Symbolism In To Kill A Mockingbird

There comes a time is each person’s life when they reach the point where they are no longer children, but young adults. This could also be known as coming of age. This stage in life is one of the most important and most popular themes in literature. In Harpers Lee To Kill A Mockingbird she tells a story of three young children,Scout,Jem,and Dill,who learn that their community is not so perfect. Harper Lee uses symbolism, personification, and irony in the scene where Scout is dropping of Boo Radley at his house and she stands on his porch looking down her street. This reveals the theme people should not judge others until they get to know them. Symbolism is the actions of a character, word or event that have a deeper meaning in the context of the whole story. In To Kill A Mockingbird, Boo Radley is a symbol. When Scout was about to go to bed she asked Atticus to read her a book. As Scout got settled in ,“ Atticus turned the book over something of jem’s called The Grey Ghosts,” (Lee 375). The story that Atticus was drawn to is a symbol of Boo Radley. Ghosts say boo, which is what the kids call Arthur Radley.

In one particular scene where Scout is on Mr.Radley's porch looking around she states that the, “ Street lights winked down the street all the way to town,”(Lee 373). Scout did not actually mean that the street light winked at the street but that the lights gave the town a different perspective from where she was standing. Irony is a big part of of the book. Once again Boo Radley is an example of irony. When Scout brought him to see Jem when he was unconscious he had “An expression of timid curiosity was on his face, as though he had never seen a boy before,”(Lee 372). This is ironic by saying it was like he had never seen a boy before , but really he had not. Scouts starts to realize that you never really know someone until you actually meet