Symbols are a widely used literary device in almost all forms of literature because they can help a reader undertand a certain theme in a story, in a easier to understand way.  A symbol is “something standing for its natural qualities in a different context”. Essentially, this means something that represents something else without directly referencing it.
In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird, mockingbirds are used as a symbol of innocence. While Atticus, is explaining to Jem what he can and cannot shoot with his new air rifle, he mentions that “it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird”. Upon asking Ms Maudie, why it’s considered a sin, she tells Scout “mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy”. Harper Lee uses multiple mockingbirds in this novel, all of which are innocent. The title To Kill a Mockingbird represents the purgery of innocence and these said people, are killed either physically or morally.
Even though Tom Robinson is an obvious symbol of a mockingbird, Mr. Dolphus Raymond also symbolizes a mockingbird in the novel .
Throughout the entire course of the novel, Tom Robinson symbolizes a mockingbird because even though he causes no one harm and does nothing but help people such as Mayella, he is still ridiculed, hurt, and eventually killed.
On the day of the trial, Mayella and Mr. Ewell  give their story on what happened on the day Tom allegedly raped Mayella. Both of these stories are different from each other and having no supporting physical evidence which gives the people in the courtroom doubt. When it comes time for Tom to give his testimony,  he says that Mayella called him into her house to get something down for her from a high place. While he was getting this item down, Mayella grabbed him at the legs, pulled him down, and tried to kiss him. He tried to resist her “thou t being ugly” he “didn’t want to push her”. According to Scout after hearing Tom’s testimony in the courtroom, Tom “would not have dared strike a white woman”. While continuing his testimony, Tom admits that he helped Mayella because he “felt sorry for her”. Once the evidence is stacked in Tom’s favour, Jem is so sure that they’d win the case that he goes as far to ask Atticus “We’ve won the case, haven’t we?”

Tom’s dialogue and thoughts as well as the dialogue and thoughts from most other characters all support the idea that Tom is innocent and symbolizes a mockingbird. He tried to resist Mayella without harming her. This is a true sign of not only innocence, but a gentleman as well.  Most men, black or white would have proceeded to push her off right away not caring about the consequences for her. Tom didn’t do this, he remained calm and respectful even while his reputation was in jeopardy. He admits that he felt sorry for her, disregarding the opinions of the others in the court biased toward white people. In their time, it was unheard of for a black man to feel sorry for a white woman, so the court reacted wildly upon hearing this in Tom’s testimony. Tom’s testimony exposes to the reader and to the people in the court that Tom has abosuloutley nothing to  hide.

Scouts cousin, Francis called Scout’s father, Atticus a “nigger-lover”. Of course, Scout replies to that comment by giving Francis a fresh knuckle-sandwich. This comment was referencing Tom Robinson, the man Atticus was defending in a rape trial. Of course, this man was black hence the term “nigger”.  This was not the only time when this term was used toward Tom in this novel, it happened on many other occasions in the novel.

Tom Robinson’s ridicule and hate starts long before any trial occurs. In his time, black people were known as the scum of society. If it came upon anything with a white person against a black person, the white person would almost always win. Black people were looked down by white people simply because of the colour of their skin, not because of what they did, or their personalities. Behind their backs, they were called offensive terms such as “negros” and “niggers”. This gives the reader just a taste of the racism and predjudice found in this novel towards black people. In this way, Tom is initially harmed, this can be seen as “hurting a mockingbird” without killing it. SImilar to a mockingbird, Tom does nothing but make good music, in this case, his music is helping out people like Mayella. He helped her out with small, odd jobs which she could not complete on her own. Also similar to a mockingbird, Tom was persecuted, doing nothing wrong. When Tom is put on trial, forced to sit through a long and gruesome court case and verdict which clearly should have been in his favour, and eventually killed, this represents the killing of a mockingbird thereforethe purgery of innocence.

Tom Robinson symbolizes a mockingbird throughout thje course of the novel To Kill a Mockingbird because he is completely innocent and does nothing but help the people of Maycomb such as Mayella, yet he is still riddiculed, physically mistreated, called offensive names, put on trial, and ultimately, sentenced to death. Not because what he had down or didn't do, but simply because of his skin colour.

Tom Robinson is not the only character who symbolizes a mockingbird in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. Mr Dolphus Raymond, the "town drunk" also symbolizes a mockingbird because even though he is harmless, and innocent, he is looked down upon and riddiculed by society.


