Literary Criticism Of To Kill A Mockingbird

To kill a mockingbird can mean many things. It’s the title of a book that has been bought 40 million times. But, it also has a definition. To kill a mockingbird means to destroy innocence. The theme of my literary analysis is mockingbirds. Mockingbirds in TKAM are innocent things tainted by the skewed society of Maycomb. Some of these mockingbirds are Boo Radley, Tom Robinson, and the children. To Kill a Mockingbird is a book set in a small Alabama town in the 1930’s. The main character and narrator is Jean Louise Finch, but is almost always called by her nickname, Scout. Scout, her brother, and her summer friend Dill get into all kinds of mischief while living in the racist society of a 1930’s Alabama town. Scout’s dad, Atticus, is a prominent lawyer in Maycomb and is appointed to a controversial case, and is defending a black man. Scout and her brother, Jem go through many troubles and learn many lessons from the days leading up to, and during the trial. The trail makes their family some friends and a lot of enemies. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a story of courage and despair. Throughout TKAM, mockingbirds are used as an example of something innocent being tainted by the skewed society of TKAM. Some great examples of these are Boo Radley, Tom Robinson, and the children.

Flowers are an ongoing symbol in Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird. They are used to relate to or represent many of the characters all through the novel. The use of symbolism throughout this work of fiction is essential because it gives a deeper understanding of the characters. Mayella Ewell and the red geranium, Miss Maudie and her azaleas, Miss Dubose and her camellias, and Mayella Ewell and the violet are four major uses of symbolism in the story.

“It takes a village to raise a child”, is an African Proverb. In other words, it can take more than just a child’s nuclear family to make her grow into who she will be as an adult. This lens is true because even though parents and siblings have a major effect on a child, and how they turn out later on in life, society and a child’s surrounding are what really shapes, and makes them who they are. What a child sees when he or she is new to the world, and doesn’t know everything, effects their behavior, and outlook on their life ahead. This lens is illustrated in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by

The Mockingbird is a symbol of innocence in To Kill a Mockingbird: “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up 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.” (Lee 90). Ms. Maudie is trying to explain to the kids that it is a sin to kill something innocent. The Mockingbird does nothing harmful to them they just sing songs to the humans . There are many connecting symbols in To Kill a Mockingbird. Not only do many things in the book such as mockingbirds there are things in the book that represent these symbols. A mockingbird is innocent, keeps to itself, makes others happy much like Boo Radley, Tom Robinson, and Scout Finch throughout the novel.

Harper Lee also represents the themes through key symbolism. The most important symbol and the one that represented innocence and goodness was the mockingbird. Tom Robinson, Boo Radley and even Atticus and Scout were the metaphoric mockingbirds in the novel. When Scout asked Miss Maudie about

Jem and Scout, throughout “To Kill A Mockingbird,” learn to consider things from other people’s perspectives. Atticus, Jem and Scout’s father, says “you never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view – until you climb into his skin and walk around in” (Lee 39). They learn this through experiences with their neighbor Boo Radley as they mature beyond their years. At the beginning of the novel, Jem and Scout make fun of Boo and assume that all of the rumors going around about him are true. However, later on in the story the children grow an admiration for Boo and learn to understand him. As they matured, Jem and Scout naturally learned many life lessons of appreciation, respect, and courage

Harper Lee is best known for writing the Pulitzer Prize-winning bestseller To Kill a Mockingbird. The novel takes place during the depression in Alabama with the main character, Scout, viewing her lawyer father, Atticus, defending a wrongly accused black man of rape. The reader gets to understand Scout’s childhood view of this controversial situation. Scout’s character in to Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is really the author’s own life playing out in the novel, which is most likely why this novel is thought to be one of the best American Novels of the 20th century.

Literary criticism is informed, written analysis, evaluation of a work of literature based on literary theory. One literary theory is archetypal criticism which discusses reoccurring symbols, themes, and situations that operate on universal scales that are easily recognized and understandable by the reader. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee exhibits archetypal criticism. From the archetypes readers are able to understand the characters better and how their actions move the story along. Throughout the story, Harper Lee uses archetypes victim, mentor, and loss of innocence.

Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” is set in a small Southern United States community called Maycomb during the Great Depression era. The whole book primarily revolves around segregation and racism and how it relates to Maycomb’s history. It eventually leads to the trial of Tom Robinson where he is accused of beating up and raping Mayella Ewell. Even though it was clear that Tom Robinson did not do anything wrong he was convicted by an all white jury simply because he was black. The trial of Tom Robinson and its verdict shows an example of how segregation in the court system prevents fair trials from occurring.

Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird follows the childhood of Jem and Scout Finch, who both encounter and experience many things that cause them to grow up during the book. One of the main events in the book that is a major factor into their growth is the trial of Tom Robinson. The trial consists of Atticus Finch, their father, defending Tom Robinson, the defendant, against the Ewells and Mr. Gilmer, the plaintiff. Atticus and the Finch children have faced much criticism since Atticus wants to defend Tom, a black man, while he is white. Much of the trial boils down to racism and prejudice. But, by Atticus’ skill, by Atticus’ determination, and by Atticus’ speech, he almost succeeded. Before the event of the trial, Harper Lee uses many symbols

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,

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.

One symbol is when Boo Radley put little kid toys in the tree outside of his lawn. Boo Radley did this because he was telling Jem and Scout in picture formated way that he didn’t want them to grow up. Boo did this by putting a ribbon of a spelling B, little kid characters made out of soap that were like dolls, and he also out a broken watch in there to show that he never wants time to pass for them and never grow

In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, symbolism is used throughout the story. The main symbol, however, is the mockingbird. It used over and over throughout the novel and it also has a literal connection to the main plot of the story. This story is about innocence being destroyed by evil. The mockingbird represents the innocence. Therefore, if you kill a mockingbird, you are destroying innocence. There are many characters that could possibly represent the mockingbird, and most of them have come in contact with some type of evil or pain in their lives.

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.