A symbol in literature is an object that stands for a word, cause, belief, or another object. A metaphor is a figure of speech where a word of phrase is applied to something but it should not be taken literally. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, the mockingbird symbolizes innocence. The mockingbird is innocent, singing for people to hear its music. In the book Atticus says to Scout, “Remember it is a sin to kill a mockingbird.” When Scout asked Miss Maudie about it, Miss Maudie tells her, “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy… but they sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” Killing something so innocent would be a sin because it had never done anything to hurt you. The mocking bird was important enough to be in the title of the book, giving it extra meaning and extra importance. The title To Kill a Mockingbird carries the same meaning that you should never harm something that is innocent even it is easy, and it carries throughout the story and into the trial. Although Tom Robinson was innocent but still got convicted, it shows that it was wrong to do so. In the trial, Tom Robinson would be the mockingbird and the jury would be the wielder of the gun. The symbols that are used in literature can have a large impact on the story and what the reader pulls out from the story. If there was no symbol used in To Kill a Mockingbird, people would miss a lot of the story going on and they may not see the more innocent side of the story. Although symbols are used in many different forms, the one used in To Kill a Mockingbird made the story what it was. The mockingbird gave the story a whole different approach. By using a symbol in the story, the author was able to make th... ... middle of paper ... ...nson was guilty. There was no way he was guilty. Other people around looked like they thought the same thing. Most others there looked like they were happy that he was guilty. They were happy that he was getting the electric chair for something he never even did. After everyone left nobody acted normal for days. The colored people wouldn’t talk to anyone but who they worked for. People that lived out of town in the woods talked about how happy they were that he was going to get the chair. Nobody said nothing about him being innocent. Nobody would ever even say that he was innocent. I think that Tom Robinson was innocent, but there is no way I would say something crazy like that in the town of Maycomb. People would get the wrong idea and I don’t need that to happen. So, I’m just keeping my mouth shut until this whole thing goes over and something else happens.
According to Google, symbolism in literature is defined as the use of symbols to signify ideas and qualities by giving them symbolic meanings that are different from their literal sense. Symbolism can be seen throughout media and in many pieces of literature including To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. In the book, the symbol of the mockingbird represents the character Boo Radley, and how his story teaches people to not always believe what others have to say about someone without being able to prove it true for themselves.
A symbol is a unique term because it can represent almost anything such as people, beliefs, and values. Symbols are like masks that people put on to describe their true self. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the author uses Tom Robinson and Arthur Radley to represent a mockingbird which illustrates the theme of innocence by presenting these characters as two harmless citizens that do not pose a threat to Maycomb.
What went wrong then if so many people thought he was guilty? Well the prosecutors had an extremely strong case, but many people thought they presented their evidence very poorly. They had made a lot of their evidence seem fake, or as if someone was trying to frame O.J., which wasn’t the case. Although they did have some strong evidence it was hard to deny like they had discovered a pair of very rare gloves seemingly identical to O.J. Simpson’s. Although O.J.’s defense was quoted,”If it doesn’t fit you must acquit,” and of course due to the blood shrinking the gloves they couldn’t fit his monstrous hands ("101 PIECES"). In addition they had also found blood spots inside of O.J’s Bronco in which was parked fairly close to the estate (Rice). His defense replied the evidence was unreliable, fake, and planted in order to frame him. Even though this sounds like a weak argument many believed this could be true due to past aggression from police towards Rodney King and the African American community. There was also a lot of key evidence the prosecutors were never able to obtain, such as the murder weapon. They had also spoken to a limo driver that picked up O.J. from Rockingham ("101 PIECES"). At the time O.J. had been seen with more bags then after according to the limo driver and skycap James Williams ("101 PIECES"). He was reported standing by a
Many authors and poets uses symbolism to express emotion and sections throughout the text. Symbols is a great literary device that can help give messages to the reader without the author being too direct. In the story, “Barns Burning” by William Faulkner, Symbolism helps analysis different emotions and meaning throughout the story.
Symbolism. Why is it important in a novel? Why do authors incorporate symbols into their writing? Symbolism aids the reader in understanding what the author wants to portray. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird, she writes about the racism in a small town in Alabama named Maycomb set in the 1930’s and about two children growing up and learning that their town is not as perfect as they thought. The theme topic appearance versus reality helps to get a better understanding of the symbols used in the novel and that you should not judge something by their appearance, you should judge by the reality of what it is. “As Atticus once advised me to do, I tried to climb into Jem’s skin and walk around in it.” (Scout page 77) In her novel, there are many symbols throughout the narrative that relate to the theme topic appearance versus reality. Harper Lee writes symbols into her novel, such as the snowman, Mrs. Dubose’s Camellia flower and Dolphus Raymond’s Coca-Cola bottle to help reinforce the theme topic of appearance versus reality throughout the novel.
