"Mockingbirds don't do one thing but...sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird" (p. 90). A mockingbird is a symbol of innocence. Boo Radley represents the mockingbird in the sense that he is good and never hurts anyone. It would be a sin to hurt him as killing a mockingbird would destroy innocence. Boo is an innocent man who has been injured or destroyed through contact with evil. Boo's father is evil because he locks Boo in his own home for many years without letting him come out into society. The town is evil because even though they never meet Boo, they ridicule and gossip about him, making him into a freak or lunatic. Boo is a mockingbird whose song remains interior. As long as he stays within his home, Boo is protected from the outside world and his life is in order. He shows his goodness by the generous gifts he leaves for the children and by saving their lives from the evils of Bob Ewell.
             Outside that safe haven is where chaos takes over. Boo's isolation from the usual patterns of social interaction causes the town to ostracize and to use him as a scapegoat for the unusual circumstances that occur.
             Mr. Underwood compares Tom's death with "...the senseless slaughter of songbirds" (p.241). Tom too, is a symbol of a mockingbird in the way that he is also a good man that does no harm to anyone. He is a black man in a white, racist society. The order in Tom's life comes from his family, his work, and his imprisonment. These three elements give Tom the protection from a prejudice community. Tom's chaos begins with the kindness and sympathy he offers Mayella Ewell. Bigotry and racism lead to Tom's punishment. Tom's crippled state and being black represent his disadvantage in life.
             "...his face was as white as his hands...his eyes were so colorless I thought he was blind" (p.270). Boo is des...