In the historical fiction novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, the symbol of the mockingbird is shown throughout the novel. It’s seen as a sin to kill a mockingbird because mockingbirds represent and embody innocence. Therefore, “To kill a mockingbird” means to destroy or take away something or somebody’s innocence. This is what killing a mockingbird represents in the story. In the novel, Jem Finch, Tom Robinson, and Boo Radley can be viewed as “mockingbirds.” The first character in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird who can be viewed as a “mockingbird” is Jem Finch. At the beginning of the novel, Jem is a normal 10-year-old, playing games with his younger sister Scout and Dill about the supposed ‘phantom’ in the house across the street, Boo Radley. …show more content…
He sees the world around him and realizes why Atticus gave him this message; Atticus wants Jem to be innocent and grow up protected from the world around him. Another character in the book To Kill A Mockingbird that can be seen as a “mockingbird” is Boo Radley. Before the story, Boo Radley was a pretty normal kid and went to school and had friends. By the beginning of the story, he had been trapped in his house for years. Then, right at the start of the story, we learn that people have started spreading rumors about him. According to Scout, “inside the house lived a malevolent phantom.” (Lee, 9). These rumors were part of what “killed the mockingbird.” By the end of the story, Boo had turned a ghastly pale color from never seeing the sunlight and had shaky social skills to put it kindly. He had embodied the rumors and became
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.
To Kill a Mockingbird "I simply want to tell you that there are some men in this world who were born to do our unpleasant jobs for us. Your father's one of them." – Miss Maudie The quote above states that Atticus Finch was a man who did unpleasant things, but this quote is false. Miss Maudie had every good intention when she told Jem and Scout this and her point was taken in the way she intended it to be taken by the children. Her point could have been better worded if the portion that reads "our unpleasant jobs" were replaced with "what is right." Atticus did unpleasant things only because he knew that they were the right thing to do. Miss Maudie told the children about their father in this way only to avoid saying that the rest of the town was wrong.
In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee includes many contrasting perspectives that provide an understanding into each character’s attitude as well as what was anticipated of people at the time. The book is the story of a young girl, Jean Louise, her father, Atticus and brother, Jem, in a small town called Maycomb, which is racially segregated during the time of the great depression. As Jean Louise, otherwise known by her nickname Scout, reflects on her childhood with her brother, Jem, the reader is able to see and hear the story as she relives the events in her memory. Scout tells the story around the time she was almost six years old, and she is living with her ten year old brother, Jem, and her father Atticus, “the lawyer who defends Tom Robinson” (Saney). The quarrels between characters regarding racial oppression and gender roles throughout the novel cause tension and uproar in the town, as each person has their own perspective on a situation. The novel opens with Jean Louise reflecting on past events with her brother Jem, and it leads into the first perspective of a child against the adult perspective.
In the case of Scout and Jem, they believed that Boo Radley, who is an outcast of Maycomb, possesses a horrific appearance, and that he is a savage, "he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that’s why his hands were bloodstained." However, as the story progresses, it is revealed that Boo is actually a kind-hearted person who has not done anybody wrong, but unfortunately, he was ruined by the hands of his family. Thus, Boo is an example of a mockingbird, as mentioned by Atticus. The disclosing of the character of Boo demonstrates Scout and Jem's loss of innocence. They can no longer see Boo as a mysterious threat in their life, instead they saw Boo as a person. "...he's crazy..but Atticus I swear to God he ain't ever harmed us, he coulda cut my throat...but he mend my pants instead..." In a way, Boo serves as a symbol of the transition of Scout and Jem's maturity, as the kids exhibit their ability to empathize with
Modes of Communication in To Kill a Mockingbird Effective communication is a result of the utilization of different techniques to convey a particular idea or perspective. Different methods used to express a person's feelings are found throughout society and aid in creating a learned individual, family, and community. In the novel To Kill a Mocking Bird, Harper Lee uses several modes of communication to display her feelings on moral, political, and social issues. Lee's tactics parallel those used by one character in her novel, Atticus Finch. In order to express his feelings to his children, Atticus uses three simple teaching devices; the use of examples, verbal statements, and learning through experience.
Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” takes place during the 1930’s in the fictional and quiet town of Maycomb, located in Maycomb County, Alabama. The town of Maycomb is described as a tired old town that moves very slowly and its residents have nothing to fear but fear itself. Being in set in the South during the 1930’s the story does tackle racism and inequality for African Americans as racism was becoming more and more prominent in the 1930’s. The fact that the story takes place in a backwater county in Alabama makes the the injustice even more prevalent. The story goes through the early years of the main characters Jem and Scout so the exact time is always changing, however, the more important and intense parts of the story takes place
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a novel about the act of growing up. The main character is a girl named Scout Finch who is the narrator as well as the protagonist of the story. She is a very curious person for someone of her age. The book discusses what she learns about people and about life. In the primitive stages of the novel Scout’s narrating is very childish, humorous, and innocent, although as the novel progresses it becomes increasingly dark. It takes place between 1933 and 1935 in a small quiet town called Maycomb located in southern Alabama. Scout’s father, Atticus, is a lawyer. Their family struggle’s with money because his clients are poor. Scout lives with her father, her brother Jem, and their cook Calpurnia. Her mother passed when her and Jem were young, for they continuously morn in her absence. However, they look forward to the summers due to the fact that their friend Dill comes and stays next door. They go on many adventures together.
