Examples Of Bildungsroman In To Kill A Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird Essay

There are many books that are written as the point of view of a child, and all of them have a similar form of writing, called bildungsroman. Bildungsroman is a genre of writing that deals with the growth, change, and education of the protagonist. One common theme in these coming of age stories is the loss of innocence and the book To Kill A Mockingbird is no exception. In her novel, Harper Lee used an extensive amount of symbolism to foreshadow the events of some characters losing their innocence, three of them include the snowman, the fire in the neighborhood, and Atticus shooting the mad dog Tim Johnson.

The first of the three symbols that foreshadows the loss of innocence is the snowman. The snowman was Jem’s idea after they had seen snow for the first time; Jem’s idea was to use mud to create the body and to put snow around it to hide the mud. The protagonist Scout describes what they’re doing by narrating “Jem scooped up some snow and began plastering it on… Gradually… turned white.”(89). The mud was used to symbolize the black community

in Maycomb, the snow was the whites in the town, the snowman was to signify that the whites in Maycomb oppress and overpower the blacks. It was even told later how the jury tried to subjugate Tom Robinson, Scout narrates “I shut my eyes. Judge Taylor was polling the jury: ‘Guilty …. guilty … guilty … guilty... ’”(282). This quote shows that Scout was affected by the jury’s decision on Tom and caused her to lose a bit of her innocence. The snowman and the jury both illustrate the power the white man had on the blacks and that Scout was there to witness them both
Another symbol that foreshadowed innocence loss was the fire in the neighborhood. The fire was used to symbolize the devastation of someone’s life and how it even affected those nearby. As Scout was narrating “We stood watching the street fill with men and cars while fire silently devoured Miss Maudie’s house.”(92). Not only was the fire destroying what was innocent, there were also people trying to save what was pure; it was much like how Atticus tried to save Tom Robinson by taking his case. Subsequently, towards the end of the trial, Scout narrated how Jem reacted “I peeked at Jem: his hands were white from gripping the balcony rail, and his shoulders jerked as if each ‘guilty’ was a separate stab between them.”(282). This quote shows how Jem was not ready to hear what was happening. This was the first time Jem was really catching a glimpse into adulthood and his loss of innocence as it happened. These quotes were to show the devastation that can happen and how someone else can be affected inadvertently.
The third and final symbol that was used to show a loss of innocence was the shooting of the mad dog Tim Johnson.

The mad dog was used to symbolize the feeling of uncertainty and uneasiness. Scout narrates “The rifle cracked. Tim Johnson leaped, flopped over and crumbled on the sidewalk on a brown and white heap.”(127). The quote was showing that Atticus shot the rifle and killed the dog. The dog was used to bring a feeling of uncertainty that Atticus might get hurt, throughout the entire scene Scout was terrified that Atticus would get attacked. After Atticus had kept Tom safe in the jail, Scout comes to realize “The full meaning of tonight’s events finally hit me and I began to cry.”(208). This quote was after everyone came home from the jail and Scout was in bed recollecting about that night.These quotes were used to bring a feeling of suspense and caused Scout to lose more of her

innocence.
The snowman, the fire, and the mad dog all symbolize and foreshadow how innocence is lost in the novel, whether it was with Scout or even Jem. there was an abundance of foreshadowing in the novel, and those three were just a few examples; the only way to find them all is to read and really understand what’s happening in the book. To Kill A Mockingbird is a perfect example of a bildungsroman, over the course of the book the protagonist changes exponentially.