I am reading To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. This book is about a girl, named Scout, her brother Jem, and the people who lived in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama during the 1930s. Along with their summer friend, Dill, the children become obsessed with the idea of getting a look at their unseen neighbor, Boo Radley. Meanwhile, their father, Atticus Finch, decided to defend Tom Robinson, a black man who was wrongly accused of raping a white woman, Mayella Ewell. The children get caught up in the trial, in which Tom is convicted and eventually killed while trying to escape from prison.
You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view-until you climb into his skin and walk around in it” (Lee). Another symbol that I think symbolises the mockingbird is Tom Robinson. Tom robinson is in trial for his life for something that he did not do. He had to fight for his innocents and Atticus is by his side helping him. The white people though that he was guilty just because his skin color was not the same as them.
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.
I have two questions. Who is placing the items in the tree and who are the items meant for? I think that Nathan Radley or Boo Radley are placing the items in the knothole. First, I think it could be Nathan because the person putting the items in the tree had to be an adult. No children go by the tree except for Scout and Jem because the tree is by the Radley house and all of the other kids are scared of the Radleys.
I believe that each character is symbolized in a positive or negative way, but throughout the book some changed dramatically. In ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ Bob became evil, during the trial it was told that Bob had a drinking problem. Also, Atticus exposed Mr. Ewell and everyone lost any respect they had for him. On page 292, Atticus says, “Jem see if you can stand in Bob Ewell’s shoes a minute. I destroyed his last credibility at that trial, if he had any to begin with.”
“Symbols are powerful because they are visible signs of invisible realities. ”-Saint Augustine This novel is set in a small town in Alabama during the Great Depression. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee shows symbolism by using the analogy of the mockingbird. The mockingbird metaphor symbolizes innocence, value, and helpfulness throughout the entire story.
I have finished reading To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. This book is about a little girl named Scout growing up. The reader follows Scout through her evolving relationships, her encounters with her strange neighbor, and her realization that her hometown is not a faultless place. In this paper I will be evaluating.
Symbolism Essay The novel To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, takes place in the 1930s, during the time of the Great Depression, a very devastating period for Southern families. With the novel taking place in Maycomb, Alabama, we get a brief perspective of our main character Scout, a very bold, and enthusiastic character that uses implicit biases throughout the novel which shows the standards of racism during the time frame. Jem, is Scout’s older brother, playing the role of the protector and symbol of guidance to Scouts. Atticus Finch, being Jem and Scout’s father, lawyer, and is the peace bringer of the novel, who is seeking to bring closure to Maycomb unjust properties and is defending the case of a black male named Tom Robinson.
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.
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, the mockingbird is referenced multiple times as a thing that should be respected and unharmed, because it is a creature that only serves others by singing its music. They don’t eat peoples gardens, or nest in corncribs, making them one in many of birds that don’t cause grief or any type of annoyance to the people of Maycomb. Mockingbirds are seen by the majority of the characters in the book as innocent creatures. It is wrong to kill them because they don’t hurt anyone. Some of the characters in the book resemble mockingbirds, carrying some of the same statures given to this influential symbol.
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.
Now and then we feel not accepted or feel different than our peers but we learn to love ourselves and all the unique characteristics about us. In the fiction narrative To Kill a Mockingbird written in Maycomb, Alabama around the 1930’s authored by Harper Lee, Scout learns a lot about herself and Aunt Alexandra. In chapter 13 we can clearly see where Scout begins to mature. Aunt Alexandra represents the white privileged society, her erratic opinions coerced Scout to learn that not everyone will accept her differences. Alexandra and Scout bumped heads often because Scout was not meeting the Finch’s reputation.
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.
For instance, Boo Radley is another one of the mockingbirds in the story; he is a recluse who was emotionally damaged by his sadistic father as a child. This means, Boo Radley was tarnished by his late father’s evil doings when he was little and now he is traumatized by the events .Also, Boo starts a relationship with Jem and Scout by leaving treasures and gifts in a tree for them to find, but that was stopped when his brother, Nathan Radley, plugged up the hole where the presents were to be found. As you can see, his brother is now doing the things his father did and it’s not helping. The symbol helps us understand the theme more; once we know who the mockingbirds are it makes the theme more distinct than what it seems to be. The symbol works as a representation of the pure characters in the
The symbolism of mockingbirds in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird is important because it helps define what Harper Lee is trying to say about the major issues that come up in the book such as race, gender, and class. Two of the main characters, Jem and Scout, are mockingbirds. Growing up in a town like Maycomb forces them to lose their innocence at younger age, especially because their father is a lawyer. Their idea of good and bad is taken away, and the Tom Robinson case shows them that society does not always play fair.
