How Does Harper Lee Use Symbols In To Kill A Mockingbird

In this quote, Atticus is reminding Scout that she shouldn't listen to what people have to say about this case. Atticus will do what it takes to kill racism, even if his family is in

“: "Our courts have their faults, as does any human institution, but in this country our courts are the great levelers, and in our courts all men are created equal." This quote shows how Atticus is defending Tom Robinson, a black man accused of a crime that he didn’t commit but due to the culture of the setting, Maycomb Alabama, was not receiving a fair trial because of his skin color. This quote shows Atticus not caring about his color and loving him just because of who he is and wants to defend him from what he knows is an unfair trial.

While numerous citizens in Maycomb express how “Atticus[‘s] aim to defend him. [Is] what [we] don’t like about it”(Lee, 218) and that he has “got everything to lose from this... I mean everything.”(Lee, 195) Atticus full heartedly stands behind the fact that if he didn’t defend the Tom Robinson case he “couldn’t hold up [his] head in town... [and] couldn’t represent this county in the legislature.”(Lee, 100) This reveals the moral importance this trial means to Atticus, as he believes that everyone should be treated equally, regardless of their skin colour as “men are not to be trusted around women—black or white... a truth that applies to...no particular race of men.”(Lee, 273) Atticus’s personal definition of courage is revealed to Jem after he is forced to read to Mrs Dubose for an entire month. As defined by Atticus, real courage is “when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what.”(Lee, 149) Similarly, Atticus’s raw motives concerning the Tom Robinson trial run on the evident fact that he knew he was “licked a hundred years before start[ing]”(Lee, 101) Mr Robinson’s trial, but nonetheless defended him to his last breath. Atticus’s definition and actions correspond and show the reader how his values are congruent, no matter the situation. All in all, Atticus’s personal beliefs and values suggest to the reader

In the book To KIll A Mockingbird is a book with a lot of symbols. The background of the book is very racists and took place a very long time ago. In her novel,To Kill A Mockingbird Harper Lee uses Tom,Boo,Atticus as human mockingbirds, and therefore,symbols of innocence.

Someone once said “No matter your social status or how powerful you think you are, we are all equal.” The quote has much to do with the racism and segregation that people went through while living in America, especially in the South. It still is a relevant quote today, seeing as how racism and segregation has not ended, but increased over the decades. In Harper Lee’s classic, To Kill A Mockingbird, the small town of Maycomb, Alabama consists of plenty of racism and segregation. When Atticus is obligated to defend the man accused of rape, the whole town is hoping for him to prove his client is guilty. They’re quick to make a judgement about him, solely because he’s a black man. In this novel, several craft moves/techniques are used which then

In To Kill A Mockingbird, the mockingbird is a symbol. Tom Robinson, Atticus Finch, and Boo Radley are three examples of the Mockingbird. In the story Miss Maudie said, “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” (pg. 119 To Kill A Mockingbird). In A Good Long Sidewalk, this sidewalk leading to Miss Reuben’s house is a symbol. This is because Carlyle took the opportunity to shovel one long sidewalk leading to a somewhat frightening house, instead of taking extra time to shovel several shorter sidewalks. “This is what he finally found, down a solitary street lit faintly by a single street lamp at the middle of the block; the house, set back on a short hill that surely, in the spring and summer, would be a thick lawn, perhaps bordered with flowers. Snow clung to the empty, blackened branches of a hedge concealing a grotesque, painted gray, and its gables hung with dagger-like icicles.” These examples show that both stories show symbolism. Symbolism is important because it gives a story a deeper

An example of symbolism in To Kill a Mockingbird is mockingbirds themselves. When Atticus says “’I’d rather you shot at tin cans in the back yard, 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’” (90), he means that mockingbirds don’t do a single bad thing. They sing and bring joy and happiness into the world, and nothing that does that deserves to be

Throughout the duration of the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, there are many instances where Lee uses symbolism to help deepen our understanding of the text. This successful novel is set to show the racism of the south in the 1930s. One of the more prominent symbols would be that of the ever so famous mockingbird. You can see examples of this throughout the novel, but more specifically when Atticus says “Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.” (page 99) The mockingbird is the symbol of innocence. It is used to link the two main plot points in the novel, Boo Radley and Tom Robinson. They are the mockingbirds because they are innocents who have been destroyed by the evil of the world. This helps to deepen the understanding by connecting the importance of their characters with the innocence of the mockingbird.

