To Kill A Mockingbird Metaphor Analysis

Throughout the world, there is an estimate of about 65.3 million refugees that have either been forced out of their homes or chose to willingly escape the violence or corruption they faced in their homeland. Of those millions of people, only a small percentage are given the status of refugee as many nations have strict requirements and only allow a specific amount each year. This leads to an increase in the amount of illegal immigration as many are desperate to risk their lives to for a better one then they had back home. Even as refugees are given asylum, many often face difficulties such as discrimination due to the racial stereotypes that exist as a result of negative depictions in the news and media. Although nations have generally become more open to receiving and providing aid for a significant amount of refugees seeking asylum, people’s ideology of race and the misrepresentation of the media towards immigrants prevent an even larger amount of refugees from being accepted into society.

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.

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.

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.

Luma Mufleh, a Jordanian refugee explains the feeling that she and many other immigrants feel directly after moving to the United States. “It's kind of hard to believe that you belong when you don't have a home, when your country of origin rejects you because of fear or persecution, or the city that you grew up in is completely destroyed. I didn't feel like I had a home. I was no longer a Jordanian citizen, but I wasn't American, either” (Don't Feel Sorry for Refugees - Believe in Them). Like many other refugees, she got stuck in between her new and old life, not feeling like she belongs anywhere. The loneliness that many experience is extreme because they have no connection to their old home, but know no one to connect them to their new one. Many immigrants, including Beatrice Ziaty experienced the distaste that their new neighbors and fellow community members felt toward the new immigrants that had suddenly moved into their town. In her first couple weeks in Clarkston, Georgia, Ziaty got robbed while walking home from work one night. “The incident robbed Beatrice of the hope that her new home would provide her and her family a sense of security. She became obsessed with her boy’s safety”(31-32). This incident popped the perfect bubble that she was living in and showed her the reality of the United States, and how the perfect ideals of America do not exist in the way that she pictured it. This feeling of unwelcomeness was also felt by Albert, a refugee from Uganda when he experienced racism because of his skin color. “I thought everyone would be nice, loving and caring, but everything changed when I got here. Racism, discrimination and a lot of things changed my expectation” (Hirsch). The racism that he

Taken from Chapter 20 of To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the context of this excerpt is founded on the prejudices that the young character Scout has of a man named Mr. Raymond. Scout has gone to the trial of Tom Robinson with her friend Dill, but due to the sight of injustice and the eruption of Dill’s tears, Scout and Dill leave the court to run into Mr. Raymond. Scout’s presumptions against Mr. Raymond are based on rumors she had heard about him hiding a bottle of whiskey in a paper bag to drink away from prying eyes. Moreover, talk about him being overly friendly with black people and having children with them further deepens Scout’s prejudices against Mr. Raymond. Therefore, when they ran into him, she is wary of

In the book, “To Kill A Mockingbird” there are many allusions the author uses to impact the story and characters. Two of them, which stood out was “Let this cup pass from you”(Lee 117) and “Garden of Gethsemane” (Lee 159). The second quoted is from Atticus, who knows that he can’t win the Tom Robinson case, but he still must do it, similar to how Christ knew he would have the bear the worlds cross, so we could one day spend eternity with him in heaven if we believe in him. Christ also didn’t want to bear the cross because he knew what would happen to him, even though it was his job. The two of them had to face their fates, which were no-win situations. The second quoted is from Jack, who knows how the trail has affected Atticus. The two of

It’s the night sky’s endless depth, spattered with countless stars invisible to the eye. (Imagery) It’s the whispering waves as they crash along a sandy shore. (Personification) It is her eyes, so bright they glow, a beacon for miles around. (Hyperbole) It’s a quiet, cool call in your ear. (Alliteration) It’s soft like a butterfly’s wings (Simile), beating a soundless rhythm in the air. It is her voice, a gentle breeze’s kiss. (Metaphor) It is a chirping bird’s feathers, it’s voice a beautiful song that carries to the ends of the Earth. (Hyperbole)

In the book “To Kill A Mockingbird”, Harper Lee uses figurative language to give the reader emotions on what’s going on in the book. Figurative language also makes the characters and the storylines come alive in the reader’s mind.

