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To Kill A Mocking Bird Response To Tkam

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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

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397 Words | 2 Pages

One corner of the yard, though, bewildered Maycomb. Against the fence, in a line, were six… jars holding brilliant red geraniums, cared for… tenderly…. People said they were Mayella Ewell’s. ”(Lee, Chapter 17) Mayella is believed to meticulously take care of six flowers in her yard. Because she can take care of these flowers, people can see that Mayella can take care of other things and that she does have power as these flowers give Mayella power in her class.

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582 Words | 3 Pages

Mayella and Ruby are both viewed as victims because they were supposedly raped by black men. Society makes Mayella a victim by isolating the Ewells and for viewing them differently than everyone else in Maycomb. Mayella deeply cares about what people care about her, so when people think of her as trash that really gets to her. She was lonely leading her to wanting attention from people. Ruby

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223 Words | 1 Pages

A famous Chinese proverb states, “One dog barks at something and a hundred bark at the bark”. This use of animal imagery to explain the issues with human behavior can also be seen in Ken Kesey’s 1962 novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. The novel, told through the eyes of schizophrenic chronic Chief Bromden, revolves around R. P. McMurphy helping the patients overcome their fear of Nurse Ratched and her power and control over the ward. Throughout the book, Kesey uses animal imagery to depict the personalities and behaviors of Nurse Ratched, McMurphy, and the patients. Nurse Ratched is a wolf, and she thrives off of her overbearing control over the patients in the ward and enjoys having everything conform to her set of rules.

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1446 Words | 6 Pages

Scout Finch, is a white little girl, who is 6 years old. Her older brother Jem Finch is one of two characters who have seen many interesting and crazy events that show how crazy and racist people are. In the book “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, there are 3 main symbols that help everyone understand the book

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436 Words | 2 Pages

In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses Mayella Ewell’s red geraniums to construe that she is impossibly close to being a normal girl, but is held back by her family name and the conditions in which she lives. To begin, Scout describes the Ewell residence, including a corner of the yard, which contains “six chipped-enamel slop jars holding brilliant red geraniums” (Lee 228). These stunning red geraniums are cogent with describing Mayella’s situation: living in terrible conditions within a toxic family environment. She is exactly like her red geraniums due to the fact that she is a beautiful, wonderful girl who, unfortunately, can never be normal in the grand scheme of things. She is a Ewell, an outcast, a disgrace, and she will always be

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1391 Words | 6 Pages

Geranium represents for Mayella because she is trying to make the best things for her family, the smell of Geranium flower’s behavior overcomes the power of her life, like the smell of geranium compared to the beauty of flowers. Violet is between blue and purple like Mayella is between two sides of societies. Scout and Jem describe Mayella Ewell as “a mixed child: white people wouldn’t have anything to do with her because she lived among pigs; Negroes wouldn’t have anything to do with her because she was white.”

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709 Words | 3 Pages

Mayella was was just a poor girl who had never been to school a day in her life and suffered so much abuse from her father, she didn’t give herself the opportunity to be powerful. In a time of oppression and depression Mayella standing up would have been a monumental change but she never seized it and took advantage, she let everyone else take advantage of

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1071 Words | 5 Pages

Jem and Scout want to make a snowman however, there is not enough snow. So they begin scooping, molding, smoothing, the dirt into the distinct three-circled shape of a snowman. They then add the snow on top of the dirt, to make their snowman white. This is seen when Scout narrates, “Jem scooped up an armful of dirt, patted it into a mount on which he added another load, and another until he had constructed a torso… Jem scooped up some snow and began plastering it on” (Lee 89).

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631 Words | 3 Pages

She was in the worst part of the social structure there is, "Maycomb's Ewells lived behind the town garbage dump in what was once a Negro cabin […]" (Doc A). Unfortunately, because she's so poor, no one above her wanted anything to do with her, "[…] white people wouldn't have anything to do with her because she lived among pigs […]" (Doc E). Unfortunately, Mayella turned out

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1060 Words | 5 Pages

Mayella must have been crestfallen most of her life because she never had any friends and never had a social life. But Mayella “looked as if she tried to keep clean” this includes keeping herself clean and her belongings like her little section in the garden. (Doc A) Since her father spends all his paychecks on liquor and never takes care of his children and house Mayella must try and keep clean by herself. This is sad to see because Mayella is restricted by what she can do because of her father's irresponsible spending habits that keep them in a low class and abusive household. This is why Mayella's class makes her less powerful outside of court and in Maycomb’s

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668 Words | 3 Pages

In her novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee very clearly shows the various distinctions that exist in the 1940s society of Maycomb, a fictitious small southern town. She challenges many of the commonly held beliefs presented by various characters, and she puts forward the idea that what is most important is a person's character, not their social status. The Finches, Mrs. Dubose, and the members of Aunt Alexandras' missionary circle represent the top social strata in Maycomb. The ladies of the missionary circle always put on their hats to go across the street."

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819 Words | 4 Pages

Mayella is overall powerless; she has no power except for the fact she’s white. Mayella’s family lives in poverty and because of this she is powerless, because of her class. Mayella lives (DOC A) “Behind the towns garbage dump in what was once a Negro cabin…

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732 Words | 3 Pages

But she said he took advantage of her, and when she stood up she looked at him as if he were dirt beneath her feet.” Mayella’s loneliness and powerlessness drove her to have an affair with a black man, breaking a societal code. She is a victim of poverty because of the hatred and discrimination occurring in Maycomb. Although some might view Mayella Ewell as a victim, others might view her as a villain because she broke a societal code by attempting to have an affair with a Negro.

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389 Words | 2 Pages

For my project i did an poem on Atticus in Harper Lee’s , To Kill A Mockingbird. I want to explain why i think i deserve a good grade on my project nonetheless , also my hard time i put in dedicating my free time into the poem. What led to choosing this type of project was because i felt like i could do something creative with Atticus , since he is one of the most respected characters in the story. Anyways , let me explain to you my opinion on why i deserve a good grade.

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775 Words | 4 Pages

According to the text, “Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired old town when I first knew it. In rainy weather the streets turned to red slop; grass grew on the sidewalks, the courthouse sagged in the square" (Lee 6). Lee uses imagery to paint a picture in the reader's mind, not only to imagine it but also to connect the coming of age concept because Scout saw the town as old and gross at first but then her perspective changes at the end of the book. Such as, when she sees the happiness and importance of Maycomb. Another example of imagery in “To Kill A Mockingbird” is when Scout changes her mind about Maycomb and how special it is to her.

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