How Does Harper Lee Use Symbolism In To Kill A Mockingbird

Harper Lee is a master at the art of symbolism. The first publication of To Kill a Mockingbird was released in 1960, the start of a resurgence of the Civil Rights movement, and was a beacon of the ideals of equality expressed by this movement. It highlights the injustice against black Americans by using the 1930s as the setting. In this book, she tells the story of the Finch family, especially that of the two Finch children, Scout and Jem. They start out very young and are obsessed with this figure they call Boo, Mr. Radley’s child, who never leaves the house. As time passes by, they mature and forget about Boo as their lives are about to change. Their father, Atticus, is ahead of his time as he supports better treatment of African Americans.

When the time of the trial finally arrives, Atticus gives a stunning display of intelligence as he proves that Mayella had been the one to instigate the alleged rape. At the end of the trial, Scout narrates, “I peeked at Jem. His hands were white from gripping the balcony rail, and his shoulders jerked as if each ‘guilty’ was a separate stab between them” (Lee 282). Jem is devastated as Tom is found guilty despite the convincing evidence of his innocence. The white purity of the Snow is Jem’s innocence and his trust, and it is all melted away with the result of the trial. This devastation, shown by comparing each guilty statement to a stab wound, demonstrates only part of the effect that the trial, which was foreshadowed by the changing weather, had on the Finch family. Overall, Lee’s use of Snow brilliantly foreshadows the trial, as well as its ruining effect on the Finches. A second symbol in To Kill a Mockingbird is Fire, which foreshadows the actual sentencing of Tom. Soon after the snow falls over Maycomb, panic ensues in the neighborhood in the middle of the

It even gets through to the people who fought for Tom’s innocence, as represented by the melting of the pure snow. The use of Fire to foreshadow these sentences is a brilliant example of symbolism, as its destructive capabilities directly line up with the devastating reign that racism can have over anybody. A final symbol, one that foreshadows the death of Tom, is the Mockingbird itself. After the Fire and the Snow occur, life appears to become more regular for the Finches. Atticus is getting older and the kids finally get their prized possession: air rifles. Before he lets them run wild, Atticus says, “Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (Lee 119). Here Lee foreshadows the killing of Tom because mockingbirds are harmless creatures who only bring beauty into the lives of others. Tom is a Mockingbird in this case since all he ever did was help Mayella with chores, as revealed in the trial. Therefore, shooting a mockingbird is like shooting Tom, an act of pure hatred and sin. Some time passes, and Scout and Jem find themselves following Atticus in the middle of the night to some mysterious