and evil in the old south with remarkable storytelling. To Kill a Mockingbird is especially good at explaining and showing the theme of immorality while incorporating provocative symbolism through the usage of mockingbirds. This is best represented through the characters of Arthur “Boo” Radley and Tom Robinson. Overall, To Kill a Mockingbird encompasses the human condition in all its glory and destruction. The novel articulates a painful reminder that innocence is fragile and, once necessarily broken, forces people to see the evil in the world and, with that, the undeniable requirement to accept it.

To Kill a Mockingbird illustrates the theme of immorality long before Atticus defends Tom Robinson in court. In the case of Jem and Scout, it is Atticus who provides the much needed moral compass amidst the increasingly immoral community of Maycomb. One of the most prevalent examples of immorality is the overarching division of people by class and race. For example, the reader learns fairly early on in the novel that Atticus and his family are upper class. Below them are the Cunninghams. Below the Cunninghams are the poverty-stricken Ewells. Below the Ewells are the blacks. It is also implied that each group looks down on the group below them because of the oppression of the class system. The Ewells in particular, are referenced as the primary immoral group, “Atticus said the Ewells had been the disgrace of

Maycomb for three generations. None of them had done an honest day’s work in his recollection” (Lee 33). This is explained well through Burris Ewell and his reluctance to attend school. It is believed within Maycomb that the Ewells are the black sheep of the community and there is an overall lack of acceptance for them. However, despite this exclusion of the Ewells by most of the community, there is a convergence by the residents of Maycomb towards this family when Bob Ewell commits some of the most severe acts of immorality against Tom Robinson later on in the novel.

Immorality takes a stronger hold beginning in chapter nine when the focus shifts off of the innocent perspective of Jem and Scout. It is here that brutal reality hits when Atticus is preparing to defend Tom Robinson, a black field hand who is accused of raping a white woman. The concern Atticus has for his children is shown in a conversation with Jack, “What bothers me is that she (Scout) and Jem will have to absorb some ugly things pretty soon” (100). This is foreshadowing into the ultimate loss of seeing the world through rose-colored glasses and the loss of innocence. This statement by Atticus also demonstrates how the immorality of the world can either create a person of strong morality and justice or destroy a person’s entire perception of the world. Atticus himself has been able to withstand and fight evil with a realistic and healthy mindset. It is because of this that he is the character most representative of morality in a community consumed by immorality. Unfortunately, not all of the characters are able to cope with the truth of immorality in the world. These characters are represented through the symbolism of mockingbirds.

Mockingbirds, above all, are representative of innocence. “…the title of the novel…often points to one of its key themes…mockingbirds are mentioned in several places throughout the book” (Schuster 342). While the idea of mockingbirds is shown continuously in the novel, the characters who embody this symbol closest are the ones who are innocent but also damaged by the cruelties of the world. Two characters who represent this best in the story are Arthur “Boo” Radley and Tom Robinson. Boo Radley is introduced at the beginning of To Kill a Mockingbird as a character to be feared because he is locked away in his house all of the time. As the story progresses, however, it is shown that he is innocent but his innocence has been destroyed by the cruelties of the world.

In Radley’s case, his father’s abuse. Atticus sees this destruction as a true tragedy and refers to it as a sin, “…Remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (103). Miss Maudie explains further, “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” (103). Boo Radley is representative of this because even though his innocence has been destroyed, he is still kind like a mockingbird. Throughout the book, Boo Radley commits many acts of kindness. First, he leaves many gifts in the trunk of a tree for Jem and Scout. This is probably his way of reaching out to them since he is unable to leave his house. Second, he saves Scout during the fire. Finally, he rescues both Jem and Scout from Bob Ewell. Ironically, Bob Ewell is also connected to the slaughter of the second mockingbird, Tom Robinson.

Tom Robinson is the person in the story who is forced to absorb the hate within the community of Maycomb. As a result, evil destroys him and his innocence. After this metaphorical death in court, Robinson is later physically killed by guards when he attempts to escape his unjust imprisonment. There is a symmetry to the fact that Bob Ewell is the one to start the “killing” of Robinson with his false accusations. Because Tom Robinson is black, he is a part of virtually the only group that is below the Ewell family. He is therefore made into a target that the Ewell family is able to release their anger onto. Thus, the theme of immorality funneled through classism and racism helps to defeat and unjustly rob the “mockingbird” innocence of Robinson.

After Tom is shot and killed, there is an ugly truth that is revealed to the reader about the tragedy of the nonsensical murder of mockingbirds. “…Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men’s hearts, Atticus had no case. Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed” (Lee 276). Blinded by immoral rage and prejudice, it was possible for Tom Robinson, an innocent man, to be killed metaphorically by his unjust conviction and physically by getting shot while trying to escape. It did not matter that there was no evidence against Robinson. All that mattered were the irrational viewpoints of the all-white jury and the overall immoral attitude of the community of Maycomb. Mockingbirds like Tom Robinson have no chance when society insists on seeing them as vultures.

To Kill a Mockingbird is a painful but necessary novel. Immorality and the symbolic nature of mockingbirds are often intertwined together even though they are polar opposite concepts. The reader is reminded again and again that immorality is multilayered and complex within the minds of the residents in Maycomb. Through classism, racism and consequent hatred and fear, characters like Boo Radley and Tom Robinson are misunderstood and looked upon as different and dangerous. Contrary to that belief, these characters best represent the innocence of mockingbirds symbolically. They are peaceful and kind. However, in a community like Maycomb, a community filled with hate, and fueled by fear, there is a desire to see those mockingbirds suffer.

Works Cited

Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 1999. Print.

Schuster, Edgar H. Contemporary Literary Criticism. Vol. 12. N.p.: Gale, 1979. Print.