Harper Lee uses literary devices including conflict, characterization, and symbols to portray her philosophy on the proper treatment of human beings.
Lee utilizes the conflicts caused by racism to develop her views about the mistreatment of human beings. In Atticus Finch’s closing statements at Tom Robinson’s trial, he addresses racism. He shares that Mayella Ewell “was white and she tempted a Negro. She did something that in our society is unspeakable: She kissed a black man” (172). In the hopes of swaying their opinions, Atticus speaks to the members of the jury about the unfair treatment of certain people in society due to the color of their skin. After Tom’s conviction, Jem Finch cannot understand the outcome. Atticus attempts to explain to Jem that “when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man
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always wins. They’re ugly, but those are the facts of life” (187). Throughout the novel, Atticus continues to teach his children lessons of acceptance with the realities of injustice. Following Tom’s death, Scout Finch reflects upon the events that happened. She believes that to her community “Tom’s death was Typical. Typical of a n***** to cut and run. Typical of a n*****’s mentality to have no plan, no thought for the future, just run blind first chance he saw” (205). Scout recognizes that prejudice will continue to exist and that the people in her town will not change their views. Lee’s use of conflict illustrates the improper treatment of African Americans in the South during the 1930’s. Through characterization, Lee demonstrates her interpretation of how humans treat one another. Lee characterizes Atticus, who defends Tom, as open-minded, tolerant, and fair. “The one thing that doesn’t abide by the majority rule is a person’s conscience” (87). Atticus teaches his children that everyone has the ability to make their own decisions despite what others may think and everyone must live with their choices. Following the trial, Jem and Atticus discuss the events that took place. Jem’s possesses much confusion regarding the outcome of the trial and believes “you just can’t convict a man on evidence like that --you just can’t” (187). Jem struggles with the realities of the world. He turns to his father for comfort and guidance. Jem and Scout discuss society and he asks “if there’s just one kind of folks, why can’t they get along with each other? If they’re all alike, why do they go out of their way to despise each other?” (193). Jem’s innocent view displays a much deeper understanding of how people in his town treat one another. His understanding of the prejudice which exists in society grows during the trial, but it still challenges him. Lee uses characterization to portray the mindset of society during this time in America. Lee’s use of symbols such as the mockingbird helps to convey her philosophy regarding the treatment of human beings.
The mockingbird appears multiple times in the novel and represents innocence. When Jem and Scout receive air rifles, Atticus warns them not to shoot mockingbirds. Miss Maudie explains that mockingbirds “don’t do one thing except sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (74-75). This illustrates what the mockingbird symbolizes in the novel. After Tom’s death, Mr. Underwood writes an editorial about the issues of injustice. He equates Tom’s death to the “senseless slaughter of songbirds”(205). Tom represents the mockingbird because he tries to help the Ewells, and it costs him everything. After Bob Ewell attacks Jem and Scout, Scout talks with Atticus about Boo Radley, the man who saves their lives. She realizes that punishing Boo for what he did to help them would be “ sort of like shootin’ a mockingbird” (234). Lee portrays Boo as the mockingbird because he saves the children from Bob Ewell. The symbols which Lee uses demonstrate that even the innocent characters suffer at the hands of
society.
Lee illustrates Atticus Finch as a very understanding character, especially during the Tom Robinson trial. During the revolting times of the 1930s, it was outlandish for a white man to stand up for a Negro man. For example, when the towns’ people are talking about Atticus, they say, “You know the court appointed him to defend this nigger.” “Yeah, Atticus aims to defend him, that’s what is don’t like about it” (218). When Atticus is delegated to defend Tom Robinson, he not only defends him because he was ordered to. Atticus intentionally helped Tom and wanted Tom to win. Even though the towns’ people did not like Atticus aiming to defend Tom, he understood that it was his duty to help him. Another example is in chapter 22 when Bob Ewell spits on Atticus’s face. Atticus didn’t react intrusive because he knew that it would affect people’s outlook on the trial and on Tom. Atticus stood above the standard and helped a black man, which earned him respect from the Negro people in town. Atticus was very wholehearted when deciding to help Tom Robinson in the trial.