In a case that has spanned more than 20 years and drew so much media attention, there is just as much intrigue today as it then. Did he do it or did he not do it? The entire world was captivated by the case. It took over a year for a trial and a conclusion that stunned the world with the verdict (Boyes). They were many household names that came out of this trial (Pitts).
These symbols make you look deeper into the text and give you an overall clearer understanding of the text. The most obvious symbolism is the title, To Kill a Mockingbird. He says it’s a literal sin to kill a mockingbird when Scout and Jem get air rifles. He says “shoot all the bluejays you want, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird”(119). This is clearly a symbol if it’s the title of the book. It means you shouldn’t kill a mockingbird because they don’t do anything wrong and are just innocent creatures. This is obviously symbolized by the trial of Tom Robinson. He is clearly an innocent person, but still ends of dying because of the verdict of the trial. Miss Maudie says “They don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us”(119) which is what Tom Robinson did for Miss Ewell. All he did was help her, but when she “sinned” and tried to seduce Tom she couldn’t think of what to do so she just blamed the innocent man. The next major symbol of the book is the character of Boo Radley. Boo Radley is never proved to be a bad person to the children, but they still have a negative perspective on him. Scout and jem later on see that he is a decent person when Boo fixes Jem’s pants. Jem says “somebody knew you were comin’ back for ‘em”(78). This confuses them, but they start to see as a more real person instead of a made up
How are birds symbolized to the human mankind society? Eagles are a symbol of bravery and great strength. Parrots are a symbol of intelligence. What about mockingbirds? How do they treat and contribute to the human mankind? Mockingbirds symbolize those who are innocent, helpful, and caring but are punished and treated badly. It is a skin to kill a mockingbird because they do not harm us in any way but sings wonderful songs to us. Some of the characters like Boo Arthur Radley, Tom Robinson, and Mayella Ewell symbolizes the mockingbirds in Maycomb. Boo Arthur Radley who is innocent is segregated from the outer world and dominated and injured by the evil. Tom Robinson who also is an innocent man is convicted and is found guilty die to the colour of his skin. Mayella who has done nothing wrong is punished severely and forced to lie to convict Tom Robinson.
Although there might be many themes of To Kill a Mockingbird one of the biggest one that stands out is the meaning of Harper Lee title. To Kill a Mockingbird’s title is symbolising that you don't want to kill something that isn't bothering or harming anyone.Tom Robinson got charged for a crime he did not do, and Boo Radley got rumors about him.It is wrong to kill a mocking bird, just because you dont like its
"You know the truth, and the truth is this: some Negroes lie, some Negroes are immoral, some Negro men are not to be trusted around women—black or white. But this is a truth that applies to the human race and to no particular race of men. There is not a person in this courtroom who has never told a lie, who has never done an immoral thing, and there is no man living who has never looked upon a woman without desire." (273) Whether a man is black or white, Atticus Finch knows that all men have done immoral things. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, many of the characters and objects portray deeper meanings than what meets the eye. Atticus Finch represents upstanding morals and rational philosophy, the Mockingbird represents innocence, and the snowman represents that white and black people are the same.
The media was really involved with this case, and many Americans had different opinions on what should happen to all the defendants, and of course the final decisions was that they were found guilty of conspiracy. Although, nothing much really happened after they got arrested it important to understand a couple of things.
The symbolism of the mockingbird plays a huge role in the development of the theme in the novel. The mockingbird symbolizes innocence. In the book, it is believed that it is a sin to kill a man mockingbird because they bring about no harm, only beautiful music to enjoy. In the same sense, killing a mockingbird would be the equivalent of evil defeating good. This is represented multiple times in the novel through characters like Atticus Finch, Boo Radley, and Tom Robinson. All of whom try to bring about the good in people rather than focus on the evil in the community.
During the time that O.J was on trial for the murders of Nicole and Ronald, everyone who was following the hearing had a deep sense of fear and pity. They were fearing that the man they once adored and aspired to be like was actually capable of committing such an inconspicuous crime. Also, due to the accusations of the murder, the viewers were also feeling in the sense of pity, in both sadness and disappointment. The acts that O.J Simpson was accused of caused the audience to feel disappointed in his actions, as well as sadness towards his family. The accusations developed about O.J left people who didn’t even personally know him in tears. People were so sad about his downfall. The accusation led to the fact that O.J left his family with no mother and technically no father, as he’d be spending time in prison. Furthermore, since he was found not guilty, there was a large part of the audience that felt a sense of release and emotion, and some felt bad that he was ever accused of this, but rather he just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Due to the fact that O.J and Nicole were separated for a couple years before she died, Nicole had made new friendships, and there was no proof that someone new that she met could have caused this crime and tried to frame Simpson, due to his past accused abuse
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.
A symbol is an object, action, or event that represents something or that creates a range of associations beyond itself. In literary works a symbol can express an idea, clarify meaning, or enlarge literal meaning. Select a novel or play and, focusing on one symbol, write an essay analyzing how that symbol functions in the work and what it reveals about the characters or themes of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot. (2009 Open-Ended Question for AP English Literature and Composition).