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What Does The Gum Symbolize In To Kill A Mockingbird

1300 Words6 Pages

String:
One item found in the tree was a tied up ball of string. This was one of the eight different items found inside the knothole near the Radley house. This string looks like just some ordinary item found in everyday life, but in To Kill a Mockingbird it serves as a greater symbol. Jem and Scout are siblings that have had some ups and downs in their lives which gives them a very dynamic relationship throughout the novel. Firstly, the string represents the relationship between these two characters. During the beginning of the novel, Jem is portrayed as a childish and immature character leading to a similar relationship with his father, neighbors, aunt, but most importantly Scout. The twine is figuratively connecting these two characters. …show more content…

However, in To Kill a Mockingbird gum can be a symbol for something much larger. The gum symbolizes childishness and adolescence. During the time when Scout found the single gum in the tree, she was not very mature or adultlike. This leads to the allusion of the gum to youthfulness. Even though Scout is portrayed as an immature little kid during the beginning of the novel she grows throughout it and matures along the way.
Secondly, the gum symbolizes trust. When Scout found the single pieces of gum it had no wrapper indicating that someone previously unwrapped it. This was Boo Radley. During the beginning of the book, Boo can be described as a timid and unknown character leading to many people not trusting him. The gum in the tree is just like him, Scout chews it first to see if it’s not poisonous which it’s not then Jem later on makes Scout spit it out showing how he doesn’t trust it. In the end it turns out the Gum is not poisonous and it was just Boo Radley trying to make contact with the kids.

Coins in ring …show more content…

In this case, it symbolizes conflict and violence within the whole book. To start off with, the knife foreshadows the conflict between Mayella and Tom Robinson which later evolves into Tom versus Bob Ewell and the trial. The first conflict with Mayella is a physical one, literally representing the knife and how it can hurt people. In this case, Tom is the one being hurt by Mayella. With knives there can be a choice, whether to use it as a tool, or as a weapon. This is similar to when the jury has a choice to help or hurt Tom Robinson. They could either help him, putting their stature as a white man helping a black man down, or they could hurt him keeping the stereotypical norm the

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After his adventures at the Radley house Jem is in a bad mood for a week, and then the children go back to school. Scout starts second grade which is apparently just as bad as first grade and Jem tells Scout that he was freaked out after retrieving his pants from the Radley home because they were mended badly and were sitting on top of the fence instead of being where he had left them. A few days later on their way home Jem and Scout see a ball of twine in a knothole of a tree on the Radley proper, however they leave it there thinking that the knothole may be someone 's secret hiding place. When it is still there a few days later they decide it is okay to take the twine and consequently several other things left inside the tree. Over the next

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What if Boo was actually nice and he wanted Jem and Scout to know that he was a nice person. The kids think of Boo Radley as a mean person with a lousy past but what if he was actually friendly? Who where the items meant for? There were three items placed in the tree. First, there were two pieces of gum.

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In “To Kill a Mockingbird”, Harper Lee uses the motif of Boo Radley and finding gifts in the tree to teach Jem and Scout that they shouldn’t blindly believe the rumors they hear but find out the truth for themselves and form impressions based on it. Scout and Jem find gifts in the knothole of a tree on the Radley lot, presumably left by Boo Radley. Mr. Radley, Boo’s brother ends up plugging the knothole with cement, claiming the tree is dying. Jem stays outside on the porch until sundown after he finds out that the knothole has been blocked. When Jem comes inside, Scout comments to herself, “ [Jem] stood there until nightfall, and I waited for him.

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When we went in the house I saw he had been crying; his face was dirty in the right places, but I thought it odd that I had not heard him” (Lee 71). Jem receives presents in the hole inside the tree and then Nathan Radley cements it which helps Jem learn that Nathan Radley is cutting the connections of Boo Radley with the outside world. After this experience, Jem finally sees Boo Radley as a real person which leads him to lose his innocence. Therefore, Jem is able to attain knowledge because of the experiences he has with Nathan and Boo Radley. Despite Jem and Scout indicating that

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