Monday, October 28, 2013

Which characters die in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird?

Two characters die during Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird: Tom Robinson and Bob Ewell. Tom Robinson is shot while trying to escape the prison yard in which he's held after the trial, and Boo Radley kills Bob Ewell when the latter attempts to kill Scout and Jem in the school yard. Of the two, Tom's is the more tragic death. It's implied that he doubts that the white justice system will ever find him innocent, and so he tries to escape as a last effort to win his freedom. One of the most heartbreaking points in the book, Tom's death succinctly symbolizes the brutally unjust oppression of racism. Bob Ewell's death, on the other hand, is a little easier to handle. Ewell already proved himself to be a villain on the witness stand during the trial, and his attempt to murder Scout and Jem to wound Atticus solidifies his antagonistic status. As such, his death at the end of the novel seems relatively just, even if it's still grim.  

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