Recently I read a novel called To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. The story was set in the deep south of the United States in the 1930s. Scout Finch, a little girl, lived in a small town of Maycomb with her brother Jem Finch and her father Atticus Finch. The story was told in the first person by Scout from the perspective of a little girl. In a way, it was a world of children, curiously observing and gradually understanding the world of grown-ups.

Scout’s father Atticus was a lawyer. Back then American blacks were not equally treated, though they should have the same rights as everybody else according to the constitution. In the novel a black man named Tom Robinson was accused of raping a poor white girl called Meyella Ewell. When Atticus decided to take on the case, many people in the town were angry with him. Almost none of the white people believed Tom Robinson was innocent. However, Atticus still insisted on defending him because he knew everyone was created equal and the courts should be the places to prove it. Because of their father’s defense for a black man, Scout and Jem heard their classmates say their dad was a nigger lover. Scout had many fights against her classmates who said so.

The fact was that Meyella seduced Tom and happened to be seen by her father, Bob Ewell. However, he charged Tom with raping his daughter. Atticus did a wonderful defense, yet the jury still thought Tom guilty. After the trial, Tom was sent to the prison and tried to escape afterwards. Unfortunately, he was shot dead by a guard. At Halloween night, Jem and Scout were caught by Bob Ewell in the woods and he tried to kill the two children, because of their father’s defense for the black man. Though they were finally rescued, Jem’s arm was badly injured.

Obviously, the novel is mostly about justice and race relations. It is really hard to be truly equal in society. One’s prejudices are hard to change once deeply rooted in one’s mind. This theme was clear to me even at the beginning of my reading. However, I was a little puzzled in the process: Why is it titled To Kill a Mockingbird? What does this kind of birds have to do with the theme? Actually, mockingbirds are seldom mentioned in the novel. Merely two or three times altogether. I even didn’t pay any attention to it when it first appeared: Atticus told his children not to kill any mockingbirds and explained, “Well, I reckon because mockingbirds don’t do anything but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat people’s gardens, don’t nest in the corncrib, they don’t do one thing but just sing their hearts out for us.” Not until I came to the end did I come to the realization: Does it a metaphor? The mockingbird symbolizes people who don’t do anything bad or harmful to others. And to kill them would be a sin. In other words, mockingbirds refer to peaceful people like Tom Robinson.

The truth seemed to begin to dawn on me. However, I was once again confused when I read to this place: Atticus and Mr. Tate were arguing over what happened to Mr. Ewell---whether he fell on the knife or Jem stabbed him or Boo killed him. Finally Atticus agreed that Mr. Ewell fell on the knife and he asked Scout if she could possibly understand. Scout answered, “Yes sir, I understand. It’d be sort of like shooting a mockingbird, wouldn’t it?" What does she really mean? Who was the mockingbird? Was she referring to Bob Ewell, who tried to kill the two children? It doesn’t seem to make any sense.

It was really a bit confusing and tricky. Since it shouldn’t be Bob Ewell, it must be Boo Radley, who always stayed mysteriously inside the house and saved the children that night. Possibly, what Scout really meant was: If you told everyone that it was Boo who killed Mr. Ewell, then he would be taken to court for murder even though he was defending the two children.