Many view America as a land of opportunity, a land that preaches freedom and has laws put in place in order to assure this freedom. Back in the 1930’s, however, one of the most controversial topics was racism and the fact whites had more freedom. This topic is shown throughout Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird where she uses the tool of symbolism to intensify the meaning of the story. In the classic novel symbolism is used to portray Lee’s thoughts and reflections about society.She uses the characters of Tom Robinson, Boo Radley, and a mad dog to show the narrow-mindedness of the citizens of Maycomb, Alabama. A young man trying to do good for his community and help others, Tom Robinson is portrayed as the mockingbird or a symbol of innocence. Unjustly accused of raping a girl he felt sorry for, yet his only true crime is being too nice, Tom Robinson is sent to prison where he slain due to racial injustice within his town. His death symbolizes the killing of the mockingbird or the killing of the innocent. For the first time in their lives, Jem and Scout see snowfall in Maycomb, Alabama and like most children, their first thought was to build a snowman. The snow was not very deep however, so the children began building it with dirt and covering the dirt with snow. The symbol shown by the snowman is the unification of the social classes represented by the lowly mud and innocent snow. On the night after the snow had fallen, a fire erupts in Miss Maudie’s
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.
To Kill A Mockingbird was published in the summer of 1960 and it could be considered one of the greatest novels created. Harper Lee, the author of To Kill A Mockingbird and Go Set a Watchman, wrote these novels because of many personal experiences influencing her. One being the Scottsboro Boys case where an African American was falsely accused of raping a white woman where he was sentenced to death. This influenced the racism and prejudice in this novel. In To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee created a character named Boo Radley to develop a theme in this novel. Boo, a man that was living in the shadows, thought to be a scary and harmful person but actually being very friendly, shy and innocent. In To Kill A Mockingbird,
In the nineteenth century, mockingbirds were kept in cages so they could sing their beautiful music. Because of this, mockingbirds were nearly almost wiped out of parts of the East Coast. All Mockingbirds do is bring beauty to the world. Mockingbirds symbolize innocence and do not deserve to be wounded by the cruelness of the world. In the story To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Dill, Mayella Ewell, Mr. Dolphus Raymond, Tom Robinson and Boo Radley are all mockingbirds. They are innocent people that have been harmed or injured in the past and have learned the misery of the world.
To Kill A Mockingbird is a book that a reader can turn again and again, gaining new insights and knowledge into life each time. Sometimes an author uses a motif- a frequently repeated incident or idea -to get a certain theme across to the reader. In To Kill A Mockingbird, Lee uses motifs to clarify her messages or insights about life. Three specific motifs that Lee uses throughout the whole story are the mockingbird, courage, and walking in someone else's shoes.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a multi-faceted novel which explores the principles and morals of people in the South during the 1930s. Mockingbirds are symbolic of the people that society abuse. Lee narrates the events of the novel using Scout’s voice and uses this technique to add emotional context and develop themes. Themes of racial and classist prejudice are developed by Lee to challenge the reader. These techniques are all powerful ways to alter the views of the reader.
It's a sin to kill a mockingbird because they don't do anything to hurt people; they only help farmers out and sing beautiful songs. To Kill a Mockingbird is about a little girl named Scout who sees her town as a beautiful place where nothing unpleasant happens until accusations of rape occur. Then she realizes how racist and negative her town people can be. This occurs when her dad defends an innocent African American man. She realizes that Macomb has deplorable individuals living there, and this reality hit her hard. Atticus Finch, Tom Robinson, and Boo Radley are metaphorically portrayed as mockingbirds.
“Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us that is why it is a sin to kill a Mockingbird” -Harper Lee Mockingbirds are only here to sing their songs and to bring us joy. A Blue Jay is someone or something that preys on the week. Mockingbirds have to be shielded from the Blue Jays. Although Mockingbirds don't always need to be protected they do have to be protected from Blue Jays because they are gentle creatures whereas the Blue Jay is territorial and corrupt.
Why is the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee named such? Much of the symbolism within this novel and the title directly relate to the scuffing and poisoning of the good and innocent people of this world, a.k.a., the slaughter of mockingbirds. As you can tell from the title, one of the major symbols in this novel is mockingbirds. There are several mockingbirds with Tom robinson being the most obvious one, and others being Atticus Finch, Arthur Radley, Mr. Avery, Helen Robinson, and Jean Louise Finch.
To Kill a Mockingbird is a book with several examples of symbolism. Although the story is seen through a child’s perspective, it includes multiple instances of symbolism, some more obvious than others. Mockingbirds, Mayella’s geraniums, and the Radley household are all big symbols in To Kill a Mockingbird.
“ 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.” [p.119] In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, this issue is mentioned various times. There are three mockingbirds, Mayella Ewell, Boo Radley and Tom Robinson.
The novella 'To Kill a Mockingbird' by Harper Lee, is a very well known book which uses symbolism to further push the issue of racism. The way the ideas of racism and further issues are shown through smaller parts of the book such as the Mad Dog Atticus is forced to shoot and other things are represented by the Mockingbird itself, this essay will explain how some of these important symbols may be interpreted. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses the mad dog to represent Prejudice and the Mockingbird to represent racism.
Symbols, symbols, and more symbols everywhere we look. For example the recycling symbol, the caution symbol, and even the symbols on your television remote. The book To Kill a Mockingbird features various symbols, but one in particular is what the book focuses on, and that is the Mockingbird symbol. The Mockingbird is a symbol that represents many things, it represents innocence, a mocking behavior, and defense. This symbol is crucial to the book because throughout the story many characters display these characteristics in a time of need.
In the book TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by Harper Lee, the mockingbird is a symbol of fairness and respect for people who do things for you. It symbolizes that people can be righteous even if they have different political and moral views from you. Just like “shootin’ a mockingbird” is a sin because it sings its heart out (pg. #), similarly it is a sin to do something bad to someone who does good. general town
To Kill a Mockingbird is filled with wild symbolism and many secrets still yet unfolded. Symbolism is using a concrete object that means one thing and using it to represent ideas or qualities. A mockingbird is a bird that does nothing but pleases us. They sing their hearts out for us. They don’t roost in corncribs or eat up your plants; mockingbirds are here to please us. Atticus had once said this and it turns out to be true. The reason this is like symbolism is because people can be like mockingbirds too. They can do nothing but please us and that is why it is a sin to kill a mockingbird.
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.