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Sin and Southern Wisdom:
Didactic Tools in To Kill a Mockingbird
"I remember when my daddy gave me that gun.... Sooner or later he supposed the temptation to go after birds would be too much [so] I could shoot all the blue jays I wanted—if I could hit 'em. But to remember ... it was a sin to kill a mockingbird."
"Why?"
"Well, I reckon' cause mockingbirds don't do anything but make music for us to enjoy.... They don't do one thing but just sing their hearts out for us."
By Tara Plog | When Atticus Finch makes this statement while serving lunch to his two children, Scout and Jem, and his neighbor's hungry son, it reveals a great deal about his character—and represents the film's over-arching theme. Not only is Atticus wise, he is generous and understanding. In relating the story about his first gun, and the wise words of his father, Atticus not only puts his young guest at ease, but teaches his children. His Southern ways and hospitable spirit combine as he wordlessly lets Walter, Jr, his children's welcome but unexpected guest, cover his roast and vegetables in syrup. When Scout is scolded for embarrassing her guest—by announcing this glaring lack of table manners—Atticus' soft-spoken words are in her memory long after: "You never really understand a person until you ... climb inside of his skin and walk around in it."
The phrase "to kill a mockingbird" is repeated several times: in the opening titles both in picture and in written form, in the scene sketched above, and in the last scene on the front porch of Atticus' home, where Sheriff Tate, Atticus and Scout discuss the fate of "Boo" Radley. This phrase is so important because it implies injustice. In other words, it means destroying an innocent person. And what destroys innocent people is a perception based on ignorance, or prejudice. This phrase becomes the film's theme. To etch this explicit phrase, and thus its implicit meaning, into our minds, two tools are relied upon: parallelism and repetition.
The first tool is parallelism. The theme, "to kill a mockingbird," is seen through the parallel relationship of various characters. The greatest contrast is between Mr Robert E Lee Ule and Mr Finch. Though they are both fairly poor, white widowers, that is where the similarities end. Atticus is an attentive father, while Bob Ule is an abusive drunk. Atticus is an intelligent man who works within the law for what is right and just; Bob Ule, on the other hand, is a vigilante who favors power as much as ignorance. As a defense lawyer, Atticus has dedicated his life to 'shooting the blue jays'—those who abuse power. He is, by Sheriff Tate's assessment, the "best shot in the county." Bob Ule is a mad dog who chases innocents—as is shown by the juxtaposition of scenes and the similar cinematography. Significantly, this is the one person whom Atticus underestimates.
Extending the comparison, the mockingbirds must be both Walter "Boo" Radley and Tom Robinson. Who has shy ways and avoids the limelight? Who makes 'music' for others to enjoy? Who sang his heart out for others? "Boo" goes out only at night; and after carrying the injured Jem home, he hides behind the door of Jem's room. Similarly, Tom cowers when center-stage in the witness stand. "Boo" gives the children "two soap dolls, a broken watch and chain, a knife ... and [their] lives". Tom works for Mae Ella "out of sheer goodness." (Further, ironically, because the deputy 'missed his aim'—unlike the sharp-shooter, Atticus—Tom dies.)
Now, consider how a mockingbird compares with a finch. "Boo" represents humane, gentle insanity. Atticus symbolizes reasoned sanity. However, arguable, "Boo" excels Atticus in kindness: where Atticus often uses kindness to placate, Walter is kind because he cannot be anything else; he has no guile. Moreover, even with his reason, Atticus underestimates the 'animalistic' nature of Bob Ule. Atticus tells Jem, "No need to be afraid of him, son. He's all bluff." The bruises on Jem's face, his blackened right eye (like Mae Ella), the broken arm that was 'wrung,' and the extent "Boo" went to in fending off his attack tell a much different story.
Perhaps the greatest revelation comes in comparing Atticus with his children. Though they try to follow Atticus' instructions, Jem and Scout regularly bend the rules (often through their chum Del's instigation). For example, they go to the courthouse and peek in on Tom Robinson's trial—first from the windows above the front doors and later from the balcony; also, they repeatedly sneak off in the dark to "get a look at "Boo" Radley." In addition, there is both a telling similarity and contrast between father and children: telling tales. Jem tells larger-than-life stories about "Boo" chained to a bed and Ms DeBois with a confederate pistol under her shawl; on the other hand, Atticus praises Ms DeBois' ailing flowers. In contrast to the tales of both Jem and Atticus, Scout is repeatedly told to "hush up" for being too honest. However, when the three children check on Atticus at the courthouse as he guards Tom Robinson, this innocent honesty is precisely what saves Atticus from a mob's hatred. Scout is never again told to "hush up."
