This previous month, I read a book named To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. To Kill A Mockingbird is a story that embeds many themes into its perfectly laid out story. Scout Finch is just a small child when the story begins. She was brought up in a very welcoming household, where she could be whatever she wanted. That's not common in the small town of Maycomb. She wasnt raised to think poorly of blacks like the rest of the white 1940's population in Maycomb. When a respectable black man named Tom Robinson is accused by a despicable white man named Bob Ewell of raping his eldest daughter, Scout knows that Mr. Robinson isn't guilty. However, even though Scout and many other non racist people know that Mr. Robinson isn't guilty, the majority of the jury is racist, therefore voting in favor of the plaintiff. Mr. Robinson is later shot to death in the story after trying to escape the prision, where he didn't belong. The symbolism in this story is unmissable. The death of a mockingbird, an animal who does no harm and only provides beautiful music for the world represents the innocent, good people who were destroyed by evil.
At the beginning of the story, Scout recalls always hearing horrible rumors about her neighbor, Mr. Radley. He was supposedly a monster who always stayed inside because he hated people and would try to kill them, as he tried to do to his father. But later in the story, the truth about Mr. Easley unveils. He is a good, innocent human destroyed by the evil of his father. When he was a teen, Mr. Radleys father would molest him. This resulted in him being sent away for trying to defend himself from his father, and more mental abuse was put upon him. He can't leave the house because of his state of mind. Another example of symbolism throughout the story is Mr. Robinson, who was accused of raping a white mans older daughter. He was innocent, but because the man, Mr. Ewell, who actually rapes his daughter, caught his daughter trying to kiss Mr. Robinson, he took his rage out on the poor man, and accused him of raping his daughter. Mr. Robinson was a husband, a father, and a loving, hard-working man. Mr. Ewell represents the evil that exists to swallow the good. Mr. Robinson and Mr. Radley were both Harmless mockingbirds who were destroyed by sin.
This message relates to real life because although this story is fictional, the same type of evil that swallowed the mockingbirds in this story still exists today in real life. It still exists, and because of that, many people's lives are destroyed each and every day by the evil and "sin" of others. And although racism, rape, molestation, incest, murder, and sexism, all things faced in the story, are still around today and will never be fully contained, the good mockingbirds of our society will continue to fight each and everyday for the destruction to end.
