Use of Symbolism in To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee effectively uses symbolism throughout her novel, To Kill a Mockingbird.
Jem's nursing of the flowers denotes his courage that he nurses in order to be able to tolerate people's criticism of his family, especially of his father. He was forced to take care of the camellias just as he was forced to live with anger, disappointment and a big question mark in his young heart about the workings of grownups. Atticus "never thought Jem'd be the one to lose his head over this" (110). However Jem did 'lose his head' and now he has to find the strength to control his emotions in order to avoid further trouble. This courage was hard to find but Mrs Dubose did find it and managed to break herself from morphine before she died. She also made sure Jem got a white waxy camellia she had prepared for him. The waxy camellia, the "Snow-on-the-Mountain" (118), could be a symbol of courage. She built her spirit little by little just as when she was making the camellia. Now it is Jem's turn to build his own. And as the camellia out of wax does not wither, in the same sense, true courage may be hard to build, but once built, it never leaves you.
Mrs Dubose's camellias are not the only flowers that can be seen symbolically. Mayella Ewell's red geraniums also carry an important meaning. During the Robinson trial the reader is given a description of the Ewell's property. It is said that "what passed for a fence was bits of tree-limbs , broomsticks and tool shafts, all tipped with rusty hammer-heads, snaggle-toothed rake heads, shovels, axes and grubbing hoes, held on with pieces of barbed wire. Enclosed by this barricade was a dirty yard containing the remains of a Model-T Ford, a discarded dentist's chair, an ancient ice-box, plus lesser items: old shoes, worn-out table radios, picture frames, and fruit jars, under which scrawny orange chickens pecked hopefully". (176) The general picture one acquires by this description is that of a small dump, a place totally disordered like the "playhouse of an insane child" (176). One can easily guess the rank of the people who lived there. However, "against the fence, in a line, were six chipped-enamel slop jars holding brilliant red geraniums, cared for as tenderly as if they belonged to Miss Maudie Atkinson.
Figurative language is in most well written novels. It helps develop the overall theme the author is trying to portray. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, I noticed Harper Lee distinctively used two types of figurative language. The first is symbolism, Lee used this twice during the novel with the mockingbird representing beauty innocence and Boo Radley representing the good in people. The second is motifs, Lee used this to emphasize the small town life in Maycomb, Alabama and helps give a better understanding of the people in the town.
To begin, the flowers represent the racism and prejudice that lies within the tight community of Maycomb, Alabama. One instance of the flowers being used as symbolism is when Camellias
Jem starts to understand the true meaning of courage after Mrs. Dubose dies. Although Mrs. Dubose despised Atticus, Jem had seen past her negativities and considered her a very brave woman. This is because she died of a morphine addiction and decided to leave the world not belonging to anyone or anything. She had stopped taking her morphine, which meant her death would be slow and extremely painful, but she persevered. Atticus wanted to remove the image from Jem’s head regarding courage as a “man with a gun” and described it in chapter 11, page 112 as, “Courage...it’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyways and you see it through no matter what.” This incid...
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.
This is because camellias symbolize purity, excellence, and refinery. Also, the flower can bring luck when given to a man. When Atticus says to Jem, “I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand,” (page 149) he was telling his son about Mrs Dubose’s excellence. Even as she was dying, Dubose wanted to be the best version of herself. She was a recovering heroin addict, and she wanted to become “pure” or free of her addiction. Mrs Dubose was refining herself in order to not be held down by anything or anyone. Towards the end of the book, Scout narrates that “Neighbors bring food with death and flowers with sickness and little things in between.” (page 373) This applies to Mrs Dubose in an odd way, because she gave her flower to Jem instead of receiving one. Jem was given the flower as a sign that Mrs Dubose was not upset with him, but it also brought luck to him. The camellia was a representation of how she saw Jem’s growth as a person and a young
Throughout the novel Harper Lee explores the racism, prejudice, and the innocence that occurs throughout the book. She shows these topics through her strong use of symbolism throughout the story.
To begin with, Jem and Scout determine that courage means doing what is right, even if it involves life threatening risks. In chapter eleven, Jem Finch, has ruined the patches of Mrs. Dubose’s lovely camellias. As soon as Atticus has heard of Jem’s little act of rebellion, he gives Mrs. Dubose the opportunity of deciding Jem’s punishment. Specifically, she establishes that Jem shall read to her every day after school. After Jem has finished his retribution, Atticus informs him of Mrs. Dubose’s death. As a result, Atticus speaks of Mrs. Dubose’s bravery. Jem starts to ask his father why he thinks this of Mrs. Dubose. Atticus replies, “I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do” (Lee 112). Accordingly, Atticus is trying to show that heroism comes from the people who do what their gut says is right, because that is courage. Mrs. Dubose wanted to die a pure woman instead of someone who had an addiction, which she successfully succeeded in. Another example of courage comes from when Atticus ta...
"I'd rather you shoot at tin cans in the backyard, 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." This is what Atticus Finch tells his children after they are given air-rifles for Christmas. Uniquely, the title of the classic novel by Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird, was taken from this passage. At first glance, one may wonder why Harper Lee decided to name her book after what seems to be a rather insignificant excerpt. After careful study, however, one begins to see that this is just another example of symbolism in the novel. Harper Lee uses symbolism rather extensively throughout this story, 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 can be seen by studying various examples from the book. This includes the actions of the children, the racist whites, and the actions of Atticus Finch.
Symbolism plays an important role in the Scarlet Letter. The scarlet "A" is used to represent sin and anguish along with happiness. The "A" has different meanings to people other than what was originally intended. The scaffold is used as a place of repentance and judgment by God. Pearl is another major symbol used as a reminder of the scarlet letter.
In 1960, a novel was written to outline injustices and racism against those who were innocent, though unfairly judged because of social expectations and prejudiced beliefs. This novel not only presented these issues, but is also considered a revolutionary piece of literature, still being read by many people today, more than 50 years later. The novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, has caused some controversy about the intents of the book and the way certain people or groups are presented. Whether To Kill a Mockingbird as a narrative outshines the issue it presents is a debatable argument. However, I believe that the narrative of the novel supports the concerns exhibited for numerous reasons. In what follows, some of these are presented: the historical
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.
After reading and studying Harper Lees novel To Kill a Mockingbird, I have concluded that Harper Lee used semantics and symbolism to develop the consistent theme of racism throughout the novel. While analysing different critic’s opinions and views of symbolism and semantics in To Kill a Mockingbird, I found many ideas that aligned with my hypothesis. The three critics and time periods were Mary D. Esselman (1990), Adam Smykowski (1996) and Annie Kasper (2006). The three critics were in agreement that Harper Lee uses this technique to enable the reader to understand society, in particular racism in the Southern American states in the
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