See, the Syrian refugee is not contrastive to the Irish nor the Scott refugee, both are fleeing from the same bullets. The Syrian refugee is just another species of fruit loving sparrow. In America, they seek to rebuild their nest upon a secure tree and feast upon the same berries as the other birds. The refugee has not changed but rather the American. The only difference from hitherto is that the American’s government is now supplying the gunman with the ammunition. The enemy has at no time been the refugee, but rather who made them the refugee.

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.

“To be called a refugee is the opposite of an insult; it is a badge of strength, courage, and victory.” This saying from the Tennessee Office for Refugees addresses the ongoing matter of refugees that has been growing continuously for decades, and is currently as serious as ever. The article Ten Borders exposes the many hardships refugees have to face everyday through the story of a young law student named Ghaith. Juggling between school and two part-time jobs, Ghaith soon finds his life in the war-torn country of Syria unbearable. As a result, through the help of his own brother and some smugglers he got in contact with through social media, Ghaith was ready to flee Syria and hoped to find a new life away from violence in Europe. However,

The novel To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, contains a plethora of literary techniques which evoke strong emotions and opinions within the reader. Evidence of these techniques include: colloquial and formal language, tone and metaphors. Through incorporation of these literary devices the reader is positioned to empathise with each of the character’s perspectives whilst gaining a child’s perspective of injustice. The employment of these literary techniques powerfully delivers the underlying themes of: racism, corruption of innocence and injustice. Narrated by Jean Finch or “Scout” retrospectively reflecting on her experiences as a child, this historical fiction is cautionary tale highlighting the embedded dangers of racial inequality and the prevailing injustice surrounding the town of Maycomb in the Great Depression. The story is set in the context of an uprising of black rights against slavery in America.

To Kill A Mockingbird takes place during the 1930’s, a time of intense racial inequity and prejudice. Harper Lee intends for the novel to display the harsh reality to the real world, and exhibit how life and society were really like during this period in history. Humanity’s views and morals have shown little sign of ever being able to accept change or difference as seen in particular issues such as racism, discrimination, sexism, prejudice etc. Whilst reading the novel, readers can identify these well-known problems and maybe even relate to some of the ideas that Lee is portraying.  Lee uses symbols to effectively communicate and express her thoughts and opinions on the various themes of the book. Moreover, these symbols are able to tap into the subconscious mind to implement ideas that can be analyzed in order to understand their relevance to not only the plot line and major theme topics of the novel: appearance versus reality, conscience and integrity, and loss of innocence, but also to modern society.

In todays educational system many think that explicit content should not be taught due to its sensitive and controversial content. In Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird”, set in Maycomb County, Alabama within the 1930s, an innocent girl, along with her family and friends, comes to the realization that her community is not as they once thought, robbing her and others of their innocence through racism and discrimination. The now adult protagonist, Jean Louise Finch or better known as Scout Finch, narrates the story of her childhood within the times of racial prejudice with her family, neighbours and friends. Scout and her four-year older brother, Jeremy Finch, or Jem, live in a house with her Father, Atticus Finch, who is a single parent as well as a lawyer, and an African American nanny who comes by to help, named Calpurnia. Scout and Jem become friends with a boy named Dill Harris in the summertime. Dill takes an interest on the Radley place, a creepy house, saying that a phantom named Boo Radley lives there along with the owner Nathan Radley. The following fall Scout goes to school for the first time and she hates it. The children find gifts in a knothole on a tree situated within the Radley property. Dill returns the next summer and the kids make a game of the Radley’s to try and lure Boo Radley out of his house, and Atticus tells them to stop and imagine the perspective of the Radleys. The next winter Jem and Scout find more presents in the tree, but eventually Nathan