The plots and themes of this classic American literature have come under consideration and review many times, but not enough readers take notice to all of the metaphors and symbolism that are intertwined with the text. While To Kill a Mockingbird has many values of equality on the surface, the hidden meanings and symbolism allow it to take a deeper stance than one might notice right away. A few notable examples are the encounter with the rabid dog, the mud-and-snow man, Atticus’s light at the prison house, and, of course, the references to mockingbirds. The rabid dog, a threat to the town of Maycomb, wandered down the street, nobody daring to confront it but Atticus. Even Heck Tate, the town sheriff, hadn’t the courage to take the shot. Clearly, this scene goes deeper than what is on the surface. Atticus was the only one brave enough to pull the trigger, but he was also the only one brave enough to go against the general bigotry of the town as well. Like the poison of prejudice, the dog walked freely down the street in its own twisted fashion. To everyone, the dog apparently seemed unstoppable. Furthermore, this symbolic language also explains the later statement (said as the jury reentered the courthouse) “it was like watching Atticus walk into the street, raise a rifle to his shoulder and pull the trigger, but watching all the time knowing that the gun was empty. (Lee 211)” The mud-and-snow man and ensuing fire could also symbolize the town’s racism. Jem decision to build the basic snowman out of dirt, and then add the details with snow is representative of his sense of equality. At first, the snowman was all black with dirt, but by also adding the white snow, Jem’s “morphodite” turned out to look just like the man he was portraying; Mr. Avery - something nearly unachievable using only one. This could symbolize Jem’s impartiality, as most children would never think of using dirt in a snowman. Atticus might have noticed this as well, bringing him what, in my opinion, would otherwise be an overabundance of pride. After seeing his snowman, Atticus said, “…from now on, I’ll never have to worry about what’ll become of you, son… (Lee 67)” Of course, trying to treat black and white as equal in the town of Maycomb could not go unpunished. Later in the chapter, a fire breaks
In the novel “To Kill A Mockingbird”, Harper Lee conveys the purpose of a snowman thoroughly to show one of the vast concepts throughout the eras which is the concept of racism. In the novel Jem and Scout says something that relates to how the symbol is used in the book, but it doesn’t directly relate to the concept because it’s not directly stated. Once they have built the snowman scout say,” Don’t you think it’s kind of a mess?” then she says later on when they are nearly complete,“ I have never heard of a black snowman.” During these quotes this is demonstrating how Jem and Scout doesn’t want to show the brown slush because it would be a abomination, so they want the white on top which advances to the case of a prejudice community and
This shows that Atticus and his family are put on a lower level than normal citizens. Pre-conceived opinions are able to make people opposed to changing them as well, with the ideas sticking in Maycomb. The hierarchy or order of people is severely deformed in Maycomb, as normal, well-meaning people are discriminated against and put at the bottom of the pack simply because of the colour of their skin.... ... middle of paper ...
To begin, one of the losing battles in the novel was the mad dog incident. This event started on page 96. Jem and Scout encountered Tim Johnson, a "liver-colored bird dog, the pet of Maycomb" (pg. 96). He was sick and was pretty much crawling. The children ran to Calpurnia, their cook who identified the dog as a mad dog and after that, people immediately rushed home and the street the Finches lived on was deserted. Atticus (Scout and Jem's father) and Heck Tate (the sheriff) soon arrived to see what was going on. The dog was shivering, its jaw opened and shut and was advancing slowly towards Atticus, Heck, and the kids. Heck immediately handed his rifle to Atticus who had hesitated to shoot at the dog. "I haven't shot a gun in thirty years" (pg. 100) was Atticus's response. Heck gave Atticus his rifle and told him "I'd feel mighty comfortable if you did now," (pg. 100). Atticus took the gun and slowly took aim at the dog with tough concentration. His glasses slipped off his nose and broke but he paid no attention. "With movements so swift they seemed simultaneous, Atticus' hand yanked a ball-tipped lever as he brought the gun to his shoulder. The rifle cracked." (pg. 100). Atticus shot at the dog and ended its life and the dog "didn't know what hit him" (pg. 100). This shows that the incident was a losing battle to the dog because the dog couldn't stop itself from dying. It pretty much had to die since it was ill and was in great pain. Atticus didn't want to shoot the dog at first but he knew he had to protect the town and free the dog of its pain. Because the dog didn't have a choice about whether or not it was going to die, it is an example of a losing battle.
Atticus Finch shows through his actions that bravery can show up in many different ways. Although he lives in Alabama, surrounded by racists, Atticus shows extreme bravery in the way he defends Tom Robinson. Not only does Atticus defend Tom Robinson’s case in the courtroom, he also pours his heart and soul into protecting Robinson and his whole family from the angry mobs of Maycomb. When Atticus explains to Scout and Jem, “I couldn’t hold up my head in town, I couldn’t represent this county in legislature, I couldn’t even tell you or Jem not to do something again,” he models bravery and the importance of doing the right thing even under the most difficult circumstances (Lee 75). This is typical behavior for Atticus Finch. Standing up to the whole town of Maycomb is not an easy thing to do, but Atticus is determined to show his children to stand up for what they believe in and take time to understand others. However, this action could be regarded as atypical behavior in the 1930s in Maycomb, Alabama. Southern Society scorned any white person who would help a black man. On the other hand, when Jem sees Atticus pull the trigger and shoot a rabid dog, who is threa...
