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To kill a mockingbird literary technique metaphors
Essays on symbolism in to kill a mockingbird
Essays on symbolism in to kill a mockingbird
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This essay is about the some of the several themes found in the book, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. The three symbols that will be talked about are, how the tree by the Radley house symbolizes Boo Radley’s kindness and longing for friendship. How Tim Johnson symbolizes Atticus’ fight against racism. And, how mockingbirds symbolize peace and innocence.
First off, how does the tree by the Radley house symbolize Boo Radley’s kindness and longing for friendship? Kindness and longing for friendship are shown when Boo puts the items in the tree for Scout and Jem to find. Scout and Jem are very curious and cautious at first of what they find, but later they start taking anything in it without hesitation, this might show their slow trust for
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the tree over time. Starting with the gum Scout finds, “Some tinfoil was sticking in a knot-hole...I stood on tiptoe, hastily looked around once more, reached into the hole and withdrew two pieces of chewing gum” (Lee, 44). And later with the twine “We were walking past our tree. In its knot-hole rested a ball of gray twine...from then on we considered everything we found in the know-hole our property” (Lee, 78-79). The most symbolic thing they found was probably the soap carvings or the pocket watch, “I pulled out two small images carved in soap… ‘These are us,’ he [Jem] said” (Lee, 80) and “Our biggest prize was four days later. It was a pocket watch that wouldn’t run, on a chain with an aluminum knife” (Lee, 81). Everything that Boo left for them could be for an important reason, he started off with simple things, such as the twine and gum, to gain their trust. And later gives them the soap dolls and broken watch which could represent how he’s learning about the children and growing more attached to them while he is stuck in time in a place he cannot leave, hence the watch. This could be why Nathan Radley plugs the tree stump, he doesn’t want Boo making connections with the outside world and sending messages to the kids. Secondly, how does Tim Johnson symbolizes Atticus’ fight against racism? Tim Johnson could be an important symbol by showing the town of Maycomb’s degradation and how they slowly go mad. The town is simple and peaceful, just like Tim Johnson, but then it gets “bit” and goes crazy. The “bite” is when Mr. Ewell claims that Tim Robinson raped his daughter, and the town goes from a quiet, peaceful place to acting like wild animals. “He [Mr. Ewell] stood up and pointed his finger at Tom Robinson. ‘-I seen that black n***** yonder ruttin’ on my Mayella!’”(Lee, 231). When Atticus shoots Tim Johnson, it is symbolizing his fight against racism. The town starts going crazy, so Atticus was appointed to stand up and fight it. Just like how he was appointed by the judge to defend Tom he was appointed by Heck Tate to kill Tim Johnson. He then shoots Tim Johnson, symbolizing his fight against racism. “Atticus rubbed his eyes and chin...The rifle cracked. Tim Johnson leaped, flopped over and crumpled on the sidewalk in a brown-and-white heap” (Lee, 127). Finally, how do mockingbirds symbolize peace and innocence?
The mockingbirds in the story symbolize peace and innocence because they don’t do anything wrong and they only bring joy to people. “‘But remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird [said by Atticus]’....’Your father's right,’ she [Miss Maudie] said. ‘Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy” (Lee, 119). The title also has meaning in it, since mockingbirds represent innocence, to kill a mockingbird means to destroy innocence. Some of the characters in the story can be represented as mockingbirds, or innocent people destroyed by evil things. One of the major mockingbirds in the story, Tom Robinson, who was killed by the police, was an innocent man who was destroyed by the evil of the Ewell’s. “‘Tom’s dead.” [said by Atticus]. Aunt Alexandra put her hands on her mouth. ‘They shot him,’ said Atticus. ‘He was running. It was during their exercise period’ (Lee, 315). Tom had the misfortune of knowing the Ewell’s, it was because of Mayella and Bob’s lies that he died. “Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed” (Lee, 323). There are other mockingbirds in the story too, such as Jem and Boo Radley. Jem’s innocence was destroyed during Tom Robinson’s trial, where he sees Tom undergo an unfair trial. Since the trial took place in the deep South in the 1930’s, what a white man says is held higher than what a black man says, even when it’s not true. "The jury couldn't …show more content…
possibly be expected to take Tom Robinson's word against the Ewells” (Lee, 117). Boo Radley’s innocence was destroyed when he was a child, when he was badly mistreated by his father. Arthur and some Cunningham kids made the closest thing to a “gang”, one night they locked a man in the courthouse outhouse and Boo was almost sent to the state industrial school. But Mr. Radley didn’t want that for his son, so instead he kept Boo locked up in his house. “The judge decided to send the boys to the state industrial school...it was no disgrace. Mr Radley thought it was. If the judge released Arthur, Mr. Radley would see to it that Arthur gave no further trouble...Mr. Radley’s boy was not seen again for fifteen years” (Lee, 12-13). In conclusion, Harper Lee uses many symbols in her book To Kill a Mockingbird.
The ones talked about in this essay are, how the tree by the Radley house symbolizes Boo Radley’s kindness and longing for friendship. How Tim Johnson symbolizes Atticus’ fight against racism. And, how mockingbirds symbolize peace and innocence, especially how innocence in people can be destroyed by evil. These symbols are all very important by showing the story's main themes and ideas that it’s trying to convey to it’s
readers.
Harper Lee, the author of To Kill a Mockingbird, communicates a central idea that society has good and bad qualities by using an epigraphic symbol and dynamic characterization of the novel’s protagonist, Scout. The theme of To Kill a Mockingbird is that individuals affect society in both good and bad aspects. Lee demonstrates this idea by utilizing a mockingbird as the primary symbol of the novel and characterizing Scout to reveal and understand that both good and bad exist in the world. Scout learns that all a mockingbird does is good, it sings, but never does anything that people hate (Lee 90). In the novel, mockingbirds ...
