Symbolism is used every second of every hour of every day. Nation flags represent freedom, while many people use events in real time to symbolize certain topics in writing, with such as Robert Frost using spring as a symbol for youth. In To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, in the setting of the Great Depression, young Jem, and Scout Finch are living their life in a small southern city. Throughout the novel, many events occur such as the Tom Robinson’s trial and the phenomenon of Boo Radley. All throughout their journey, Jem and Scout are unknowingly encountering symbols throughout the year and a half the story takes place. Harper Lee uses the literary device of symbolism in a multitude of situations to entice readers to not evaluate these instances at face value but to analyze every case critically in her novel To Kill a Mockingbird so that they can see the complete picture. …show more content…
On April 28, 1926, Frances Finch Lee and Omasa Lee gave birth to a baby girl by the name of Nelle Harper Lee. Through most of her childhood, she lived in Monroeville, Alabama, and her father was an attorney, as well as a publisher of a newspaper. During her childhood, Lee attended a public school, and later, she had matriculated to the Huntington College for Women before moving to the University of Alabama one year later in 1945 (McGovern). Lee lived most of her childhood within the time period of the Depression; this historical event majorly affected the premise of this
After reading the invigorating and richly textured novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, it is evidently established that symbolism is dredged in depth throughout. Although most illustrations in fact are inferred, such symbols are somewhat apparent and exemplifying. For example, the knothole, or a hole in a piece of timber, is one of the key symbols in the novel because it constitutes a connection or relationship between Jem, Scout, and Boo. In the novel Boo distributes several relevant objects to Jem and Scout by placing them in the knothole, instead of verbally communicating. As everyone in the county believes Boo is actually insane and violent through passed down uncivil rumors.
The poet, Lascelles Abercrombie once said, “There is only one thing which can master the perplexed stuff of epic material into unity; and that is, an ability to see in particular human experience some significant symbolism of man 's general destiny.”. He talked about how powerful of a tool symbolism is and how it is the only thing that can truly define a highly complex ‘destiny’ or series of events. Symbolism is something that is found throughout Harper Lee’s book, To Kill a Mockingbird. Lee shows the reader that racism is a product of society,she portrays the matter through her symbolism of the mad dog, the birds and the bugs.
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee takes place in Alabama during the Depression, and is narrated by the main character, a little girl named Jean Louise "Scout" Finch. Her family consists her father, Atticus Finch who is a lawyer and has very high morals. The other member is Jem, her brother along with their cook and housekeeper Calpurnia, who is African-American and is like a part of their family. Other than these three, the recurring characters in the story include Dill , the infamous Boo Radley, Mayella Ewell, Tom Robinson , Mrs. Dubose and Alexandra, Atticus’s sister.
Literature can be analyzed with many different critical lenses. While analyzing To Kill a Mockingbird, one may use a critical lens to recognize the different ideas throughout the novel. Harper Lee’s novel demonstrates her perspective on intolerance and discrimination within the early twentieth century. Firstly, intolerance of people who are different is very prevalent within the novel.
Harper Lee uses Characterization to show the reader of her novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, how different people and events impact children as they grow up and shape the kind of adults they will turn out to be. She shows how the people of Maycomb influenced Jem and how Scout’s view was changed by a single person. Lee also makes it evident that one event can change children’s entire perception of the
Harper Lee wants to tell us that it takes courage NOT to kill a mockingbird Courage and the symbol of the mockingbird are two of the most important, or in fact in my opinion the most important themes, which are addressed and displayed in the highly praised, but also controversial novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” written by Harper Lee. I will try to interpret these two motives and show how they are strongly connected to each other. There are many different types of courage and many people who all show it in their own personal way. If people talk about bravery and courage, they mostly think of the physical kind of courage. But there are also other kinds, which are often forgotten or cast aside by their big brother: moral and emotional courage.
The Symbolism shown in The Outsiders is focused mainly on the differences between social class and personality. The Outsiders takes place in Oklahoma in the Mid-Sixties where there is high tension and conflict between two social classes, mainly two gangs of different social classes, the Greasers and Socs. The narrator, a young boy at the age of fourteen lives as a greaser. The most prominent symbols in The Outsiders are hair representing identity, eyecolor representing personality, and the cars that the Socs drive. Hair is a large symbol in The Outsiders because it is a sign of the greasers.
Throughout the novel Harper Lee uses symbolism of many things to strengthen the theme of social inequality. The title of the book is the most obvious use of symbolism. The mockingbird is an animal meant for pleasure. It sings a beautiful song and hurts nothing and no one. When she receives an air gun as a gift, Scout is instructed to leave the mockingbirds alone for “its a sin to kill a mockingbird” and they pose no threat.
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee presents a life of Jean Louis Finch, also known as Scout, growing up in a small town. The setting of the story takes place in Maycomb, Alabama in the 1960’s. Life for Scout growing up appears difficult because of the Great Depression, racial inequality, white supremacy, and peoples’ prejudiced mindset. In the beginning of the book, Scout’s character shows her innocence, her tomboyish side, her adventurous personality, and her ability to question and observe the goodness and evilness of society. By the end of the novel, Scout learns fighting does not fix everything, possessing lady-like characteristics obtain value and holding prejudiced thoughts reflects in every person’s life.
The mockingbird in To Kill A Mockingbird is symbolic of innocence. Early in the novel, Atticus, the father tells the children Scout and Jem that it is a "sin to kill a mockingbird". Later Scout asks Miss Maudie what he meant by that because she has never heard her father say anything was a sin. Miss Maudie explains his reasoning by saying that all mockingbirds do is provide beautiful music. They do not harm anyone, they don't bother anyone, and they "sing their hearts out for us."
Alliteration- the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words. “...Miss Rachel’s cook’s son" ( To Kill a Mockingbird 100). I think that Lee put this in, to show that Scout did not want to go to school at all. Personification- Giving human characteristics to nonhuman objects.
Symbolism is used by many authors to convey a specific message that carries a deep meaning. In Harper lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, the primary symbol is the Mockingbird. There are numerous references to the mockingbird in the novel, which can be seen through some of the characters. The allusion of the mockingbird is used to represent the idea of innocence.
This essay aims to investigate the literary context of Harper Lee 's To Kill A Mockingbird (1960) from four different perspectives. The scope of this essay does not only include the context from historical, cultural and social points of views, but also the significance of Lee 's early life is considered. The essay explores deeply the novel 's events, characters and main themes, which can all be related to the literary context. This is why the research question of this essay is “A Study of Literary Context in Harper Lee 's To Kill A Mockingbird”. To Kill A Mockingbird never fails to amaze a reader because of its audacity, as it brings out many controversial issues from 1930s America.
To Kill a Mockingbird has many themes that run throughout it. The main them is that everyone should always stand up for what they believe in. This is mostly personified by Atticus Finch, a lawyer that lives in Maycomb County, Alabama. In the story,
The novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee takes place in the town of Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression. The author Lee demonstrates some major themes such as social inequality, intolerance, education, legal justice and bravery through this character. The title To Kill a Mockingbird symbolises innocence where Lee explores this through the eyes of Jem and Scout who are kids of Atticus Finch. He is one of the most honest, patient, kind, fair, respected and admired men in Maycomb during the Great Depression. Atticus is known for his moral character throughout the book.