What Are The Symbols In To Kill A Mockingbird

There is a very powerful symbol that carries much weight throughout the story, and that is the mockingbird, seen even in the title of the book itself. This symbol initiates its appearance in chapter 10 of “To Kill a Mockingbird” on page 103 where Atticus Finch, a character synonymous with making impactful, deep statements through the book, says, “Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (Lee, 10). This is supplemented by Mrs. Maudie soon after where she says, “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy... ” (Lee 10). This evidence explains the basis of this symbol, that killing innocence is sinful, pointless, and cruel and that from the beginning this symbol presence causes massive insight and deeper connections throughout the whole book and to history itself (Great Depression/Pre-Civil Rights Movement), especially through the motif of innocence. Its presence is

The idea of mockingbirds in this text carries great symbolic weight, mockingbirds are considered the innocents in the novel. It is considered a sin to kill a mockingbird, which symbolizes the destruction innocence. Tom Robinson, Arthur “Boo” Radley, Jem and Mr. Raymond can all be identified as mockingbirds - innocents who have been injured or destroyed through contact with evil.

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.

The Mockingbird has a very deep and powerful meaning in Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird. It represents peacefulness, innocence and kindness which is portrayed through the characters of Boo Radley and Tom Robinson. The mockingbird's influence can also be applied to the relationships between humans. The Mockingbird is a powerful symbol that echoes a strong meaning throughout the novel.

Throughout this book, the author uses multiple techniques of symbolism to achieve a goal which is for the reader to stir up empathy for the characters. Take notice in the middle of the book, when the author mentions the main example of symbolism, which is said by Atticus while speaking to Jem. During Christmas when the Finch’s are at Finch's landing Atticus gives Jem and Scout their own air rifles. He then tells Jem, “I’d rather you shot a 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.” (Lee, 90) Mockingbirds are innocent and only play soothing music for people. They don’t destroy gardens, only soothe us with the music they produce. So, mockingbirds are innocent and so it’s a sin to kill them because they do not do anything wrong. In short simple words, it is a sin to kill the innocent. In the courtroom, Tom who is being accused with rape, is in the hot seat while everyone is judging him without knowing the whole story. It makes things worse when he is charged guilty. This makes the reader feel empathy for him because he is being accused

There is a dominant motif in Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, regarding the symbolic importance of the mockingbird and how it relates to some of her characters. In Harper Lee’s portrayed world as well as our present day world mockingbirds represent nothing but pure innocence, thus to kill a mockingbird would be to destroy innocence. Atticus Finch, Tom Robinson, and Boo Radley are all perfect examples representing a mockingbird; innocents who have been injured or destroyed through contact with

When Harper Lee expresses her message of courage, she demonstrated courage through the selflessness of two characters by emphasizing their morality. Tom Robinson and Boo Radley symbolize mockingbirds in the sense that they are innocent but still courageous. Once Atticus the father and main character said “ I’d rather you shoot at tin cans in the back yard, but I know you’ll go after birds. Shoot all the bluejays you want but remember It’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”(Lee 119.) Mockingbirds symbolize Innocence, Lee is displaying that Tom and Boo are the mockingbirds in this novel. When Boo puts the gifts in the tree for the kids, that showed his Innocence, then when he left his house and saved the kids that showed his courage. Tom Robinson and Boo Radley, two Innocent men that no one trusts, portrays

People always wondered what a mockingbird represents. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the narrator Jean Louise Finch lives in Maycomb, Alabama, with her brother Jeremy Finch, her dad Atticus Finch, and her mother-figure Calpurnia. She learns many lessons in her life including “You never truly understand a person until you put yourself in their shoes ” and “It is a sin to kill mockingbirds.” This ties in that a mockingbird symbolizes innocence, which proves that one should not judge someone else until they truly get to know them because one must truly know another before deeming them as evil or innocent.

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

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.

Symbolism is used extensively in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird. The theme of prejudice in the novel can be best perceived through the symbol of the mockingbird. Atticus advised his children that if they went hunting for birds to "shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird" (96). Miss Maudie explains this further by saying that "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" (96). Bluejays are considered to be the bullies of the bird world. They are very loud, territorial and

This is shown on page 119, when Atticus says, after Scout gets an airgun, “Iit is a sin to kill a mockingbird,” as they are innocent. Through the symbolism of the innocent mockingbird, Scout begins to build empathy for the innocent characters, and even, at the end of the book, when Atticus wants to celebrate Boo saving his children but Boo is too shy, “it is kind of like killing the mockingbird,” indicating that it might be a sin to put him in the limelight, as he is innocent and does not want attention. This cheers Atticus up and convinces him. That is why symbolism is a technique that Harper Lee uses to build

Throughout the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee effectively illustrates that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird through her portrayal of characters as the “mockingbirds” of the story, her use of the antagonist, Bob Ewell, and her choices in language when describing them as such. The idea of the mockingbird was introduced nearly a third of the way through the story, which made it seem inconsequential at the time, but as we later discover from Lee’s stylistic choices throughout the novel, the idea of the mockingbird holds special significance to the plot, as it is a symbol used to represent the innocent and the kind.

To kill a Mockingbird is a book of many symbols, and the mockingbird is one of the most iconic. Many references occur in the book, showing us the the mockingbirds innocence and connecting it to many characters of the book. The mockingbird can symbolize characters such as Boo Radley, Tom Robinson, and Scout. In chapter ten Atticus informs Scout, “Remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird”.

The mockingbird, one of the most relevant symbols in the novel, directly connects to our main themes of innocence and appearance versus reality. Mockingbirds mimic the sounds of other birds, so it would be a sin to kill a mockingbird based on what sounds they produce since they only imitate what they hear. Lee effectively uses the mockingbird to illustrate pure innocent people who were undeservedly destroyed by the prejudice of society. The narrow-mindedness of the community destroyed two mockingbirds, Boo Radley and Tom Robinson, and robbed Mayella Ewell of living her life to its full potential. The hypocrisy of Maycomb throws it into chaos, thus becoming a dysfunctional society. “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 is why it’s a sin to kill a Mockingbird.” (Lee 119)