Symbolism is used in the book To Kill A Mockingbird abundantly. There are many symbols in the novel that cultivate the characters, setting, events and objects meaning. The white camellias is one of the many symbols the novel has since it symbolizes forgiveness, bravery and a peace offering.. First, the white camellia can symbolize forgiveness because although Mrs. Dubose had been harsh and rude to Jem, Jem essentially delayed her death. This is done by Jem reading to her every day except Sundays to help her cope with her morphine addiction, by distracting her. Therefore, when Mrs. Dubose gave Jem a white camellia it was a message to Jem saying “forgive me.” As a result, Jem being the mature child he understood this message as he is seen “fingering
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.
Ms. Dubose and her Camellias is one of the many uses of symbolism in the novel. Camellias symbolize longevity which explains itself, Ms. Dubose lived to a very old age. As we get into deeper meanings of camellias, racism comes into the picture. In the novel, Ms. Dubose says “Thought you could kill my Snow-on-the-mountain, did you? Well, Jessie says the top’s growing back out. Next time you’ll know how to do it right, won’t you? You’ll pull it up by the roots won’t you?” (pg. 228) In this quote, she was talking to Jem Finch, a young boy who just tried to kill her flowers. Only he wasn’t really trying to kill her flowers, he was trying to kill the racism in his small Alabaman town called Maycomb. Like she said though, the issue is deeper than that, you cannot kill it that quickly.
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
Symbolism is used widely in To Kill a Mockingbird the symbolism shows prejudice and how opinionated people of Maycomb could be to spread rumors of Boo Radley even though they do not know him. Symbolism shows innocence of Tom Robinson who was falsely accused of assaulting Mayella and almost gets killed if it was not for the help of Atticus. Harper Lee possibly uses symbolism for her refusal of prejudice and innocence because it is more effective than
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.
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
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 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.
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, some characters are symbolized by flowers. Harper Lee connects specific flowers to characters because of the meaning of the flowers. She compares Mrs. Dubose to a Camellia, Mrs. Maudie to Azalea, and Calpurnia the Calpurnia flower.
“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.
For my symbol I decided to make the tree that Boo Radley used to give gifts to Jem and Scout. In To Kill A Mockingbird, the tree was Boo Radley’s only way to communicate with the world outside of his home. When Scout describes the trees she says that their roots reached out to the side-road and made it bumpy which symbolises the way Boo tried to reach out to the children by leaving gifts for them in the knothole of the tree. I think that the branches of the tree illustrate all of the rumours that surround Boo Radley in Maycomb County and the knothole at the centre of the tree was the real Boo who was nowhere near as scary and dangerous as everyone made him out to be. When Boo Radley’s brother Nathan plugged up the knothole with cement, it showed
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.
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.
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 second symbol is the snow-on-the-mountain camellia flowers. The camellia is just one of the many examples of how symbolism is displayed in To Kill a Mockingbird. The snow-on-the-mountain camellia is a symbol of beauty and escape of happiness in the midst of the ugliness and sadness of a situation. through out chapter 11 mrs.dubose insultes He and Scout. So one day Jem decided to take scouts batons and destroy Mrs.Dubose camellias "until the ground