Once again, this reocurring theme of the innocent mockingbird appears. The mockingbird has done nothing but sing lovely melodies for people to hear, therefore it should be considered a sin to kill a mockingbird (hence the title of the novel). This caterpillar (or roly-poly) serves a similar role to that of the mockingbird in that it has done nothing to Scout yet she decides on a whim to end its life. This roly-poly, like the mockingbird, symbolizes the powerless black community who are constantly scapegoated and bound by the color of their skin. The black community has done nothing yet is constantly stereotyped and viewed as inferior to whites.
Jem is becoming more like that of Atticus as he grows and matures: he begins to understand that the testimony of an African-American will always be ignored and that the whites, no matter how morally corrupt, will be considered more pure than any African-American. He intercedes on the behalf of the roly-poly and asks Scout to spare its life as it has done nothing to her.
This passage portrays many aspects of the novel in that the roly-poly, through one perspective, could represent the innocent and powerless Tom Robinson. The hand of Scout that strikes down is similar to Mayella Ewell's harsh, stoic accusation of rape against him.
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