Jonathan Hagar04/21/2014 To Kill a Mockingbird: Literary Elements The novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee uses symbolism through To Kill a Mockingbird: hedge, Tom Robinson and Boo Radley, to portray the idea that "misjudgments are easy in a prejudicial and racist world". The mocking bird is a symbol in the novel that represents the innocence brought between the characters. The characters in the novel symbolize the mockingbird and are unfairly influenced by forces of a negative nature. Miss Maudie tells Scout “The Mockingbirds don't do one thing but create music for our enjoyment. They don't eat people's gardens, they don't nest in corn troughs, they do nothing but sing at the top of their lungs for us. That's why it's a shame to kill a mockingbird. This particular quote shows how if a figure is harmless, others should not harm or influence it in a negative way. Mocking birds are depicted as people seen from the good perspective, but are commonly misjudged and seen as Blue Jays, symbolizing people with bad intentions, like the one Boo Radley was traded into. Miss Maudie describes...