Examples Of Figurative Language In To Kill A Mockingbird '

Term Definition Example from Text

(cite with a page number) Explanation

1. imagery Descriptive words and phrases that re-create sensory experiences for the reader “I saw the blaze of love and anguish that had come so often into her face.” (392). This sentence uses descriptive words such as blaze and anguish to describe and set an image for someone who is “cheery”. The sentence was describing May’s presence before she had passed.

2. metaphor

A comparison of two things (does not contain like or as)

“My hair was black like my mother’s but basically a nest of cowlicks, and it worried me that I didn’t have a chin.” (36). This sentence compares two things, Lily’s hair and a nest of cowlicks. This section was Lily basically describing

herself.

3.

simile

A comparison where one thing is said to be like another (contains “like” or “as”)

“My mind became naturally calm, as if part of me had lifted right up out of my body and was sitting on a tree limb watching the spectacle from a safe distance.” (299). This paragraph uses the word “as” to compare her feeling of calmness to a feeling of lacking presence. This is a scene where all the bees have been released and were surrounding Lily.

4. personification

A figure of speech in which human qualities are given to an object, animal, or idea

“His boots whispered Uncle all the way down the hall.” (41). Giving T-Ray’s boots qualities of speaking, personification is used in this sentence to portray the sound of him walking through the hall.

5. onomatopoeia

The use of words whose sounds echo their meanings, such as buzz

“The trash can was full of banana peels, and the electric percolator bubbled into the tiny glass nozzle on top of it. Bloop, bloop. I loved the way it sounded, the way it smelled.” (209). Onomatopoeia happens when Bloop, bloop is used to describe the noise of the percolator. This happened one morning for breakfast.

6. situational irony

A contrast between what a reader or character expects and what actually

happens.

“I’m going to the wall,” May said. June shook her head. “It’s getting dark.”
“Just for a little while,” May said. She moved into the kitchen, with all of us following after her. She opened a cabinet drawer, took out a flashlight, her tablet, a stub of a pencil, and walked onto the porch. I pictured her writing it down
–Zach in jail-and pushing it into a crevice in the wall…May had been gone for a whole five minutes when August got up and began to pace…After twenty minutes she said, “That’s it.

Let’s go get her.”…After we walked from one end of the wailing wall to the other, we went back and walked it again, like this time we were going to get it right. Walked slower, looked closer, call louder. This time May would be there kneeling with the flashlight batteries burned out…August looked at me, and then moved her flashlight beam out to the water. The light swept across the surface making a spatter of ink gold splotches before it stopped abruptly. May lie in the river, just beneath the surface. Her eyes were wide open and unblinking, and the skirt of her dress was fanned out and swayed into the current…River reeds clung to her hair braids. I looked away. I knew then. May was dead.” (373-380). Situational irony is used in this part of the story for May’s death. May had left the house, having everyone think (including the reader) that she was going to her pebble wall to add another piece of paper because Ricky went to jail, but instead the sisters had found out that May had gone to attempt suicide, creating the reader to expect one thing, but the outcome is completely

different.

7. dramatic irony
When the reader or viewer knows something that a character does not know

“But Rosaleen, who had less sense than I’d dreamed, said in this tone like she was explaining something real hard to a kindergarten student, “I’m going to register my name so I can vote, that’s what.” (79). Rosaleen is saying that going to vote, as a black woman would make a bold statement, becoming apparent when the white men surround her later on. Also when the texted mention she acted like a kind gardener, she later pours all of her spit on the white men’s shoes.

8. symbol
A person, place or object that stands for something beyond itself.

“The end-all mystery inside the bag was a small wooden picture of Mary, the mother of Jesus.” (46). A major symbol in the story is the picture of The black Mary that is the seal for August’s honey jars. This picture (along with others) leads Lily to the fate-destined pink house.

9. theme
An underlying message about life or human nature that a writer is communicating in a work

“And there they were. All these mothers. I have more mothers than any eight girls off the street. They are moons shinning over me.” (582). Theme in this story is very important, being the base of the text in this case. Many themes come in mind, ranging from bees to mothers. The “mother” image is used throughout the whole book, having concept of the lack of mothers and the search for mothers. But near the ending Lily finally discovers that it doesn’t matter about the birthing connection to have a mother. Motherly support is everywhere in this book. People like Rosaleen, August, Virgin Mary, and even the Daughters of Mary.

