Rhetorical Analysis Of To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

“I am America. I am the part you won’t recognize. But get used to me. Black, confident, cocky; my name, not yours; my religion, not yours; my goals, my own; get used to me.”― Muhammad Ali (1942- ). In 1960, the struggle for civil rights begun, and black power became the new attention of the civil rights campaign. At that period of time, “To Kill a Mockingbird” is one of the most significant and culturally remarkable documents. In 1962, Harper Lee wrote “To Kill a Mockingbird”. It describes the judgment of Tom Robinson, an African-American who is drawn in a racially-charged rape case. Harper Lee examines human morality in the book, and uses several rhetorical devices to show the prejudice of a small southern town such as language, similes and

First of all, there is a difference in the language spoken by the whites and the colloquial use of language by the blacks. A compromise is reached by Calpurnia, who uses white man’s language at Atticus’ house, but switches over the black jargon the moment she is amidst the blacks. Language describes the character of a person too. Ewell uses foul words and obscenities whenever possible, which shows his poor class. Mayella, though not using foul words, betrays a lack of education in her speech. Atticus is formal in his speech, and his words are often laced with irony and humor. Yet he cannot be considered pompous or having an inflated ego because of this. When speaking to the children, he usually uses simple words which can be easily comprehended. Jem and Scout sometimes use slang words, typical of their age. While speaking to Uncle Jack, Scout says. "I don’t mean to sass you", and Jem remarks "shoot no wonder, then. “Tom uses the characteristic colloquial English, saying ‘suh’ for ‘sir’ and ‘chillun’ for ‘children’. Yet, he is decent enough not to repeat the foul words used by Bob Ewell, in the courtroom. This indicates that though he has had very little formal education, his good manners and etiquette are innate. Various derogatory terms for the blacks have also been used, like ‘nigger’, ‘darky’, ‘Negroes’, ‘colored folk’ and so on; this reflects the attitude of the whites towards

An example of irony can be seen in one of Miss Gates' lessons about democracy and dictatorship. She says "Over here we don't believe in persecuting anybody. Persecution comes from people who are prejudiced. Pre-ju-dice,". It is ironic that she can recognize the persecution of the jews, yet cannot recognize the persecution that happens in her own country- the persecution of the African-Americans. Irony brings about some additional meanings to a situation. Ironical statements and situations in literature develop readers’ interest. Irony makes a work of literature more intriguing and forces the readers to use their imagination and comprehend the underlying meanings of the texts. Moreover, real life is full of ironical expressions and situations. Therefore, the use of irony brings a work of literature closer to the life. Satire is another rhetorical device used by Harper Lee. An example of this is in chapter two, when Scout's teacher, Miss Caroline, tells her she can't read at home anymore. She says "We don't write in the first grade, we print". The author uses satire here to comment on the inadequacy of the education