Mr. Dolphus Raymond was sitting in the courthouse, before the trial "drinking out of a sack". which was thought to have been filled with alchohol. When the kids approached Mr Dolphus Raymond, Dill took a sip of what was in this sack and said it was "nothing but Coca-cola. When asked why he acted like he did, he replied that some people don't like the way he lives. When he says this, he is referring to the fact that he prefers the company of black people to white people. He tells the kids "I don't care if they don't like it... but I don't say hell with them".
Instead of ignoring the ideas and riddicule of the citizens of Maycomb, and instead of saying "hell with them", Mr. Dolphus Raymond uses the riddicule from the people of Maycomb towards Mr. Dolphus Raymond's "different" lifestyle in a contructive manner and uses it to his advantage. He is innocent because he doesn't do anything to harm any person in Maycomb or any person at all. In fact, he is nice to black people and white people, unlike most citizens of Maycomb, who hate the oppsite race. Mr Dolphus Raymond welcomes both races. He is married to a black woman, and welcomes Scout and Dill when they are outside, and even invites Dill to take a sip from his sack which is thought of to contain whisky. Mr Dolpus Raymond gladly welcomes everyone, no matter race, size, or color. In this sense, Mr Dolphus Raymond can be thought of as a mockingbird.
Mr Dolphus Raymond is known as the down drunk, according to Jem, his wife, killed herself on the day of their wedding, and "he's been a drunk ever since".  Jem sees Mr. Dolphus Raymond's paper bag and automatically assumes that it's a "Co-Cola bottle filled with whiskey". Scout stops herself halfway from asking Mr. Dolphus Raymond "why do you pretend you're half (drunk)?" Half kids, not accepted.



The citizens of Maycomb look down upon Mr Dolphus Raymond because like Jem says, he is a drunkard. At least, that's what people think he is due to the way he acts. Jem makes the assumption that Mr Dolphus Raymond is drinking alchohol just because he was drinking out of a sack. Jem was not wrong in making this assumption, as this is the same assumption that almost everyone in Maycomb made. The reason this assumption was made, was because of the way Mr Dolphus Raymond acted - like a drunkard. The fact that no one knew the real contents of Mr Dolphus Raymond''s sack was due to the fact that instead of actually asking him, the Maycomb citizens made assumptions. Mr Dolphus Raymond used the cruel, assumptuous nature of Maycomb's citzens to his advantage. Mr Dolpus Raymond was a mockingbird before he put on this drunk act, because he wasn't accepted for his lifestyle - prefering black people to white people. He made himself into even more of a mockingbird by puttin on this act of being drunk but he did this all in good thought, he used him being drunk, as an excuse for him prefering the company of black people to white people so that people wouldn't question why he preferred black people to white people.

Thus, the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee contains many characters that symbolize mockingbirds. Tom Robinson and Mr. Dolphus Raymond are just two of these many characters.
Tom Robinson symbolizes a mockingbird because he is completely innocent and does nothing but try to help the citizens of Maycomb with simple tasks they cannot acheive on their own such as helping Mayella get a box down from a high place. In this sense, he is innocent. Yet he is criticized, riddiculed, put on trial, and sentenced to death by the Maycomb citizens, in this sense, he is both physically, and morally killed, even though he is innocent, similar to a mockingbird
Mr Dolphus Raymond zyimbolizes a mockingbird because hs is purely innocent, in fact all he does is be nice to black people, unlike most other white people, who dislike black people. He is looked down on by the rest of society simply because he doesn't hate blacks like everyone else, and since he is not with the rest of society, they go against him and riddicule him and make false assumptions unneciarlily. In this way, Mr Dolphus Ramond symbolizes a mockingbird and the town labelling him as the "town drunk" represents the killing of a mockingbird.
The idea that mockingbirds are innocent and that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird is a  recurring theme in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, she uses an innocent animal, to depict the true colours of people and uncover true human nature - cruelty towards certain groups. Harper uses multiple mockingbirds in this text to make the reader aware of this theme, and how it connects to almost every aspect of the book. Harper Lee made this book because when this book was made, in the 1930s, racism was imminent and it was not uncommon to see a case like Tom's have that same result. Harper made this story while using mockingbirds as a symbol in order to depict to the reader the racism and cruelty found in the 1930s and to attempt to put stop to it. Harper Lee used both Boo Radley and Tom Robinson as mockingbirds to depict to the reader that humans tend to prey on weaker (*) without exceptions. Even though Boo Radley was not black, he was not immune to Maycomb's riddicule, just because he was different, he was fducdsa