rd against a black mans, the white man always wins. (p.220) Generally, this was the mentality of most Americans at the time. Black people did not have their own song, other people sang their songs based on beliefs about them. Like Boo Radley, people only knew Tom Robinson through what others said about him.In the book, Boo Radley is a micro version of Tom Robinson. Boo is the outcast of the neighborhood, but at the time, Tom was the outcast of the society. Throughout the trial, Scout and Jem believe in Tom Robinsons innocence. They see him for who they believe he is, and do not know enough about racism to be part of it. They did not believe the trial was fair because they believed there was evidence in Tom Robinsons favor. At the end of the book, however, Scout realizes the same about Boo Radley. When she finally meets him, she sees how unfair she had been to him. In actuality, Boo contradicts everything that the children believed about him. The fact that no one realized the unfair treatment of Tom Robinson made his death that much more tragic.Harper Lee uses the mockingbird to symbolize Tom and Boo. When Atticus tells Jem and Scout that it is a sin to kill the mockingbird, this refers to the actions directed toward Tom and Boo. It was a sin to dislike Tom and Boo based on what others say about them. They were punished by the people in Maycomb because they did not have their own voice. Lee is trying to explain to her readers that there are many people without their own voice in our society. As it is a sin to kill a mockingbird, it is a sin to kill those without a voice. Scout realized that it was wrong to assume evil things about Boo Radley. It was unfortunate that the people of Maycomb did not realize their unfair treatment of Tom Robinson. A mockingbird was shot and the readers get to see how much of a sin it was. ...
