...one neighbor, Boo Radley, seems to puzzle the children because of the fact that he never leaves the house. At the beginning of the book, the children begin a long and obsessive quest to lure Boo outside. For three years, the children try countless different ideas to try to see Boo Radley, until they finally do when he saves them from death at the end of the book. During the three years that the children are committed to this mission, their father is the lawyer of Tom Robinson, a black man, who is being accused of raping and beating a white woman. Atticus, Scout, and Jem face lots of racial slurs and insults because of Atticus’ role in the trial. Tom ends up being convicted of rape, even though Atticus proves to the court that Tom could not have possibly committed the crime of which he was accused. Throughout the book, Lee is trying to teach a lesson about doing what you think is right versus what everybody else thinks is right, and also about judging people before you get to know them. This novel is filled with symbolism pertaining to mystery, fear, and innocence. Also, Lees’ use of moral lessons throughout the novel, leave the reader with a new understanding of prejudice. Lees’ main purposes of the novel is to teach the readers that you should always do what you think is right, and that you shouldn’t judge someone before you really get to know them. Lee shows her first purpose by the use...
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...Mockingbird. In this great book she uses symbolism. Symbolism is when something has one meaning but it also has a different meaning. The Mockingbird in to Kill a Mockingbird stands for someone's innocence. This means someone who is a mockingbird is innocent. Harper Lee uses Tom Robinson, Atticus Finch, and Boo Radley as mockingbirds in her novel. First Lee uses Tom Robinson as a mockingbird. Tom Robinson is an African American male who was accused of raping a white female by the name of Mayella Ewell. Tom Robinson ran away and wanted to escape the inevitable. Tom Robinson knew that he was going to be found guilty in court because the government is not bias. “ they shot him seventeen times in the chest. They didn’t...
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...lot of symbolism throughout her story. Symbolism is a literary device where the author uses an object to stand for an idea. One of Lee’s famous symbol is an mockingbird.A mockingbird is a symbol of innocent. In her novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses Tom Robinson, Mayella Ewell and Boo Radley as human “mockingbirds” to contribute to the overall theme of innocence. The first character Harper Lee uses is Tom Robinson.Tom Robinson is an poor black man with an wife and three children. He is 25 years old and is known as a respectable kind young man. His left hand was crippled and caught in a cotton gin when he was a young boy. In the begin, Lee uses Tom Robinson as a mockingbird because he was innocent man who was accused of raping a young woman named Mayella Ewell.And he was shot seventeen times.Atticus...
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...In the town of Maycomb, Alabama many individuals make judgements about Boo Radley and Tom Robinson before they know the truth. Scout Finch is a rare breed in this time, with her father defending Tom Robinson and her brother Jem and her interested in finding more about Boo Radley she constantly gets a chance to make unprejudiced judgements on people. Harper Lee helps the reader better understand prejudice using symbolism , imagery, and metaphors throughout the story. Prejudice was common throughout the story To Kill a Mockingbird, this could be seen through symbolism. It is a sin to kill a mockingbird, this is explained when Miss Maudie says “they don’t do one thing...
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...Throughout Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird symbolism is present as a mockingbird, the multiple flowers mentioned, and a character himself, Boo Radley. Mockingbirds are a picture of innocence and beauty. The mockingbird is used as a symbol of innocence in the book. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus is telling Scout how it is a sin to kill a mockingbird. Scout later asks Miss Maudie and Miss Maudie agrees by saying “Your father’s right…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.” They say it is a sin to kill one because they do not do anything to harm others. The only thing they do is bring music to their ears. Not only for innocence in general,...
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...(Lee, 1960, p.99) This line is one of the most explicit references to a mockingbird in the novel. While bearing the title of the novel, this passage refers to the idea that a mockingbird is a thing of innocence, a harmless creature that should not be hurt by others. This statement directly mirrors the title of the novel. Tom Robinson and Boo Radley are both characters that reflect the imagery of a mockingbird in the novel, with both characters being attacked during their time in the fictional town of Maycomb. The title To Kill a Mockingbird refers to the innocent people like Tom and Boo who only wish to bring a little happiness into their harsh surroundings. For their efforts they are chastised, shut away and, in Tom's case, killed. The title of the novel stirs interest. It title attracts potential readers, as well as the symbolism it infers. Throughout the novel the title becomes an important metaphor. Lee makes it clear to the reader throughout the narrative that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird. The mockingbird reflects the characters in the novel which the readers sympathise with, the ‘good guys’. Essentially, the title can be interpreted as saying that it is a sin to harm an innocent...
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...Harper Lee uses foreshadowing in her novel to help her audience understand the topic of racism in Maycomb. She first uses foreshadowing when Atticus says”...It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what (Lee, 112).” The trial hasn't even begun and Atticus knows he won't win, all because Tom Robinson happens to be black. She is foreshadowing how Tom Robinson's trial will ultimately end. This quote is foreshadowing the conviction of an innocent man for a crime he did not commit, all because of the color of his skin. He will be convicted because he is considered to be even less than the white “trash” of the town. It's an evident example of the racism that took place in Maycomb during...
