Central Concerns: Motifs & the Mockingbird

A motif in literature:

• has symbolic value


• is recurring

"... but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."

Mockingbirds represent innocence; to kill a mockingbird, which is a harmless, giving creature, destroys that innocence. Several characters in the novel can be described symbolically as mockingbirds.

Boo Radley: Boo is one obvious choice. He was badly treated by his father but still doesn't lose his kind and generous spirit. Boo gives gifts to the children and saves Scout and Jem from Bob Ewell. At the end of the novel, Scout acknowledges that publicising this fact would be like shooting a mockingbird as Boo is a quiet and intensely private person who would be upset by the intrusion of neighbours, however kind they may be. This moment also signifies how Scout has grown up over the course of the novel - she is more understanding of human nature.

Mayella Ewell: We suspect that poor Mayella may be dreaming about something beyond her own painful life when we see that she cultivates flowers in the garden of her family home. Mayella is harmless, but she has been corrupted by her neglectful father, who is sexually and physically abusive towards her. In this way Mayella has lost her innocence - she is like a mockingbird who has been shot.

Tom Robinson: Tom was trying to help Mayella, and his evidence at the trial lets us know that he is a loving and kind person. He is innocent in the legal sense; however, he is also innocent in the sense that he is somewhat naive and actually harms his own case by admitting that he 'felt sorry' for Mayella. This turns the white jury against him as a black man has no place pitying a white woman. Tom is literally shot when he tries to escape from jail, but he is also robbed of his innocence when the guilty verdict of the trial is returned.

There are other examples of mockingbird characters in the novel, too.

Mockingbirds also help to alter the atmosphere in the book; for example, at moments of tension they are silent (e.g. when waiting for the verdict of the trial) and at times of beauty and peace they can be heard.

It is worth noting that the mockingbird motif appears in the names of certain characters - the Finches, for example (a mockingbird is a type of finch) and Tom Robinson (a North American robin is a songbird, as are mockingbirds).