To Kill a Mockingbird Responses TKAM is a story rich with symbolism. Pick at least three symbols and explain their significance and what they mean. There are many symbols in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. Three of which are the snowman that Jem and Scout constructed, the house fire at Miss Maudie’s, and Mayella’s geraniums. The snowman that Jem and Scout created represents teamwork between the Blacks and Whites of the Maycomb to create a predominantly functional community. Jem uses mud to create the mold of the snowman‒since there is only an iota of snow available‒this represents the Blacks in the community working to do their part. The little snow that is around Jem collects and uses to cover the mud thus making a snowman. This represents the White members of …show more content…
The majority of the snowman being mud exhibits how Maycomb society is based on Black labour. This is countered by the symbolism of Miss Maudie’s house fire. This represents Racism that perpetually prevents the Whites and Blacks from fully uniting as the uniting symbol of the snowman melts in the heat of the blaze. Finally Mayella’s geraniums represent her hope. In the corrupt environment Mayella lives in: a junkyard where there is often little to eat, filthy garbage strewn about, unruly children, and the malevolent presence of her Father and his drunken rages. Mayella still manages to make the best out of her bad situation by keeping herself put together and tending her flowers: “One corner of the yard, though, bewildered Maycomb. Against the fence, in a line, were six chipped- enamel slop jars holding brilliant red geraniums, cared for as tenderly as if they belonged to Miss Maudie Atkinson . . . People said they