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...How symbolism can help you better understand To Kill a Mockingbird In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee uses symbolism to reveal an overall theme of human dignity. Maycomb County is a typical sleepy southern town that is blinded by the disease of racism. An innocent black man becomes a victim of the disease when he is accused of rapeing a white woman. Firstly the symbols Jem’s pants and the rolly-polly show the important theme of maturation. Furthermore the symbols Tim Johnson and the snowman highlight a theme of destroying racism. Lastly one-shot Finch and the perfect white waxy camellia symbolize true courage. Harper Lee uses Jem’s pants and the rolly-polly as symbols to convey a theme of maturation. Jem and Scout where in the Radley’s backyard trying to get a look at Boo Radley when Jem see’s a shadow the children immediately flee form the house. As the children were running through the collards as they hear the roar of a shotgun. As Jem and Scout are fleeing the scene Jem’s pants gets caught in the fence and he has to leave it in their backyard if he wants to survive. Later that night he says how he needs to go back and retrieve his pants not for him but for Atticus, “‘Atticus ain’t never whipped me ever since I can remember, and I wanta keep it that way.’” (Lee 75). He goes back to get his pants to keep his relation shit with Atticus. There is a evident theme maturation in Jem at this point, from when he thought turtles could not feel, too now when he is showing...
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...Ada Lin Ms. Alburger English ½ Honours- Period 6 10 November 2015 To Kill a Mockingbird: Symbolism of the Mockingbird Thesis: In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Tom Robinson can be represented as a ‘mockingbird,’ or a symbol of innocence, because he is unjustly accused of a crime he does not commit. Throughout the story, he is a victim of racism. Even though he is accused of raping Mayella Ewell and is found guilty by an all white jury, Tom Robinson is actually an innocent man who has never done anything to hurt anybody, similar to a mockingbird. Body Paragraph 1: Tom Robinson represents a mockingbird because he receives an unjust sentence for a crime that he does not commit. Tom Robinson is found guilty by an all white jury that does...
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...life in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama. Narrated and based around Scout (Jean Louise) Finch and the many ordeals she and her brother (Jem) face in the years of their growing up; out of the childhood innocence they once possessed to realise the true evils of their community and shed false pretences surrounding the innocence of two such characters as Boo Radley and Tom Robinson for which the community of Maycomb had long labelled and ridiculed for either their colour or peculiar behavioural patterns. Lee incorporates several different symbols within the text that assist in developing the ideas and beliefs held by both Scout and Jem such as; the Mockingbird, Mrs Dubose’ Camellias and Mayella Ewell’s red Geraniums all of which pl... ... middle of paper ... ... weather that be the counties resident Mockingbirds Boo Radley and Tom Robinson who continue to sing their songs of purity and innocence even in death (in Tom’s case), Mrs Dubose who’s underlying courage was able to shine through her Camellias and rub of on Jem or Mayella Ewell who’s backyard is proven to be populated by beautiful Geraniums; symbolism has played huge role on their ideas and beliefs and those of the people around them most notably the narrator Scout Finch who’s entire outlook on life is changed through the use of such...
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...Figurative Language The novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, has quite a bit of figurative language, which contributes to its popularity. Examples include figures of speech, symbolism, allusions, imagery, similes, metaphors, personification and hyperboles. These elements are of my group’s interest. The first figurative language example I’d like to explain is the figure of speech. Lee uses many figures of speech throughout the book. One example which captured my interest was on when Atticus finds the flaw in Mayella’s account of the Tom Robinson case. “Somehow, Atticus had hit her hard in a way that was not clear to me, but it gave him no pleasure to do so” (188). Here, Atticus discovers the hole in Mayella’s testimony, and proves that...
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...Symbolism; This is when an author uses any type of object to stand for and Idea. In “To Kill a Mockingbird”, Harper Lee uses Boo Radley, Tom Robinson, and Jem Finch as human mockingbirds (The mockingbird is a symbol of innocence.) to contribute to the overall theme of innocence. First, Lee Uses Boo Radley as a mockingbird when he’s always accused of being crazy/creepy because he doesn’t come out of the house, also jem says “Boo Radley was about Six-and-A-Half feet tall, “Judging from his tracks” He dined on raw Squirrels and any cats he could catch, that’s why his hands were bloodstained.” (13) Second, Lee Uses Tom Robinson as a mockingbird when he was shot 17 times and accused of raping Mayella Ewell because of his SKIN COLOR. “Atticus said,...
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...Elizabeth Gaskell once said, “How easy it is to judge rightly after one sees what evil comes from judging wrongly!” In Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mocking Bird”, the story is told through a young girl named Scout. Her and her family go through many adventures that teach them the ways of life and how to treat certain people. Eventually, Scout would soon see that not everyone was treated equally with her father saying, “You never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them.” Through symbolism and imagery, Harper Lee shows that you don’t judge a book by its cover. Symbolism proves that to know someone, you actually have to know what they are feeling and how they live. In Atticus Finch’s closing statement, he states that,...
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...large role in the book, it symbolises peace and hope, some of the characters that are mockingbirds are Tom Robinson, a Negro accused of a raping, Atticus Finch a lawyer and the seclusive Boo Radley. The way Lee portrays Tom as a mockingbird is a work of art, she portrays him as soft, gentle person that has harmed no one. Like Tom, Boo is shown to be mockingbird as well as he stays to himself he harms no one but others harm him. However, Atticus is different because he defends people of all types of background and race no matter what. Lee portrays Boo Radley as a mockingbird because he doesn’t do anything to anyone. Nevertheless, the towns disease gets to everyone and become prejudiced towards Boo, saying things that weren’t true. The townsfolk then wondered why he never came out of his house, the reason was because he was scared, he didn’t want the limelight, he...
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...More than Just Birds - Analysis of Symbolism in To Kill A Mockingbird Most people would think of love when they look at the symbol ‘heart’. A symbol is an important literacy feature that is used to represent larger or abstract ideas. Symbols are often used by authors to deepen and further extend themes. In Harper Lee’s novel ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’, her effective use of symbols and their deep meanings contribute towards the development of some important themes. The uses of symbols, a mockingbird and blue jay, significantly develop the key theme that the coexistence of the good and evil always remain. A mockingbird and blue jay prove that the good and evil coexist by utilizing two characters, Bob Ewell and Boo Radley. First, Bob Ewell...
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