Mockingbird Society Prejudice

Extended Essay

　　What is the significance of the mockingbird in society in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird and what other elements of symbolism does the author use to represent prejudice in society?

　　Harper Lee's novel To Kill a Mockingbird is about a young girl living in the town of Maycomb during the Great Depression, where racism and prejudice are immense issues amongst the society. Lee follows the life of Scout finch, the daughter of a lawyer, as she tries to escape the realism of prejudice in the small Alabama town in the 1930's.

　　Lee titled her novel To Kill a Mockingbird, which leaves open to many conclusions about what this Mockingbird might represent. Harper Lee effectively used the symbolism of this harmless, beautiful bird to represent the various characters in this book that are being exposed to the issues of prejudice, for example Boo Radley or Tom Robinson who are innocent people that have been injured or destroyed by evil.

　　Also, using important quotes and objects, she outlines how prejudice and judging a person by their looks can influence a whole society to a point where even an innocent man is found guilty just because of his race. However, not only does Lee use the symbolism of the mockingbird to signify racism and prejudice, but she always uses certain objects like whiskey bottles or the holy bible.

　　One theory as to why Harper Lee used the word Mockingbird in her title is because of all the characters in the book that are similar to the definition of a mockingbird. The terminology of a mockingbird is a bird that never does anyone any harm and never does anything except sing their hearts out to people. This description is similar to the one Miss Maudie uses when talking to Scout Finch, the female protagonist in this novel. Miss Maudie 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.

　　Obviously, this symbolizes many characters in the novel, such as Boo Radley. Boo Radley is the son of Mr. Radley who lives next door to the Finch's in Maycomb. They kept to themselves and the people of Maycomb considered this unforgivable. They do not go to church but worshipped at home and kept the doors and shutters closed, which was another alien thing to do in Maycomb. Despite these things, the Radley's never did anyone any harm, they just had a different way of living. Especially Boo Radley - who had not been seen for fifteen years.

　　Yet people still found things to say about the Radley's just because they were different. Boo Radley gets described as a Phantom because people say he exists, but they have never seen him. At this point of the book, Boo is just a childhood fallacy. The people of Maycomb are unwilling to discard their suspicions of anyone, even if there are reasons for it. When Scout asks Jem about Boo on page 14, Jem describes Boo as if he has known him for years, although he is just describing him on account of what he's heard, and just like any other person in that town, he doesn't seem to care that he might be passing on false information.

　　He says Boo was about six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks. [...] There was a long jagged scar across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten; his eyes popped, and he drooled most of the time. Jem receives most of his information from Miss Stephanie Crawford, which shows how information is passed along through society. Another example of this is that Jem and Scout think he is dangerous and never want to go near his house. The real reason they are not supposed to disturb them is because Atticus always says Scout and Jem should mind their own business... but people tend to believe the worst and therefore, the two think that he is dangerous solely based on other people's words.

　　However, when Jem and Scout get saved by Boo and they finally see his true face, they realize that they had been wrong all along, which is the common turn prejudice tends to take. Jem realizes on page 299 that Boo is just a normal person but values different qualities in life - for example, he likes to be on his own, doesn't like too much light and likes to keep to himself. A direct reference of comparing Boo Radley to a mockingbird is made at the end of the novel, where Scout realizes that hurting Boo would be like hurting a mockingbird. Scout finally grasped the fact that Boo would never do anything to harm anyone.

　　Another character that could be considered a mockingbird in the novel is Tim Johnson. Tim Johnson is a dog that appears to be sick, although no one is too certain about this because he gets killed before he comes to close for anyone to see. Tim Johnson was considered to be the community pet until it was seen limping and acting unusual. Immediately, the people of Maycomb assumed the worst and killed the dog before any further investigation.

　　Even though the dog had a case of rabies, it would not have done any harm and had never done anything to damage the people of maycomb, yet people were quick to go and shoot him. Because several people (including Calpurnia) thought he was dangerous, other people thought the same, which, yet again, related to one of the major themes of this novel: prejudice in the society. Since Tim Johnson was acting different than the other dogs were or the way he usually was, he had to die. This character in the novel is considered to be a mockingbird because he was always considered as a friendly dog, yet people had no problem shooting the poor dog, which once again related to how people are careless about mockingbirds.

　　Mr. Dolphus Raymond, who the reader gets introduced later on in the novel, is another character that can be considered a mockingbird in society. Mr. Raymond is seen sitting in a square with a bunch of negroes sipping from two straws that come out a brown paper bag. This might be what makes Scout think about this character in the first place; the fact that he is sitting with a bunch of black people entirely by choice. Then Jem says He's got a Coca-Cola bottle full of whiskey in there. That's so not to upset the ladies. You'll see him sip it all afternoon , he'll step out for a while and fill it back up. This is another situation in which Jem blatantly passes on information he's received from the folks in town - he doesn't know what is actually inside the bottle but merely because it is covered, he expects the worst.

　　This specific element is also one of the main symbolic elements of this novel which represents prejudice. Some people say that you should never judge a book by its cover and this expression fits perfectly into this situation: just because Mr. Raymond is sipping a beverage out of a brown paper bag (which is often associated to alcohol), people draw unnecessary conclusions. This is also proven by the conversation Scout has with Mr. Raymond a little while later in the novel. When Scout, Dill and Jem meet him later, he encourages Dill to drink out of the paper bag. Only then does it occur to the three children that the paper bag contains Coca-Cola. Scout, it's nothing but Coca-Cola.