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee there are many representations of mockingbirds. A mockingbird in the novel, is an innocent soul. One of the most famous quotes from the novel is “It’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”( Pg. 103) The reason it’s considered a sin to kill a mockingbird is because they are innocent and do no harm. In the novel there are three main mockingbirds. Boo Radley, Mayella Ewell and Tom Robinson
Boo Radley is more subtle in showing how he represents the mockingbird, as he is more of a quiet, shy character. Boo was confined to his home but is still aware of the people around him. The children view him more as a superstition than a person in the beginning of the novel but Scout realizes just how good of a person Boo really is when he saves her and Jem from Mr. Ewell. Tom Robinson represented the killing of the mockingbird. He was looked down upon by most of the community but he was an innocent man who had no intention of harming anyone, yet he was still convicted of the crime and sentenced to
When the children were given toy guns for Christmas from their uncle, Atticus tells them that is a sin to kill a mockingbird, because mockingbirds are innocent creatures that only make pretty music and do not harm anything. Boo Radley is shown throughout the story as a gentile man when he covers Scout up with a blanket the night she was waiting on the sidewalk for the fire burning from Miss Maudie’s house to be put out. He also leaves the children presents in the knothole and saves their lives when Bob Ewell tries to kill them. His bad reputation comes from the idea that all people who isolate themselves from their communities are horrible, violent people who need to be shut off from everyone for their own safety, when in reality we are left to guess that he detaches himself from Maycomb because of some form of social anxiety or dislike of socializing. The comparison of him to a mockingbird is prominent at the end of the book, when Heck Tate is explaining to Atticus that it was Boo who killed Bob Ewell, and not Jem. He tells him that it would be best to pretend that Bob Ewell fell on his own knife because sharing the actual story would bring Boo into the spotlight, which Scout compares to being a sin as bad as killing a mockingbird. Tom Robinson also represents a Mockingbird because he is just as innocent as one. During the time when Mayella and Bob
In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, racism is a major theme. Atticus Finch, the narrator’s father, defends a negro, Tom Robinson, in the court of law against a white man, Bob Ewell. Robinson had reportedly raped a young white girl, Mayella Ewell. But according to Robinson he had gone to help Mayella, as he often did, with work around the house. As he starts helping Mayella, she tries to get Tom to kiss her and will not let him out of the house. Bob Ewell sees this and chases Tom out of the house and accuses him of raping his daughter. Atticus goes against almost everyone in Maycomb County’s opinion in defending Tom Robinson. Throughout the course of the novel, racism effects many characters such as Tom and Helen Robinson, Scout and Jem Finch, and Mayella and Bob Ewell. All these characters had there lives
Lee uses Scout and Jem’s tumultuous childhood experiences to... has had many trials through her life, and on was in fact a trail of Tom Robinson, a black man accused in raping Mayella Ewell, one of the daughters of Bob Ewell, the town’s idler. Atticus, the children’s father, was defending Tom Robinson, and the case seemed to be in favor of him, all the way to the point of Jem stating, “He’s not leaning, Reverend, but don’t fret, we’ve won it..Don’t see how any jury could convict on what we heard-”(Lee 176). Jem is very confident in his father’s argument, and believes that the case will lean to Tom,
Secondly, this part of the plot refers to the time when it was Christmas time Jem and Scout were given rifles, and before Atticus would allow them to shoot birds he wanted to make them aware that shooting mockingbirds are sinful. To illustrate this idea, in the text, it states, “but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (93). The evidence highlights the symbolic meaning of the mockingbird. It is known that after this point in the novel, Tom Robinson was being connected to mockingbirds. Tom was being symbolized with a mockingbird because it is a sin to kill a mockingbird due to them not being harmful animals.
Symbolism. Why is it important in a novel? Why do authors incorporate symbols into their writing? Symbolism aids the reader in understanding what the author wants to portray. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird, she writes about the racism in a small town in Alabama named Maycomb set in the 1930’s and about two children growing up and learning that their town is not as perfect as they thought. The theme topic appearance versus reality helps to get a better understanding of the symbols used in the novel and that you should not judge something by their appearance, you should judge by the reality of what it is. “As Atticus once advised me to do, I tried to climb into Jem’s skin and walk around in it.” (Scout page 77) In her novel, there are many symbols throughout the narrative that relate to the theme topic appearance versus reality. Harper Lee writes symbols into her novel, such as the snowman, Mrs. Dubose’s Camellia flower and Dolphus Raymond’s Coca-Cola bottle to help reinforce the theme topic of appearance versus reality throughout the novel.
