Lin Zhu
Mrs. Fanous
Freshman Honors English, Period 6
June 3, 2011
The Last Essay of the Year ^_^
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is an instant bestseller and Pulitzer Prize winner because it speaks the truth about our society and represents important mortal qualities. Among racism, loss of innocence and bravery, one of the most significant mortal qualities is that it is wrong to ruin the innocent. As the title suggests, Harper Lee wants to tell the world, it is a sin to kill a mockingbird because mockingbird represent goodness, innocence, and purity. "Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy... but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird." Mockingbirds does not do anyone harm. All they do is live in peace, be helpful, and bring joy to their surroundings. Harper Lee's main message is that it is wrong to hurt innocent people.
Tom Robinson is the obvious mockingbird in the book. He was actually killed. All he did was walk to his job, sees Mayella and helps her with her chores because he felt sorry for her. He showed her sympathy, but in return he was "killed" because Bob Ewell was disgusted that his daughter would associate with a black man. Everyone knows how much he hated the black neighborhood living near him. Even with Atticus doing the best he can, frankly proving Tom innocent, but the all white jury declared Tom Robinson guilty just the same. He was accused of raping and beating Mayella Ewell. The truth is she was beaten by Bob Ewell himself and a rape never happened. The whole town knows this, but all the same, they committed a demeritorious sin by convicting him guilty. Tom Robinson was killed like a lone black pawn surrounded by a board full of white chess pieces. They have killed a mockingbird.
The strange, mysterious Boo Radley is yet another aloof mockingbird. He was held prisoner his entire life in his own home by his father because he made a childhood mistake. Adding to all those rumors and criticism about how he stabbed his father in the leg, the thought the world was a cruel place with cruel people was inbred into his juvenile brain. Lacking even more social abilities being stuck inside all those years, he never had the courage to come out in the world. Boo Radley observes the Mayhem streets through the window in his house, staying hidden and causing no harm to anyone. He fell in love with the only beings that pay attention to him: Scout, Dill, and Jem. Boo Radley saved them when Bob Ewell attacked. He saved them, but he also killed. Still mourning for the death of one mockingbird, the witnesses of the attack decided putting Boo Radley on trail would be rueful. People would be even more alarmed when they find out that this kid whom stabbed his father at a young age has actually grown up stabbing a person to death. They asked Scout if she understands why they must say that Bob Ewell killed himself.
Scout replies saying of course she understands, putting Boo on trial and in the public sphere would be like killing a mockingbird.
Mayella Ewell, though receiving little sympathy from readers for inflicting worse cruelty on Tom.
She injured beyond repair by the forces of ugliness, poverty, and hatred that surround her.
Her father beats her and possibly molests her, while she has to deal with her unhelpful siblings.
She has lacked kind treatment in her life to such an extent that when Atticus calls her Miss Mayella, she accuses him of making fun of her.
She has no friends, and Scout seems justified in thinking that she “must have been the loneliest person in the world.”
On the other hand, though, Scout’s picture of Mayella as a victim is marred by her attempt to become a victimizer, to destroy Tom Robinson in order to cover her shame.
We can have little real sympathy for Mayella Ewell—whatever her sufferings, she inflicts worse cruelty on others.
The world is not just black and white. It is all about survival. What clearly defines a bad person is when he knows he is doing something wrong but does it anyways. You are only a bad person if you intentionally do bad things.
A misguided person is when he can't help that he is brought up that way and does things he does not realize is wrong. A good person is enlightened and tries to do everything he canto be the best he can.
"They're certainly entitled to think that, and they're entitled to full respect for their opinions... but before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience."
- Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee always thought of this as a simple love story, but it was known as a masterpiece for it struck everyone in a racist 1960’s world with its bold truth about the human psychology. In this book, Harper Lee described the three types of mockingbirds in the real world: those that are different, those that are criticized, and those with a different background. “There’s only one kind of folks, folks.”