　　This proves the saying that looks can be deceiving and prejudice is a common part everywhere. Then Mr. Raymond says something interesting: You little folks wont tell on me now, will you? It'd ruin my reputation if you did. [...] Oh yes, you mean why do I pretend? Well, It's very simple. Some folks don't - like the way I live. Now I could say the hell with 'em, I don't care if they don't like it. I do say I Don't care if they don't like it, right enough - but I don't say the hell with 'em, see? I try to give them a reason, you see. It helps if they can latch on to a reason. When I come to town, which is seldom, if I weave a little and drink out of this sack, folks can say Dolphus Raymond in the clutches of whiskey - that's why he wont change his ways.

　　He cant help him - that's why he wont change his ways. This is a very interesting quote because it illustrates the fact that he has to give people a reason to judge him because he knows they will judge him no matter what because he likes to hang around with coloured people instead of white people. He would be criticized for his affiliation with black people, so he blames his ways on whiskey. He separates himself from society and does not want to change his ways just because some people are too prejudiced against races. Also, it seems that he is the only character in the book who can see past the racism and past the prejudice. At first the reader might think that Atticus can also, but this clearly gets dismissed later in the novel (this will be discussed later on).

　　Harper Lee may have included this particular character to further exemplify his main theme: that prejudice can change perspective. One thing Scout says after the discussion with Mr. Raymond is: He was fascinating. I had never encountered a being who deliberately perpetrated fraud against himself. Scout, Jem and Dill thought Mr. Raymond was a drinker because the people said so but they never thought about what really was in the bag. This particular element of symbolism could represent that whiskey in a paper bag presents that there is more than meets the eye. However, the reader can distinguish that Mr. Raymond is definitely affected by the racism in society. He pretends to be drunk half the time because he doesn't have the courage to admit his beliefs, i.e. enjoying the company of blacks more than whites. The interesting aspect of this particular character is the fact that he is a wealthy man who had an affair with a coloured woman while he was supposed to marry a white woman.

　　The Cunninghams, or more specifically Walter Cunningham is an additional character that could be classified as a mockingbird to a great extent. The Cunninghams are said to be a very poor family. When Scout goes to school, she knows immediately that Walter is a Cunningham by the way he acts and is dressed. Also, because he's a Cunningham, he is considered poor: He's a Cunningham Walter is having a hard time when Scout's teacher tells everyone to put their lunch on the table. When Walter fails to show evidence of a present lunch, she asks where his is. She also offers him a quarter to go buy a lunch as long as he pays her back tomorrow but he declines.#p#分页标题#e#

　　Walter Cunningham's face told everybody in the first grade he had hookworms. His absence of shoes told us how he got them. [...] If Walter had owned any shoes he would have worn them the first day of school and then discared them until mid-winter. He did have on a clean shirt and neatly mended overalls. That quote shows yet again how appearances have a major impact of prejudice in society. However, Scout does not seem too fazed by this: Scout doesn't care about how much money the Cunningham's have and she doesn't let this change her perspective of people.

　　Dill is also a mockingbird in the novel. The first time Scout and Jem see him, Jem says You look right puny for goin' on seven. Just because he isn't very tall, Jem and Scout think that he is younger. Dill provides Jem with a very mature answer, I'm little but I'm old which relates back to the central theme of the novel. Yet again, looks can be deceiving and Dill is older than he looks. This again demonstrates how Jem and Scout are affected by an appearance which eventually takes over their morality and their logical thinking and their reasoning. It is admirable to see how people can be so wrong about something else.

　　However, Scout and Jem are also mockingbirds at some stage. When they are on their way home from the school recital, they get attacked my Mr. Ewell because they were the kids of Atticus. They never did any harm to him themselves, yet he had no problem hurting and attempting to kill them, no matter how small or innocent they were. This, once again, links back to what Miss Maudie said about the mockingbirds and how they never do any harm to anyone, yet people have no problem shooting them down or hurting them.

　　Moreover, through Harper Lee's inclusion of Dill, we find out another aspect of what Harper Lee thinks about prejudice in the society. Dill says I helped the engineer for a while and Jem replies: In a pig'sear you did, Dill. Hush This reveals that people in society often lie to fit in to humanity or to make an impression on someone. Scout and Jem are among the only people not prejudiced because they were the only ones sitting in the balcony with black people.

　　The biggest mockingbird in this story would have to be Tom Robinson. Tom is accused of rape of a small white girl, and even though everyone knows he did not do it, he is convicted simply because of his skin color. He had no chance of defending himself, plainly because he is not white. Even Atticus, who took the job of being Tom's attorney, had doubts from the very beginning about the trial when Scout asked him whether they were going to win. He replies that they won't win the case because coloured people have no chance compared to white people.

　　Atticus says in our courts, when it's a white man's word against a black man's, the white man always wins which also shows the mentality of the world during that time. It also reinforces the idea that Tom will be denied any form of justice. Despite of various evidence, Atticus was not able to provide a good enough verdict for Tom. Racism decided that Tom Robinson was guilty although he could not have possibly committed the crime, and everyone knew that. The court did not even give him a chance although it was clear that he did not do the crime.

　　Tom Robinson is characterized by how the people in the society think about him, and this is passed on to other people. People only knew about Tom Robinson through what other people said about him which relates to the story of Boo Radley. These two characters are very similar to each other because Boo is like a smaller version of an outcast than Tom is: Boo is an outcast in the neighborhood whereas Tom is an outcast in the whole society. The only people that actually see Tom Robinson's innocence at the trial are the Finch's.