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.

There are many significant symbols used to represent the different themes in To Kill a Mockingbird. Throughout the book Harper Lee transmits a message to the reader using examples and symbols to get her point across. Some of these symbols include the dresses, Tim Johnson, and dependencies.

The main example of symbolism is the title of the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, which is a symbol for a sin. One example of symbolism is the Radley Place because in the beginning of the book, it is a symbol of power and danger to the children. Scout says that, “... tall pecan trees shook their fruit into the schoolyard, but the nuts lay untouched by children: Radley pecans would kill you. A baseball hit into the Radley yard was a lost ball, no questions asked.” (11) This shows a town-wide point of view of the Radley house and that it stands as a symbol of terror and danger to the children who do not go near the house. It shows how the house is a power place and how it impacts everyone in the town. Another example of symbolism in the book is Boo Radley. In the beginning of the book the kids believe that Boo is a monster, but as the book progresses, they realize that he is just a normal person. An example of this is, “...if Miss Stephanie Crawford was watching from her upstairs window, she would see Arthur Radley escorting me down the sidewalk, as any gentleman would do.” (372-373) This shows how Scout goes from being afraid of Boo, and thinking that he is a monster, to walking down the street with him and being able to be comfortable with him.This also symbolizes Scout’s loss of innocence as she stops thinking like a child and thinks more like an

Authors like to hide a larger, more thought provoking meanings in their story to make it more interesting. If a novel were to be read, some symbols can be noticed multiple times throughout. A symbol usually appears in the same sort of event and have themes to explain what the symbol represents, it could be colors, flowers, or even a type of bird. In the story To Kill a Mockingbird the author, Harper Lee, commonly falls back on the symbols of the mockingbird, the mad dog, and Boo Radley to point the reader to the theme of prejudice, innocence, and courage. These symbols and themes are referred to numerous times in the story, usually comparing a situation to a previous event with the same amount of drama, or just as simply comparing someone to

Symbolism is a literary technique that is used to clarify the author's intent. Sometimes it is used to great effect, while other times it only seems to muddle the meaning of a passage. In "Young Goodman Brown," Nathaniel Hawthorne uses objects and people as symbols to allegorically reveal his message to the reader.

Another example of symbolism is Arthur “Boo” Radley. The town ridicules and disregards him from society due to his incapability to socialise outside of his home. He is portrayed a scary and dangerous individual and the children of Maycomb have been raised to fear him. If only Maycomb would take the time to see through Boo Radley’s perspective then they might not refer to him as a “malevolent phantom”. Ultimately Boo saves Jem and scout from Bob Ewell and proves to be the ultimate symbol of good. The lesson being told here is that people should not be so easily judged.

In other words, it gives a more profound meaning to something in the work of literature. Lee uses symbolism to provide the book with more depth to the story. For instance, the childrens view of Boo Radley itself is a huge example of symbolism used in the book. ‘“…Someday, maybe, Scout can thank him for covering her up." "Thank who?" I asked. "Boo Radley. You were so busy looking at the fire you didn't know it when he put the blanket around you."’ (Lee, 92). Here scout was in need of a blanket due to freezing temperatures, and Boo Radley was able to give her one. This act of kindness that Scout received allowed her to get a glimpse of whom Boo Radley really is and will allow her perspective of him to change from scared and suspicious to a gentler viewpoint. Although it was such a small thing he did, the kids were shocked that the person they thought Boo was would do something such as that. That changed how they thought about him and symbolizes that you cant judge a book by it’s cover. Another use of symbolism in the book is: ‘“Remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” That was the only time I ever heard Atticus say it was a sin to do something, and I asked Miss Maudie about it. “Your father’s right,” she said. “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy . . . but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”’ (Lee,