The dictionary defines the mockingbird as "a long-tailed thrush like songbird with grayish plumage, found mainly in tropical America and noted for its mimicry of the calls and songs of other birds." In to kill a mockingbird the quote; "Mockingbirds don´t do one thing except making music for us to enjoy. They don´t eat peoples gardens, don´t nest in corncribs, they don´t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That is why it is a sin to kill a mockingbird," this demonstrate that the bird is seen as a symbol of innocence.
In the book, Tom Robinson could be one of the characters symbolized by the Mockingbird. He is a person that causes no harm to anyone and his intentions were to help Mayella, not to harm her in any way. However, the final verdict determines this innocent man guilty.
The time period of To kill a mockingbird is 1930. During this time the United States was going through hard times, it was a time of poverty and unemployment, also known as the Great Depression. During this hard time, everyone was affected however no one had it harder than the African Americans. Racial Violence began to grow especially in the south. This makes as to why the setting of the book is in ¨Maycome¨ Alabama. It is said that during this times African Americans were more likely to be laid off their jobs and received less aid than whites. These facts demonstrate that this book reflects the life of African Americans and the type of difficulties they faced due to their race.
In the book, ¨To Kill a Mockingbird¨ various charterers demonstrate both tolerance and courage. However, we will be focusing on Atticus Finch a lawyer and the father of Jem and Scout. Atticus is a character that demonstrated courage from the very beginning when he decides that instead of going into running the plantation and inherit the land that belonged to his family, he chose to go his own way and become a lawyer. This shows courage because he could have gone the easy way yet he chooses to challenge himself. Another way in which he demonstrates courage is when he chooses to take the Tom Robinson case. It takes a lot of tolerance to take on all the negative comments and the judgment of others. This quote demonstrates his courage to admit that he loves all people no matter their differences:
"You aren't really a nigger-lover, then, are you?"
"I certainly am. I do my best to love everybody... I'm hard put, sometimes—baby, it's never an insult to be called what somebody thinks is a bad name. It just shows you how poor that person is, it doesn't hurt you."
