Essay About Tom Robinson And Mr. Underwood

To Kill A Mockingbird
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In the last century, there have certainly been many “greats” – novels, books and stories
that impress, amaze and make one think. Harper Lees “To Kill A Mockingbird”, however, is
unique among all these poignant pieces of literature in that the novel solely develops Lees idea,
brought out by Atticus in the novel, to “shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit em, but
remember its a sin to kill a mockingbird” (90). This phrase is expounded by the character Miss
Maudie when she says “mockingbirds dont do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They
dont eat up peoples gardens, dont nest in corncribs, they dont do one thing but sing their hearts
out for us. Thats why its a sin to kill a mockingbird. :(90) In the bird kingdom, the bluejay is
considered as the “bully”, as they are very loud, agressive and territorial; this reminds one of Bob
Ewell. The phrase of “killing a mockingbird” represents the iniquity to vitiate something good and
relatively unmarred, as mockingbirds do nothing but sing beautiful songs; they are innocent and
harmless. This motif can also be interpreted as a symbol of imitation, or “mocking” – the
mockingbird is known for its ersatz of other birds songs. This mockingbird motif, the foremost
theme, is exemplified by the actions and words of three characters in “To Kill A Mockingbird” –
Arthur (Boo) Radley, Tom Robinson and Jean-Louise (Scout) Finch.
It is obvious and simple to understand why one of the “mockingbirds” in Lees novel is
Tom Robinson, as he is not only a cripple, “His left arm was fully twelve inches shorter than his
right, and hung dead at his side. It ended in a small shriveled hand, and from as far away as the
balcony I could see that it was no use to him.” (186), but innocent, kind and softhearted as well.
This is recognized when he helps out Mayella Ewell, in exchange for nothing. “did all this for not
one penny? Yes, suh. ” (197) He is the victim of not only racial prejudice, but the system of
segregation the town of Maycomb lived in. Even when he was sentenced, the jurors had no
quarrel with him – they just felt that to take the word of a black man over two whites would
jeapordize that system of segregation that they lived by. Tom as a symbol is further continued by
Mr. Underwood, when he writes after Toms death, trying to escape from his captivity, that he
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“simply figured it was a sin to kill cripples, be they standing, sitting, or escaping. He likened Toms
death to the senseless slaughter of songbirds by hunters or children.” (241) This correllation is
evident, as both mockingbirds and Tom, a crippled man, are completely defenceless before their
hunters and persecutors.
Another illustration of the mockingbird symbol in “To Kill A Mockingbird” is the young 5-
year-old character and narrator of the novel, Jean Louise, or “Scout” Finch. The name “Finch”
represents another small bird, and indicates that Scout is particularly vincible in the racially
prejudiced world she grew up in, Maycomb, a place that often treats the innocence of childhood
harshly. Scout experiences her first contact with evil when her father, Atticus Finch, becomes the
lawyer for Tom Robinson, and she has to bear the brunt of racial prejudice from teachers,
friends, relatives and other citizens of Maycomb. ” “I guess its not your fault if Uncle Atticus is a
nigger-lover besides, but im here to tell you it certainly does mortify the rest of the family-” ” (83).
Because of this exposure, Scouts develpment is ruled by the question of how she will emerge
from it – with her conscience and state of mind intact or with it being spoiled and destroyed like the
characters Boo Radley and Tom Robinson. Even thought Scout remains a child throughout the
entire book, her perspective on life in general develops from that of a naive and innocent child into
a near-adult. This is displayed when Scout seems to understand a concept that even some adults
dont – ” Yes sir, I understand,” I reassured him. “Mr Tate was right.” “Well, itd sort of be like
shootin a mockingbird, wouldnt it?” ” (276) This is partly due to Atticus wisdom, as through him,
Scout learns that even thought mankind will always have the ability to perform much evil, it also
has the same capacity to do the opposite. ” “Atticus, he was real nice” His hands were under my
chin, pulling up the cover, tucking it around me. “Most people are, Scout, when you finally see
them.”