To Kill A Mockingbird
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that impress, amaze and make one think. Harper Lee's "To Kill A Mockingbird", however, is
unique among all these poignant pieces of literature in that the novel solely develops Lee's idea,
brought out by Atticus in the novel, to "...shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but
remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird" (90). This phrase is expounded by the character Miss
Maudie when she 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) 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 Lee's 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...
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