To Kill a Mockingbird Metaphor Meaning

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Recommended: Use of Symbolism

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.

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