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Symbols In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

760 Words4 Pages

Chris Yang
Mrs. Booth
English 1 Honors/Pre-IB period 4
Literary Device #2-Symbol
Symbol: A symbol is anything that stands for or represents something else. A conventional symbol is one that is widely known and accepted. A personal symbol is one created for a particular work by a particular author.
Example: “‘Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people's gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.’”(119). Lee To Kill a Mockingbird
Function
Context: Jem and Scout have received air rifles as a Christmas gift from their father Atticus. Unwilling to teach his children the ways of shooting, Atticus tells Jem that he would prefer if he would just shoot tin …show more content…

Scout, being a young girl and hearing her father name something as a sin for the first time, wishes to learn more about the wickedness of killing mockingbirds. She asks her neighbor Miss Maudie about the wrongdoing in killing a mockingbird and learns that her father is correct as mockingbirds only benefit their surroundings with their graceful melodies and do no harm.
Concept: The mockingbird is a symbol of innocence in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird. In the novel, there are two main mockingbirds. They are Boo Radley and Tom Robinson who both have major roles in the novel; one in part one and the latter in part two. Both as symbols of innocence are engulfed by the evil of society and destroyed. Boo Radley is always inside his house and because this breaks the code of society as he is in an established family, rumors are made that Boo has, “a long jagged scar that [runs] along his face; what teeth he [has are] yellow, his eyes [pop], and he [drools] most of the time”(16). There are many possible reasons for Boo remaining inside. It is seen in

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Scout feels as if she can confide in them with her secrets. Five things that we learn about Atticus in chapter ten is that he is around fifty years old, he wears glasses, Atticus is nearly blind in the left eye and he used to be named “Ol’ One Shot Finch”. According to Miss Maudie, it is a sin to kill a mockingbird because they don’t do anything to disrupt your day. All they do is make beautiful music for you to enjoy.

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Throughout the novel “ To Kill a Mockingbird”, finally, we could realize who Boo Radley is. A character was regarded as a phantom in the house. Ironically, curious children such as Jem, Scout, and Dill are ones who coax Boo out into the real world. Everything involving Boo had faded away until the presents began to appear in the Radley tree, and Scout didn’t realize who had put them there. However we can guess that was Boo, and maybe Jem did too.

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After Atticus gives Jem and Scout their air rifles, he tells them they can shoot tin cans and bluejays, but not mockingbirds. “” … they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us … it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird,”” (Lee 119).The mockingbird is supposed to symbolize Boo Radley and Tom Robinson. Both characters have been wronged for no reason. Tom and Boo just mind their own business, while the world bothers them. Later in the story, Calpurnia and the children have discovered a rabid dog, Tim Johnson, running about.

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The three kids were chatting and Dill wondered what Boo looks like so Jem describes Boo as “about six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that's why his hands were bloodstained… There was an long jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten; his eyes popped, and he drooled most or the time.” (Lee,16) This is the result of what happens when rumors are spread, people are misjudged and sometimes avoided like how Boo is shown throughout the book until the end. Boo Radley is wrongfully judged and admonished when it is just that not many people are circumspect.

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"Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a Mockingbird. " This is a quote by Miss Maudie, a character in To Kill a Mockingbird.

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The mockingbird in To Kill A Mockingbird is symbolic of innocence. Early in the novel, Atticus, the father tells the children Scout and Jem that it is a "sin to kill a mockingbird". Later Scout asks Miss Maudie what he meant by that because she has never heard her father say anything was a sin. Miss Maudie explains his reasoning by saying that all mockingbirds do is provide beautiful music. They do not harm anyone, they don't bother anyone, and they "sing their hearts out for us."

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“‘Your father’s right, she said. Mockingbirds don’t do one thing except make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird”’ (Lee 119).

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“’remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.’” (119) These famous words Atticus Finch said in To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, portrays that because the mockingbird doesn’t hurt anyone, and because it only helps people, it is a sin to kill it. To be a mockingbird, you can’t hurt people, you can’t infringe on other people’s property, and you can’t be a bad person. People who are like mockingbirds only help others in their endeavors. This is why I believe that Atticus Finch, Tom Robinson, and Arthur “Boo” Radley are all portrayed as metaphorical mockingbirds.

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Symbolism is used every second of every hour of every day. Nation flags represent freedom, while many people use events in real time to symbolize certain topics in writing, with such as Robert Frost using spring as a symbol for youth. In To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, in the setting of the Great Depression, young Jem, and Scout Finch are living their life in a small southern city. Throughout the novel, many events occur such as the Tom Robinson’s trial and the phenomenon of Boo Radley. All throughout their journey, Jem and Scout are unknowingly encountering symbols throughout the year and a half the story takes place.

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Why is it wrong to shoot a mockingbird? After Uncle Jack taught Jem and Scout to shoot guns, Atticus told them they could shoot bluejays, but to “remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird”(119). Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird explores the idea of prejudice through this metaphor of shooting at birds.

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To Kill a Mockingbird Persuasive Essay “Atticus said to Jem one day, ‘I’d rather you shot at tin cans in the backyard, but I know you’ll go after birds. Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a Mockingbird." That was the only time I ever heard Atticus say it was a sin to do something, and I asked Miss Maudie about it. "Your father’s right," she said. "Mockingbirds don’t do one thing except make music for us to enjoy.

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In the quote it demonstrates how Atticus has to simply explain to the Scout, you should never look at someone differently based on how much money they have. You should look at them for who they are. Some people are not as fortunate as others, it is not there fault, but like they Cunningham 's, they find a way. Atticus did not only open the kids eyes to how you should not judge someone, but also, to stand up for what you believe in, despite what others might say. When Atticus is presented with the Tom Robinson case, without much thought, he says yes to being his lawyer.

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To Kill A Mockingbird is a beautifully written piece of literature that illustrates the symbolism of a mockingbird. Harper Lee has created this to show how not only is it a sin to kill a mockingbird but also people who act in the same manner. Tom Robinson plays a major role as a mocking bird because he is discriminated against, knocked down, and doesn’t fight back harshly. All mockingbirds do is sing sweet songs in the treetops and the only thing they get in return is death. Tom Robinson, similarly, shows kindness toward others but gets hatred in exchange.

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I tripped as I heard the shotgun blast behind me (Lee 71). In this quote Jem, Scout, and Dill were trying to see Boo. They went up to his house and were looking in windows when they saw a shadow and ran and the person shot at them. Later it is known that it was Mr. Radley that shot at them, claiming he was shooting at what he thought was a negro in his yard. Secondly, another time the kids really wanted to see Boo, was when they discovered the gifts in the tree.

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“Your father is right. Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it is a sin to kill a mockingbird” ( Lee 84). Atticus Finch, one of the main characters of the novel, was a lawyer and father of Jem and Scout.

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