Innocence in to Kill a Mockingbird

Innocence in To Kill a Mockingbird

        “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.  That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”  This one simple quote sums up Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird.  Although mockingbirds have very little literal connection to the plot, the symbol of a mockingbird represents one of the most prominent themes: innocence.  This fascinating story takes place in the sleepy little southern county of Maycomb in the 1930s.  Throughout the story, there are multiple characters who take on the metaphorical role of mockingbirds, having their innocence stolen away from them.  The characters of Jem Finch, Boo Radley, and Tom Robinson are quintessential examples of mockingbirds; they suffer through stereotyping, pain through injustice, and racial prejudice which all strip them of their innocence.  

        In To Kill a Mockingbird, Jem Finch is one of our protagonists.  He is the son of, Atticus Finch, a prominent lawyer in Maycomb, who has been assigned to defend Tom Robinson, a black man accused of rape.  It is through this trial that young Jem is forced to experience firsthand, the horrible racism, corruption, and injustice that is all occurring in his sleepy town.  Although many in the town know that Tom Robinson is not a rapist, the odds are still stacked against him because of his race.  When Atticus loses the trial, Jem is blind sighted with the injustice that has been put before him.  Before the verdict is read, Jem declares to his younger sister Scout, “We’re gonna win, Scout.   don’t see how wee can’t.  He’s been at it ‘bout five minutes.  He made it plain and easy as-well, as I’da explained it to you.  You should’ve understood it even.”  Like most boys his age, Jem sees things as being purely black and white: his father either proved Tom’s innocence or did not.  His naivety and lack of world experiences make him believe that his dad has put forth such a strong case that the jury will have no choice to let Tom go free.  However, he is blissfully unaware in this moment that he lives in a time full of prejudice. His sister describes his reaction to the jury’s decision: “I peeked at Jem: his hands were white from gripping the balcony rail, and his shoulders jerked as if each ‘guilty’ was a separate stab between them.” Inevitably, Jem’s world comes crashing down when Tom is convicted and taken away, and poor Jem’s sense of innocence goes with him.  

        In addition to the stolen innocence of Jem Finch, Tom Robinson has his entire life taken away from him as he is tried and wrongly convicted of raping, a young woman in Maycomb, Mayella Ewell.  Although Atticus Finch puts forth an air tight case proving Tom’s innocence, he is still wrongfully convicted solely based on the stereotypes surrounding his race.  During the trial, Tom is questioned about his contact with Miss Ewell.  Although he “felt right sorry for her,” after trying to relieve the pain of the unjustified nature of Mayella Ewell’s life through helping with day to day household chores, his good will is frowned upon, and he is placed in an unfair predicament. His color and race made him an easy target to the prying eyes of Mayella’s father, Bob Ewell, who is the true criminal. Thus, through lies and manipulation his verdict is brought upon not by the presented evidence but by racial discrimination.  Atticus says, “the jury gave a death penalty on purely circumstantial evidence.” This is the cause of Tom’s loss of innocence; he is convicted as a guilty man when truly his case was dominated by unjust rulings.  Before Atticus is able to appeal Tom’s conviction, he is shot and killed by a guard in the jail yard where he is being held, alluding to the original quote, “It is a sin to kill a mockingbird.”