Lee's novel could also be seen as the story of the love between a lonely recluse, Boo Radley, and the children he helps. Both the kind black man Tom and the painfully shy Boo are figurative mockingbirds, people who are put at risk by society's destructiveness despite their own fundamental goodness. Atticus tells his children not to shoot mockingbirds because they cause no harm and make beautiful music. The children easily empathize with Tom and mourn his downfall. They spend most of the novel learning to understand Boo and to separate the gossip they have heard from their own experiences of the man. In the end, Boo saves them from the murderous Bob Ewell, helping to restore the children's faith in human nature following the disastrous outcome of Tom's ordeal. Scout both sees the world from Boo's eyes and recognizes the sinfulness of subjecting him to public scrutiny, which she compares to killing a mockingbird. This realization constitutes a moral victory and exemplifies Atticus's message.
To Kill a Mockingbird is widely taught in high schools throughout America today, and its compassionate message continues to affect readers, even as its politics have become somewhat outmoded.
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