“Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit ’em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a
mockingbird.” “
Mockingbirds don’t
do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up peoples 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.” This is the first lesson young Scout and Jem learn when they receive air rifles for Christmas. If only they new that this message would play a greater importance on their outlook towards life. Harper Lee portrays innocence being destroyed in her insightful novel To Kill a Mockingbird. My intention is to show the truthfulness of youth being exposed to the reality of prejudice and injustice, and what it really means to kill a mockingbird. Although its obviousness is not as apparent in the beginning of the novel, it becomes lucid that Jem is one of four “
mockingbirds”. In the beginning of the story we see a young boy fascinated by the simple joys of daily life. Whether it was giving a ridiculous description of Boo Radley, or simply playing with his younger sister, no minute detail of life was too inconspicuous to catch his attention. However, as the story progresses we observe his transition from adolescence to maturity. “His maddening superiority was unbearable these days. He didn’t want to do anything but read and go off by himself.” Perhaps this change of mindset was sparked by the confrontation with Mrs. Dubose and her disease, or perhaps it was simply time for him to grow up. But no matter which, his outlook on life was jarred forever and innocence was stolen from his perspective as his father’s trial drew to an ending. Another example of juvenile naivety being distorted is watching Scouts transition from childhood playmate of her brother, to witness of his changing perception. She begins to have a feeling of bewilderment towards his odd opinions. “There’s four kinds of folks in the world. There’s the ordinary kind like us and the neighbors, there’s the kind like the Cunningham’s out in the woods, the kind like the Ewells down at the dump, and the Negroes.” After several minutes of Scout trying to discern the reasoning behind his conclusion, and her response that “there’s just one kind of folks. Folks.” he simply becomes irritated. After a few minutes of stewing he rebukes, “That’s what I thought too, when I was your age. If there’s just one kind of folks, why can’t they get along with each other? If they’re all alike, why do they go out of their way to despise each other?” Perhaps Jem’s insightful questions were inspirational for scout’s young mind to form her own ideas, her own questions of why society in Maycomb has such a hypocritical eye. Such an example of double standards would be her teacher, Miss Gates. Scout becomes puzzled when she hears her teacher distressed about Hitler’s activities throughout Europe, yet recalls her reaction after the hearing being that the blacks were “getting’ way above themselves,” As Scout begins to notice the chauvinism of her narrow minded town, she forms her own questions and conclusions. “Jem, how can you hate Hitler so bad an’ then turn around and be ugly about folks right at home-” The final, second most evident “Mockingbird” is Boo (Arthur) Radley. When Scout and Jem were younger children, Boo was reminiscent of a fictional character rather than a real man. Throughout the book, though, his personality begins to come about through certain events. Examples would be his leaving little gifts in the tree, repairing Jem’s pants, and putting the blanket around Scout’s shoulders. Boo is perhaps the principal character that should be viewed as a mockingbird because to kill him, or any part of him, would be destroying the greatest source of pure righteousness in the entire book. “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy.”, and in a way Boo’s good deeds are exceptional forms of a song. Even Scout, who is not fully aware of her insightful observations, understands that to exploit his life preserving actions would be like killing a mockingbird. In her novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee magnifies the truth that in societies, prejudice and injustice are thrown upon individuals on a daily basis. To kill a mockingbird really means both to kill the purity and innocence of youth, and also to take advantage of privacy and ones choice of opinion. Should society stand and observe as racist viewpoints are developed, and individuals are wrongly indicted? Although no one can retrieve the perspective they once claimed as a child, they can contemplate what caused them to form the opinions they now posses. And maybe someday, we will recognize together the strife we have caused by killing all those mockingbirds.