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
/ no. think we’re almost to the tree now’ the fact Jem says ‘no’ then backs it up with a reasoning that they are nearing the tree shows that he feels safer by it, and that it offers them some potential protection, thus Bob Ewell is later found dead underneath it which further indicates how the tree, and Boo, were symbols of safety and a sort of friendship to the children. The whole town of Maycomb regards the Radley house with caution, ‘A Negro would not pass the Radley Place at night, he would cut across to the sidewalk opposite and whistle as he walked’, especially during the night which indicates that there is something sinister about the house which is why the children think that ‘Radley pecans would kill you’, yet when there is a fire the children regard the Radley place as a vantage point, offering safety from he crowds; ‘we stood by the gate away from everybody’ the fact that they were the only ones stood by the gate shows that they felt safer than other people did there and allowed them to open up communication with boo again as he puts the blanket around scout’s shoulders without her noticing, ‘you were so busy
In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, there are many themes that are portrayed in the novel. Some of these themes include courage, social inequality, and more. Harper Lee develops the theme of a loss of innocence in To Kill a Mockingbird through Jem Finch and Boo Radley in many different ways.
The symbolism of the mockingbird plays a huge role in the development of the theme in the novel. The mockingbird symbolizes innocence. In the book, it is believed that it is a sin to kill a man mockingbird because they bring about no harm, only beautiful music to enjoy. In the same sense, killing a mockingbird would be the equivalent of evil defeating good. This is represented multiple times in the novel through characters like Atticus Finch, Boo Radley, and Tom Robinson. All of whom try to bring about the good in people rather than focus on the evil in the community.
A symbol is a unique term because it can represent almost anything such as people, beliefs, and values. Symbols are like masks that people put on to describe their true self. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the author uses Tom Robinson and Arthur Radley to represent a mockingbird which illustrates the theme of innocence by presenting these characters as two harmless citizens that do not pose a threat to Maycomb.
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.
Harper Lee uses symbolism extensively throughout To Kill a Mockingbird,, 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 and allegory can be seen by studying various examples from the book, namely the actions of the children, of the racist whites, and of Atticus Finch.
Also the most significant symbol in this novel is the mockingbird symbol which represents innocent people victims of a cruel society. There were two mockingbirds that were killed because one was black and the other was creepy. This was a case of injustice because two people’s lives were taken away from them because of one’s race and one being different from others. Even in a court of law some people do not get a fare trial. Only in the end when we all stand before God he will give us all a fare trial. Mockingbirds and Finches are type of song birds. Harper Lee gave the main characters’ the last name “Finch”, because the family was innocent and accepted all their neighbors.
The actions of the children in this novel certainly do have their share of symbolism. For instance, the building of a snowman by Jem and Scout one winter is very symbolic. There was not enough snow to make a snowman entirely out of snow, so Jem made a foundation out of dirt, and then covered it with what snow they had. One could interpret this in two different ways. First of all, the creation of the snowman by Jem can be seen as being symbolic of Jem trying to cover up the black man and showing that he is the same as the white man, that all human beings are virtually the same. Approval of these views is shown by Atticus when he tells Jem, "I didn't know how you were going to do it, but from now on I'll never worry about what'll become of you, son, you'll always have an idea." The fire that night that engulfed Miss Maudie Atkinson's house can be seen as the prejudice of Maycomb County, as the fire melted the snow from the snowman, and left nothing but a clump of mud. The fire depicts the prejudice people of the county saying that blacks and whites are, certainly, not the same. Another way of looking at the symbolism of the snowman would be to say that Jem's combination of mud and snow signifies miscegenation, marriage or sexual relations between persons of different races.
Many times during the course of the novel the idea of the mockingbird comes to mind. We first hear of the bird when the children are given there first air rifles for Christmas, There father warns them to never shoot the songbird, saying to do so would be a sin. During the trial of Tom Robinson, it occurs to the reader that the Negro has many characteristics he shares with the mockingbird, He is a gentle man, who has never harmed anyone and only tried to help. His murder is as much a sin as the killing of any innocent creature.
The Radley family has a presence that startles nearly all of Maycomb County in some way. For example, every resident of Maycomb County would never set foot in even the Radley house yard. However, this was not the case for protagonist Scout Finch and her brother Jem. This show of bravery represents outstanding courage. Moreover, the main area of fear of the Radley family is provided by Boo. Boo is the child of the family, and is rumored to eat grotesque foods such as live rats. Although very few people had ever seen Boo, nobody dared to search for him. That is, except for Scout and Jem. Despite being terrified of what Boo could be, Jem and Scout searched tirelessly for him. Even after their father forbid them to search for Boo, Jem and Scout would not be denied and searched for him anyways. The courage shown by the young children in this novel is good.
and escape from prison and in doing so cause his death. Both characters are caring, for example, Boo Radley gives Jem and Scout two figurines, chewing gum, a tarnished medal, pocket watch and more. an aluminium knife via a knot-hole in a tree on the Radley property. However, Mr Radley cements the hole so Boo cannot send gifts to the children anymore, this is also an example of Boo's dominance. Tom Robinson helps Mayella Ewell on her property do many chores, as he does.
Boo Radley is a symbol of the mockingbird because of the way that the society pin points him into the margin, that’s what separates him from the town. In the earlier part of the book, Jem is describing Boo to Scout and Dill. He says that Boo is “a malevolent phantom” (Lee 15). Then as Jem tells more about Boo it give a really great understanding of how the town treats Boo. Jem said “People said he
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