...r the two victims of human malice suggests the power Harper Lee sees in symbolism, which carries the message better than words. At this point she seems to agree with J.B.S. Haldane, a British Scientist, who stated: "In fact, words are well adapted for description and the arousing of emotion, but for many kinds of precise thought other symbols are much better" (Tripp). Perhaps this is the reason Harper Lee chooses to declare her rejection of prejudice and racism through the use of symbols; because they are more effective than words.
Throughout the novel Harper Lee explores the racism, prejudice, and the innocence that occurs throughout the book. She shows these topics through her strong use of symbolism throughout the story.
In To Kill A Mockingbird Atticus Finch is one of the top lawyers in Maycomb. He is not afraid to defend anyone. In the book, Atticus must defend a black man named Tom Robinson who is accused of rape. It is very hard to win a case of white vs. black, and Atticus knows this, and he know that they are treated unfairly which is what he tell Scout, “As you grow older you’ll see white men cheat black men everyday of your life, but let me tell you something and don’t forget it- whatever a white man does that to a black man no matter who he is, or how fine a family he comes from, he is trash”(Lee.223) Atticus is a very wise man and he sees the harsh and unfair treatment of blacks, and also he knows that even black people are humans, which is what he tries to teach his son, Jem, and his daughter, Scout. That is why he takes on a seemingly impossible case of a black man’s word against a white man’s. Atticus teaches the kids that even if someone is of high class, it is not okay to treat anyone with disrespect. If a man does do that, that man is “trash” as Atticus would say. The lesson that he teaches to Jem and Scout is something they carry and learn more about throughout the book.
“Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” (p.90) Miss. Maudie, one of the main protagonists in To Kill a Mockingbird, warns the young girl Scout that mockingbirds should not to be killed or hunted down because they represent those who are kind and innocent. So, on a broader spectrum, the term “to kill a mockingbird” symbolizes cruel and improper behavior towards people with good hearts and intentions. In the town of Maycomb, unethical behaviors, such as prejudice and gossip, are most commonly used against the “mockingbirds”. Three of those “mockingbirds” that are featured in this novel are Arthur “Boo” Radley, Tom Robinson, and Atticus Finch. Due to the depiction of the mockingbird symbol in the novel, the reader understands the consequences that immoral attitudes have towards those who are innocent and kindhearted.
...birds are one of the main symbols. Mockingbirds are innocent they do not harm anyone but makes beautiful music. However, they get killed by people every day. There are many innocent person present in this novel; three main characters that are Tom Robinson, Boo Radley, and Mr. Dolphus Raymond, and they symbolize the Mockingbirds. Tom was a wrongly accused of rape, and he was brutally killed because he was black. Boo Radley did not do any harm to anyone, he was innocent, but people in the Maycomb County were thinking him as a monster which hurt him mentally. Lastly, Mr. Raymond symbolized the Mockingbird because he was innocent, however only because he thought different than others, he was looked down by the people in Maycomb County. Mockingbirds in this novel symbolized the innocent people who are getting wrongly accused and their innocence getting destroyed by evil.
Nelle Harper Lee’s Philosophy on the Proper Treatment of Human Beings in To Kill A Mockingbird
The main symbols discussed and portrayed in the book were Tim Johnson, the Mockingbirds and Boo Radley. Tim Johnson was a neighbourhood dog who appeared down the Finch’s street one day, but looked very ill and was rabid. Calpurnia the black maid working at the Finch’s rang Atticus and he shot it. Tim Johnson could symbolize the prejudice and mob mentality of Maycomb at the time and because Atticus shot Tim this represents Atticus’s morals beliefs about stopping racism and creating equality. The Mockingbird used in the title of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ is the most important symbol depicted in this novel. One day Atticus told Jem that he’d rather Jem shoot at tin cans, but he knew Jem would go after birds. He gave Jem permission to shoot all the blue jays he felt like, but it was a sin to kill a mockingbird. Jem then went to Miss Maudie to ask about what Atticus had just said, "Your father’s right," she said. "Mockingbirds don’t do one thing except make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corn cribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” This conveys the loss of innocence in ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ and thus killing a Mockingbird is to destroy innocence. A number of characters (Jem, Tom Robinson, Dill, Boo Radley, Mr. Raymond) can be identified as Mockingbirds who have been injured or destroyed through their contact with evil. As the novel progresses, the children’s perspective towards Boo Radley matures and this replicates the development of the children. Boo Radley was once an intelligent child, only to be ruined by his cruel father is one of the most important mockingbirds as his innocence was destroyed. Luckily for Jem and Scout, Boo was merely a source of childhood superstition often leaving presents for them. Despite the pain that Boo