10. direct characterization
The author tells the reader exactly what the character is like

“May was simple minded. I don’t mean retarded, because she was smart in some way and read cookbooks nonstop” (176) In this sentence, the author tells us that may is simple minded, thus most likely simple minded is one of her traits throughout the book.

11. indirect characterization
A method of characterization in which an author tells what a character looks like, does, and says and how other characters react to him or her; it is up to the reader to draw conclusions about the character based on this indirect information

“Well you can stay here until you figure out what to do. We can’t have you living on the side of the road,” Said August.” (153) In this sentence, the author tells us that August is a very caring person, inviting Lily and rosaleen to stay at their home while her sister strongly disagreed.
Evidence
Choose a short phrase or passage about the character. Although you should use a direct quote (or the exact words) from the book, quotes do not have to be character dialogue. Include the page numbers from the novel. Commentary/Response
Write your reaction to the passage and/or comment on the meaning, importance, and/or significance of the passage. Your response should be at least 5 sentences in length.
1st Character’s Name:
Lily Owens
Entry 1:“Please, Lily, you are insulting your fine intelligence. Do you have any idea how smart you are? You could be a professor or a writer with actual books to your credit. Beauty school. Please.” (49) Lily Owens is a 14 year old girl who lives with her father T-Ray who often puts down and neglects his own daughter. Resulting in Lily having not much confidence at all and ultimately lowering her self-esteem. T-Ray also blames lily for killing her mother, constantly reminding her of her past. Lily doesn’t have time to become a normal teenage due to all the heavy and unneeded work that her father weighs upon her. Lily only has one motherly-like figure and that is Rosaleen, an African American woman that has looked after Lily since she was born.
Entry 2:“You’ve got to get out of here,” I said, untying her writs.
“I can’t just leave,” she said. “I’m still in Jail.”
“If you stay here, those men are going to come back and kill you. I’m serious. They’re going to kill you, like those colored people in Mississippi got killed.” (106-107).
Lily at this point has shown her car for Rosaleen. Rosaleen and Lily then escape from the town that troubled them at the time, and began to walk the road of homelessness. You could tell Lily’s feelings towards Rosaleen were strong, stronger than her fear from T-Ray and I feel when Lily broke Rosaleen out and Ran away, they gained respect from their selves. Finally deciding to head to the town in Lily’s mother’s picture, they find a fated location called the pink house. Lily supposedly thinks that this location could link to her mother.
Entry 3: “T-Ray did not think colored women were smart. Since I want to tell the whole truth, which means the worst parts, I thought they could be smart, but not as smart as me, me being white.” (165) Lily has been welcomed into the house of bees at this point, and is meeting everyone. She still is in a great confusion over her mother and hopes to find something at this place that she was lead to. She meets new people like Zach and Neil and the Daughters of Mary. Lily also is slightly scratchy with the fact of people disagreeing with her being there. She is just getting around to everything and learning new ways of living.
Entry 4: “Do you think I can bee keep one of these days?” I asked.
August said, “Didn’t you tell me this past week one of the things you loved was bees and honey? Now, if that’s so, you’ll be a fine beekeeper.” (331)
Lily begins to get comfortable around the pink house, becoming friends with almost everyone in the house. Lily develops a passion for bee keeping and also gains a ton of interest into the Virgin Mary. She also gains interest in a boy named Zach, who also likes her back. Rosaleen also is beginning to warm up to everyone, Including the Daughters of Mary; a religious group that the sisters are in. Things begin to settle and at this point, everyone is very happy.
Entry 5: “And there they were. All these mothers. I have more mothers. I have mother mothers than any eight girls off the street. They are the moons shining over me.” (582) After facing T-Ray and finally standing up to him, Lily gains a new self confidence that not many can break. At this point Lily has learned the truth about her Mother and is very disappointed and later realizes that she has enough motherly love in the pink house for her whole life. The things flip up for the sisters too, after a tragic situation. June finally married Neil and everyone is happy. Lily also begins to realize that love can come from anyone, never signifying what skin color the person that loves you is.