“‘Old Mr. Bob Ewell accused him of rapin’ his girl an’ had him arrested an’ put in jail---’” (Lee 164). To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, takes place in a settled town called Maycomb in Alabama. It is based during the early 1930’s when the Great Depression hit. Poverty reaches everyone from families like the Finches to the “white trash” Ewells. Soon the settled town Maycomb gets into conflict characterized by poverty, racism, and domestic violence.
Jill McCorkle's Ferris Beach, a contemporary novel, shares numerous characteristics with Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, a novel written in the 1960's. Like To Kill a Mockingbird, McCorkle's novel documents the life of a young girl in a small southern town. The two narrators, Kate Burns and Scout Finch, endure difficult encounters. A study of these main characters reveals the parallels and differences of the two novels. Jill McCorkle duplicates character similarities and rape from Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird to show the reader how young girls think and develop.
Harper Lee is an American writer who won a Pulitzer Prize for her novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird.” The protagonist of “To Kill a Mockingbird” is Scout Finch, a young girl, who lives in the fictional town, Maycomb, with her brother, Jem Finch, and her father, Atticus Finch. This town is in the Deep South, and deals with tough racial issues. Atticus is a Lawyer, and is chosen to represent a black man. Atticus chooses to defend him despite his race, and this causes him and his children to suffer assaults from others in the town. “To Kill a Mockingbird” deals with themes such as innocence, gender roles, and racism. Mayella Ewell is an antagonist in this novel. She is the daughter of Bob Ewell, the town drunk. Mayella claims she was raped by Tom Robinson, the black man Atticus Finch is defending. However, the reality is that she was trying to seduce him, and when he refused, she pretended that was his intention. Mayella Ewell is willing to testify saying that Tom Robinson raped her even though it is a lie, and knowing that his life was at stake.
A creepy house that invokes the mystery through children and the discrimination of blacks in court develop the historical characters: Scout, Atticus, and Boo Radley. Harper Lee’s, To Kill a Mockingbird, takes the point of view of Scout, a young girl living in a small town, who watches racial situations and society changing in front of her. Through Scout telling her stories about her father and small town, Harper Lee develops characters, themes, and life lessons that are enjoyed and read about every year. Atticus Finch develops himself through pleading a case for a black man who pleads innocent. The town turns into despair when Atticus Fitch supports this man who ends up being guilty, even though he was innocent. From small town lawyers, comical pop culture, and people identifying themselves with a character, To Kill a Mockingbird remains know and mentioned around the world fifty years later.
Mrs. Lafayette Dubose is conniving because she knows how to hurt people with her words. Mostly everything that Mrs. Dubose says to Scout and Jem is very hurtful. She says exactly what she knows will hurt them the most. As she gets to know the kids better, she learns what they’re proud of or what they strive for, she does her very best to defeat their pride and make them feel ashamed or embarrassed. When Mrs. Dubose was first introduced she started yelling at the kids. Before she even knew them or could understand what amazing kids they were, she judged them and got mad and made them resent her. Jem and Scout were heading to town to buy Jems birthday present. As they walked past Mrs. Dubose’s house, she yells at them and thought they were skipping school and they were way too young to go to town alone. They disagreed and she yelled at them. “Don’t you lie to me!” she yelled. “Jeremy Finch, Maudie Atkinson told me you broke down her scuppernong arbor this morning. She’s going to tell your father and then you’ll wish you never saw the light of day! If you aren’t sent I reform school before next week, my name’s not Dubose!” (Lee, 135) Scout and Jem were doing absolutely nothing wrong. They were just walking to town and minding their own business. Mrs. Dubose on the other hand was sitting on her porch. She had nothing better to do then to pick on two little kids. She knew who they were and how badly they wanted to make their daddy proud. She knew that if she threated to tell their father, they would be so embarrassed and that they messed up. Due to this, Mrs. Lafayette Dubose is very conniving, even though it didn’t affect her at all; she just wanted to hurt the kids. How conniving and intelligent she is also shown when Mrs. Dubose te...
I chose to write a thank you letter because it seem to fit my writing style. This fits my skills because I’m not a big writing person and this feels like it was the easiest for me to do. The easiest part about writing a letter is knowing the characters well enough that you can talk about their personality and how they have impacted Maycomb. The most challenging part is going to be citing the story at least 3 times because I’m not going to know exactly where a character said something or remembering an episode. This project will help me with improving my skills by learning how to write a more complex letter and with higher level words. I want to improve my skills on citing the text by going back and finding 3 or even more events or dialogues from
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
In the past, I have done reviews on John Adams, Rudy, Grease, and The Butler. For my fourth quarter movie review, I decided to watch To Kill A Mockingbird because I have already read the book and wanted to see the film adaptation of it. This movie focuses on the Finch family in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama around the time of the Great Depression. It is based off of the book of the same name by Harper Lee. Both focus on Scout and Jem Finch growing up in the deep South and struggling to figure out how to act in the world around them.