Foreshadowing In To Kill A Mockingbird

“Atticus took his coat off the back of his chair and pulled it over his shoulder. Then he left the courtroom… he walked quickly down the middle aisle toward the south exit. I followed the top of his head as he made his way to the door. He did not look up.” (Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, Page 283) Harper Lee published To Kill a Mockingbird, on July 11, 1960. The story told through the author’s words is a narrative of her childhood, a narrative of southern Alabamian racism through the eyes of a child, a narrative of growing up and losing inner innocence. To Kill a Mockingbird is told from the perspective of a young girl, living in southern Alabama, named Scout. It follows her thoughts on a case in which her father, Atticus Finch, has been

The book is set during the 1930s as the United States is still recovering from the Great Depression. This is purposeful, as this was a time of intense dissatisfaction within the country with widespread swells of racism. The book is divided into two parts. The first part is masterfully filled with symbols, foreshadowing what is to come in part two. Symbols like Snow, a Mad Dog, and the namesake, the Mockingbird, are all used by Harper Lee to foreshadow significant events that will occur throughout her novel. To begin, Lee starts cluing in readers with symbols by using a weather change that brings Snow to Alabama. This is a huge event for Scout, the main character. Atticus Finch announces it as, “‘I quote- ‘As it has not snowed in Maycomb County since 1885, there will be no school today.’” (Lee 86). A change in the weather, especially one as intense as this, is a cue that an equally intense change in the town will soon occur. Having Snow as a big weather event tells us that in this deep southern town, white will continue to reign over all. It symbolizes white oppression by showing white lying on top of everything. This is evidenced later in the book when Scout is watching the trial of her father defending the black man. She takes a step outside after watching the reputation

Harper Lee uses bird symbolism and references to connect themes throughout her novel. The first reference to the Mockingbird comes from Atticus Finch after Scout and Jem, who is Scout’s older brother by three years, are gifted small rifles for Christmas. He says, “‘I’d rather you shoot at tin cans in the back yard, but I know you'll go after birds. Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.’” (Lee 119) It's a sin to kill a mockingbird is how the reader learns that the symbol of the Mockingbird is a symbol of the death of innocence or the death of an innocent. The innocence symbolism is shown by a later quote saying, “Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy… They don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us.” (Lee 119). The Mockingbird is innocent because it does not hurt or harm in any way. A mockingbird simply exists and when the world kills that peaceful existence, it is considered a sin. The physical Mockingbirds in Harper Lee’s story are subtly pointed out by the names of her characters. The Finch family refers to finches. Tom Robinson refers to a robin. The first death of a mockingbird, and therefore the sin committed, is through the conviction of Tom Robinson. Tom is killed, both figuratively, by his sentence, and literally, when he is shot. It can be inferred that the court’s