Evidence
Choose a short phrase or passage about the character. Although you should use a direct quote (or the exact words) from the book, quotes do not have to be character dialogue. Include the page numbers from the novel. Commentary/Response
Write your reaction to the passage and/or comment on the meaning, importance, and/or significance of the passage. Your response should be at least 5 sentences in length.
2nd Character’s Name:
June Boatwright
Entry 1: “Well, you can stay here till you figure out what to do. We can’t have you living on the side of the road,” said August.
The intake of June’s breath nearly sucked the air from the room. “But, August” (151) June Boatwright lives with her 2 sisters August Boatwright and May Boatwright in the “pink house”. Their friends Neil and Zach often come around the house and help. They belong to the Daughters of Mary and have a happy religious life. June being very irritated that August invited the young white girl and her friend to stay with them. June thinks it’s a bad idea that the two stay with them and gets a bad vibe from them.
Entry 2: “I wish June with her whip would grin, too, but she only looked annoyed”(146) June has been around lily for a while now, and they still have they’re once and a while looks with each other. June doesn’t laugh at Lily’s jokes and completely ignores her at dinner. Whenever June gets mad or angry at Lily she usually goes off to play her cello. Things are going well at the house besides this, but there are annoying things. Neil repeatedly proposes to her, but June always declines claiming to have her heart broken by another man and vowed to never get married.
Entry 3: “Let’s see if we can help her,” august said as June disappeared from my line of sight. “We owe her that.” “I don’t see that we owe her anything June said.” (179)
June’s getting really irrigated with Lily. Throwing fits and storming off have been recent June activity. She often skips lunches and doesn’t sit at the table instead her room. She and Neil had got into a fight because she wouldn’t marry him. Things rather than that are good.
Entry 4: “June Boatwright hugged me while our clothes made sweet, squishy sounds up and down our bodies.” (334) June’s annoyance has become an all the time thing. Lily begins to see no point in the hatred and tries to make up. Everyone is getting along and they share some memory saving moments. June and everyone else is very dedicated to the Daughters now. June still will not accept Neil’s proposal, but still talks to Neil.
Entry 5: “And June, despite her way, loves you too.” (471) June has become very close to Lily after the death of her very close sister, May. Everyone is mourning and no one is talking to each other. Things look up after a while and everyone becomes a big happy family. June begins to have a motherly effect on Lily. She also finally accepted Neil’s marriage proposal in honor of May.

(1) When I had first read that T-Ray had once loved Deborah, I was shocked. Then I went to thinking, T-Ray tried to give her everything and she didn’t want any part of him and when she left he grew hateful and cruel because of his broken heart. One of the reasons why he abused Lily is because she reminded T-Ray of her mother, and he couldn’t let Deborah get away again. Also when Lily accidentally killed her, a part of T-Ray has probably dead too.
(4) Injustice and racism has been going on for many years now and still is happening today and I believe that Rosaleen has stood up for all the mistreated people in this book. It only takes belief and the mind of knowing what is right for someone to stand up. When Rosaleen stood up the white men, I feel as if she was stepping up for all the African Americans who also wanted their rights.
(5) Being around motherly-figures transformed Lily. She grew up without a mother’s love and warmth and when she finally came across some she felt as if she belonged with a group of women. It’s important for women to come together because just like African Americans, they often get little justice if any.
(7) I think in the future Lily stays in the pink house with June and August. Rosaleen became a civil right protester in the heart of Georgia and Zach became a Lawyer. Lily doesn’t see her father ever again, filling up on the love of only the ones surrounding her. Lily is a famous writer and has sold an award-winning biography, while beekeeping in her free time.
(9) Gender and race inequalities have been going on for centuries. White males being the dominate species. Many are afraid of something different and they don’t know how to control something different so they begin to get rid of the different people. I have always felt so strongly about equality and I hope that one day we can all live together without abhorrence.