Shaw-Thornburg, Angela. “On Reading To Kill a Mockingbird: Fifty Years Later.” Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird: New Essays. Meyer, Michael J. Lanham, Md: Scarecrow Press, 2010. 113-127. Print.
To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee sheds light upon the controversy of racism and justice in his classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. The notion of equality in accordance with the law and the pursuit of justice are hindered by racial discrimination. The essence of human nature is pondered. Are we inclined to be good or in the wrath of evil? The novel reflects on the contrasting nature of appearance versus reality.
For the first time since 1885, it snowed in Maycomb county and school was cancelled so Scout and Jem decided to build a snowman. Since there was not very much snow, they built a base layer out of dark mud to get the shape and they covered it up with a thin layer of white snow. “‘Jem, I ain’t ever heard of a nigger snowman’ I said. ‘He won't be black long,’ he grunted.” (page 89) On the outside the town appears like a perfect, innocent and beautiful place. The reality of the town on the inside however, has a dark side, that side is ugly, dark and filled with racism and
"I'd rather you shoot at tin cans in the backyard, but I know you'll go after birds. Shoot all the bluejays you want , if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird." This is what Atticus Finch tells his children after they are given air-rifles for Christmas. Uniquely, the title of the classic novel by Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird, was taken from this passage. At first glance, one may wonder why Harper Lee decided to name her book after what seems to be a rather insignificant excerpt. After careful study, however, one begins to see that this is just another example of symbolism in the novel. Harper Lee uses symbolism rather extensively throughout this story, and much of it refers to the problems of racism in the South during the early twentieth century. Harper Lee's effective use of racial symbolism can be seen by studying various examples from the book. This includes the actions of the children, the racist whites, and the actions of Atticus Finch.
The book to ‘To kill a mocking-bird’ was written in the 1930’s and explores prejudice against black people. The book is portrayed through the eyes of two innocent children and shows the “irrationality of adult attitudes to race and class in the Deep South [of America] in the thirties. The conscience of a town steeped in prejudice, violence and hypocrisy is pricked by the stamina of one mans struggle for justice.”
“Jem, I ain’t never heard of a nigger snowman.” (Lee,89) stated Scout. People living in Macomb were trained to treat whites as the superior race since they were young. In To Kill A Mockingbird, Jem and Scout create a snowman to represent Mr. Avery, which is white on the outside and black on the inside. Mr. Avery is a white man, yet he acts the way that blacks are “supposed” to act, and blacks act in an acceptable manner. The snowman shows that all people start off the same, but are separated by a thin layer of skin. It also expresses the idea that colored people are holding up the country while white people are the ones being seen. Harper Lee uses snow over mud to indicate that whites have control over the blacks, but white society is
Few people are the same as they are on the street in their homes. Few people can treat others equally; no matter what colour their skin is. Atticus Finch is one of those precious few. Racism in the town of Maycomb is nothing but disguised by the polite smiles and ladies missionary meetings; although it is the strongest belief that each person of the town holds apart from some such as Atticus. Racism is an issue of great importance, yet to the eye of a visitor waltzing through, it's just a slight whisk of air.
Jones, C. (1996). The Mad Dog as Symbol. In T. O'Neill (Ed.), Readings on To Kill A MockingBird (pp. 36). San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, Inc.
While Scout and Jem discover a sick dog, they alerted their neighbors about it. Atticus took his rifle and shot the sick dog. Staying close to Miss Maudie, Scout listens to Miss Maudie’s story about Atticus. She tells him how he had a great shot and almost never missed. Scout wondered why he didn;t go hunting anymore. Miss Maudie explains to her by saying, “Maybe he put his gun down when he realized that God had given him an unfair advantage over most living things” (130). Miss Maudie means that because of the advantage he has on wild animals, he found it unacceptable to kill things that couldn’t fight back. This shows how Atticus is, that he is honest with himself and shooting for sport is not ok.Atticus showed an example of his integrity. Scout sees this and understands the lesson of being fair and sticking to your principles. Also, Atticus has a different opinion than the majority in Maycomb. Being a lawyer, he defends Tom Robinson. Scout talks to Atticus and talks how lots of people in Maycomb believe he is wrong, while Atticus believes he is right. Atticus the states, “The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person conscience” (140). Sticking to what he believes, Atticus shows his person integrity. He doesn’t follow something because everyone else believes something, it is more because he sticks with and is strong with his principals.
Many students believe that Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird displays social issues in early America. In this time standing against common customs was unacceptable, a violation of society. People believe that today courage has overcome adversity that was displayed in early America. Courage is the common subject of To Kill a Mockingbird, which allows Lee’s novel to defy the changing times of humanity. These morals are bound to the “impartiality” and “fairness” taught to people as children, but become unavoidably invisible though selfish actions. The characters in To Kill a Mockingbird express audacity along with resilience in the face of cowardice.
In 1960, a novel was written to outline injustices and racism against those who were innocent, though unfairly judged because of social expectations and prejudiced beliefs. This novel not only presented these issues, but is also considered a revolutionary piece of literature, still being read by many people today, more than 50 years later. The novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, has caused some controversy about the intents of the book and the way certain people or groups are presented. Whether To Kill a Mockingbird as a narrative outshines the issue it presents is a debatable argument. However, I believe that the narrative of the novel supports the concerns exhibited for numerous reasons. In what follows, some of these are presented: the historical