Whereas the first tool in emphasizing the theme is parallelism, the second tool is repetition. The theme "to kill a mockingbird" is both explicit and implicit in the repeated motifs. These motifs form four overlapping layers: sound, props, costume and setting. Not only are bird-song and gunshots interspersed throughout the work; but, the perspective of innocent children is stressed—through childlike music, using Scout's perspective in narration, and certain sounds which would be particularly frightening to children: wind and rustling leaves. This 'child's perspective' ties in with the cinematography for the opening credits. Here the film's title is etched in our mind at the same time as a child etches over it in black crayon: To Kill a Mockingbird. As the child finishes a crayon picture, a bird is revealed—then indiscriminately ripped down the middle, while the child giggles.
Further, the props in the box emphasize the theme—particularly since they are first shown in the opening titles. In the opening scene, the items in the child's box are slowly revealed and connected to this image of To Kill a Mockingbird. As we hear the child hum and color, the watch tick and the marble roll across the screen, we see a black crayon, two soap dolls, a knife, a watch, a harmonica, ... and a whistle. Then, in the course of the plot, we see Jem discover the spelling pin and the dolls from the hollow of the tree. Jem later reveals his treasures to Scout when she promises not to tell anyone about the box. Astonishingly, this box and its contents represent both the innocence of childhood and "Boo" Radley himself.
The third layer of motif is costume. Costume is used to hint at a character's inner qualities. Most clearly, white stands for honesty (for example, Judge Taylor and "Boo" Radley) or a state of neutrality (for example, Carol and Miss Maudie). Overalls signify ignorance—ignorance of evil (as in the cases of Jem and Scout) or ignorance which leads to evil (as in the case of the farmers, particularly Mr Cunningham). Bob Ule's dark overalls could signify both deep ignorance and evil. Lastly, by wearing brown or tan Atticus is seen as being neutral, or impartial.
Setting—or elements in a particular place—is the final layer of motif. Three elements are included here: the porch swing, the trees and the window. First, contemplate the porch swing. Here is where Atticus and Scout have their talks. For Atticus, in particular, it is a place to rest and to ponder. Consider Atticus listening—through the open bedroom window—to his children talking about their dead mother. Further, Atticus' porch is where the family gathers after dinner. In contrast, the Radley porch and swing are both deserted. This abandoned swing does perform a dietic function: it twists in the wind and bangs the side of the house; this sound is, in fact, something that often frightens Jem and Scout.
Another element—often juxtaposed with the Radley's forlorn swing—is the trees, which cast dark shadows and rustle in the night wind. In this sense, the trees contribute to an atmosphere of fright, or of dark, gnawing anticipation. In particular, think of the deformed giant that flanks the Radley house. On the other hand, this same crooked tree is also the one that has hidden gifts in its hollowed-out trunk.
The final element is the repeated window motif. Much of the children's mischief hinges on "getting a look" at "Boo" Radley. Early in the film Scout asks her daddy, "Do you think "Boo" Radley ever really comes and looks in my window at night?" Significantly, in one of the last scenes, "Boo" peers in Jem's bedroom window to check on him before he leaves to return home. Several times camera shots are from a window or have a window as a background focal point. For example, when the children are in bed and Atticus is sitting in the front porch swing, the camera shot pulls back from Scout's bed through the window to the front porch swing. Lastly, when Atticus sits up with his ill son—Scout on his lap—the scene begins with focusing on just outside Jem's bedroom window; the camera then zooms out to the porch swing, and up a tree to the exterior of the house.
Thus, the final scene brings one back to consider the words of Scout, now a woman: "Makum was a tired ol' town. Even in 1932 when I first knew it." Southern life was slow, and people were poor. Perceptions were often based not on fact, but on ignorance. In this small Southern town, a Black man died for no reason, an insane neighbor became a silent hero, and a father passed on his wisdom. "It was a sin to kill a mockingbird."
mleary
Star
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READER RESPONSES
Good Stuff.
as i read to kill a mockingbird i noticed the innocence of the
mockingbird as mentioned at the top of the article. the mockingbird's innocence
revolved around the innocence of tom robinson and the accusation of rape made by
mayelle . one of the themes in to kill a mockingbird that i really saw was the
total innocence of the mockingbird which also portrayed the innocence of tom.