To Kill a Mockingbird: Figurative Language Harper Lee described three essential character in the novel that serve as motherly figures and those that influenced Scout to be a Lady: Calpurnia, Alexandra, and Maudie. Calpurnia represents to Scout as righteousness and reasons, a clear example of motherly figure. For example, with Walter, when she disregards his habit of eating, Calpurnia taught her to never discriminate those considered as company and judge them by their status. Calpurnia represents piggy in To Kill a Mockingbird. Aunt Alexandra symbolizes a stopping point in Scout’s tomboy personality. To illustrate my point, in the text it states that, “Aunt Alexandra’s vision of my deportment involved playing with small stoves, tea sets,
To Kill a Mockingbird Rhetorical Analysis In the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Atticus presents a thought out and intellectual speech to persuade the jury to acquit Tom Robinson and dispel all beliefs of racism. In order to prove that logical reasoning should be substituted for discrimination, Atticus uses rhetorical devices such as Similes, Rhetorical Questions and Allusions to achieve her purpose. First, Atticus uses similes to convey his purpose to the jury, showing how most disputes between colors in the 1930’s were solely based upon race. When Atticus delivers his speech to the defendant,“ [the] case is as simple as black and white” (Lee 171). He uses this rhetorical device to compare the case that he is defending to color: black or white.
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a book thick with symbolism and metaphors. It is a debatable fact that Scout, the female protagonist, is a symbol for innocence. Though the validity of her symbol is in doubt, I am certain that the symbol in this novel for injured faith, or broken innocence, is Boo Radley. That puts in question the reason why Boo continues to amble down the same road of apathy while Scout is being led down the path to unbiased maturity. I believe that Atticus, the father figure in the novel, is the subtle influence that raises Scout to be aware of the immoral actions around her but not to accept them. Prejudice corrupts a child’s progression of innocence to maturity, but Atticus keeps his children from assuming the attitudes of the townspeople.
A thunderbird, like most birds most likely migrates to Southern regions during the colder months of winter and return to where they came from in the springtime. By mentioning a thunderbird, the speaker is wishing that they loved someone who they knew would come back to them after leaving for a long period of time.
In the story, Calpurnia plays a role that allows the reader to explore the theme of racism, prejudice, and as well as femininity. Calpurnia acts as a mother figure to both Scout and Jem, especially since they lost their mom when they were young. For Scout specifically, Calpurnia has a huge feminine influence as well since Scout basically grew up without her biological mom and Calpurnia was the woman that helped her get dress, taught her how to write, and took care of her since she was young. Being a tomboy, Scout doesn’t see the benefits of being a lady like how Aunt Alexandra wants her to. However, she learns by watching Calpurnia that “there was some skill involved in being a girl” (154). This shows that Calpurnia, although
Prose appeals to ethos in this essay by appealing to the reader as a mother, educator, and student. By writing from the perspective of both a student and educator, Prose shows how both are affected by assigned literature. By discussing her own two sons, she appeals to readers who are mothers by expressing her concern about their education.
Think of the saying, “you are the apple of my eye”. Most of today’s society understands that somebody is referring to someone that they cherish above all else. This phrase is a common metaphor that is used all around the world. Many times authors use a metaphor to convey a message without telling it right out to the reader. This technique is used by Harper Lee in her novel To Kill a Mockingbird. The title of the novel refers to persecution of the innocent which is highlighted by showcasing Arthur Radley as the mockingbird of the story, and the oppression of refugees relates this metaphor to today’s society.
Research shows that children are more susceptible to commit crimes, fail in maintaining long lasting relationships and develop depression as well as other psychological disorders from the effects of bad parenting. In fact, many people grow up treating others the same way their parents have treated them with reference to their parents’ values, behaviours and attitudes. Harper Lee, an American author, expressed her childhood experiences in Alabama through writing the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. In this novel Harper Lee highlights the prevailing racist attitudes that existed in Alabama in the 1930s. Lee does this by having the parenting style of Atticus, and its impact on his children, stand in contrast to these prevailing racist attitudes. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee conveys that Atticus Finch is a great parent because he is not a hypocrite, he has a sense of fairness and he has good morals and values.
Lee also uses narration from Scout to show Aunt Alexandra’s views on her family, in particular, Scout. Alexandra represents the gender stereotypes that women faced in the 30’s while Scout represents the non-conformists. Alexandra was “fanatical on the subject of [Scout’s] attire. [Scout] could not possibly hope to be a lady if [she] wore breeches” (Lee, 90). The struggle between these two characters displays the gender stereotypes and pressures that faced women in the 1930’s as well as the lengths that some women went through to be able to keep their
According to Merriam Webster dictionary, mockingbirds are a bird that has a remarkable ability to “exact imitations of the notes of other birds”. In addition, they are known to have up to 200 songs in their “playlists’, which they will sing all through the day and evening, usually when there is a full moon. Based on this description, mockingbirds are innocent, beautiful birds that can bring a sense of calmness to people around them with their smooth melodies. Therefore, they are a creature that brings no harm to others, just joy. Like the mockingbird, today’s society consists of many innocent people around the world who are hardworking and treats others with respect no matter of their socio economic status; as well as, race and religion. On the other hand, there are some people in our world who judge others based on their evil beliefs they learned from others instead of listening to their conscience.
First, Lee uses her character, Calpurnia, to show women’s role in the South during the Great Depression. Calpurnia, a loyal and humble servant, is an African American women. As an African American women, Calpurnia, is a servant to a white family and takes care of the children, Scout and Jem. “Jem said it looked like they could save the collection money for a year and get some hymn-books. Calpurnia
As the United States “progresses” in economic, educational and technological advancements we still are fighting for racial equality. With more than 50 years since the brown vs. board of education case there is still incidents like Ferguson, Baton Rouge, and Phiando Castile where many questions are still unanswered. However, Harper Lee dealt with these same problems in 1960 when she wrote To Kill a Mockingbird. Lee created an emotionally confronting story. Lee writes through the eyes of “Scout” a lawyer’s daughter in a small sleepy town of Maycomb in Alabama during the great depression. Throughout the book “Scout” learns coming of age lessons from Atticus and her own experiences. But when Atticus takes on a case defending a black man (Tom Robinson) convicted for rapping a white woman (Mayella Ewell) and is found guilty. “Scout” her brother Jem begin to understand the effects of the prejudices in society. Therefore, Lee applies the literary concepts of diction and tone to revel the truth that prejudices in society negatively affect the way people treat each other in To Kill a Mocking Bird.
R1: In the beginning of the novel To Kill a MockingBird, Lee’s character, Scout is an immature, loud-mouth tomboy.
In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, during chapters seventeen through twenty-one, one of the leading characters, Atticus, has to defend a black man in a court case against two white people. Before the jury is sent to make their decision, Atticus gives a closing argument speech. During his speech, Atticus uses three main types of persuasion called: ethos, pathos, and logos.
"Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird" (Lee 119). Atticus Finch told his children never to shoot a mockingbird because all they ever do is sing for everyone's enjoyment. In the book Tom Robinson represents a mockingbird, always helping others and not doing any harm; yet he is still treated with no respect and killed at the end of the book. The reason Tom Robinson was treated poorly was just because he was African American. In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses characterization, point of view, and diction to highlight how African Americans were treated in the south.