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Literary analysis to kill a mocking bird
Symbols and metaphors to kill a mockingbird
The use of symbolism to kill a mockingbird
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To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee sheds light upon the controversy of racism and justice in his classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. The notion of equality in accordance to the law and the pursuit of justice are hindered by racial discrimination. The essential essence of human nature is pondered. Are we inclined to be good or in the wrath of evil? The novel reflects on the contrasting nature of appearance versus reality. Scout Finch and her brother Jem live with their widowed father Atticus in the town of Maycomb, Alabama. The book takes place in a society withstanding effects of the Great Depression. The two main characters, Scout and Jem, approach life with a childlike view engulfed in innocence. They befriend a young boy named Dill, and they all become intrigued with the spooky house they refer to as “The Radley Place”. The owner, Nathan Radley (referred to as Boo), has lived there for years without ever venturing outside its walls. The children laugh and imagine the reclusive life of Boo Radley, yet their father quickly puts a halt to their shenanigans, as they should not judge the man before they truly know him. Atticus unforgettably tells the children, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view…until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” During Dill’s last night in Maycomb for the summer, the children wrongfully venture onto Boo Radley’s property. He shoots at the children, and in their escape, Jem loses his pants. He later returns to find them mended and hung over the fence. The children continue to find gifts for them hidden in a tree (presumably from Boo himself). A fire at a neighbor’s house breaks out, and as Scout stands in awe of the flames, someone slips a blank... ... middle of paper ... ...markings of an innocent childhood no longer. After Tom Robinson is shot, his murder is compared to “the senseless slaughter of songbirds”. Their hearts do nothing but sing out, making beautiful music for all to hear. This is why it is considered a sin to kill one. Jem Finch, Tom Robinson, and Boo Radley can all be seen as “mockingbirds”. They never attempt to hurt anyone, yet Tom Robinson was framed for rape, Boo Radley was unlawfully labeled as a vague recluse and the innocence of Jem Fitch was unfairly stolen due to the evil nature of society. To Kill a Mockingbird is regarded as a classic also due to the timeless moral values it holds dear. The words of others should not dictate personal values, using educated thought is crucial before acting and finally, statements should not always be acknowledged as truth until you are able to authenticate them for yourself.
The theme of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mocking Bird is the existence of racism and prejudice in the 1930 – 40's. Harper Lee succeeds in presenting the topic in a manner that is not overly simplistic and thus achieves the task of allowing the reader to fully appreciate the complex nature of unjust discrimination. Harper Lee's inclusion of characters such as Tom Robinson, Boo Radley, Dolphus Raymond and many others, aid the reader to grasp the concept of racism and its central role in the town of Maycomb.
Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird explores the concept of injustice and her readers are introduced to a society where the social hierarchy dominated acts of humanity. We are often put into situations where we witness member of society be inhumane to one another in order to fit into the community and to act selfishly to save yourself. Within the text, we are also commonly shown the racial discrimination that has become society’s norm. Because of the general acceptance of these behaviours, it is explicitly show to all that the major theme Lee is trying to portray is ‘Man’s inhumanity to man’.
The narrator of the story, Scout Finch, is a curious young girl who is surprisingly mature for her age. When her older brother Jem, and shared friend Dill go to the intriguing Radley house to deliver a note to Boo Radley, whom Macomb County hasn’t seen in 15 years, Scout is
In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, many notable themes arise, but the most prevalent theme is undeniably the theme of man’s inhumanity to man. At the beginning of the novel, we are introduced to Scout Finch, who is naive and oblivious to the discrimination that occurs in Maycomb. However, through many events and through meeting many characters, we soon begin to realize that the world may not be so nice after all. Our suspicions are only confirmed once we witness the terrible injustices that occur during the trial.
Boo Radley is the next door neighbor of the Finch’s. He is an outsider of the community, because he does not leave the house. He got in some trouble as a teenager, so his father locked him up inside the house. After his father died, his brother moved in with him. While Boo was locked up inside is house, the people of Maycomb County made up stories about him. The legend of Boo Radley was well-known to the people of Maycomb. Jem describes Boo, “Boo 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—if you ate an animal raw, you could never wash the blood off. There was a long jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten; his eyes popped, and he drooled most of the time.” (Lee ). Boo is an innocent character because all he does stay inside his own house, and does not bother anybody. Yet the entire town believes that he could be a murderer. Harper Lee is showing that if you do not fit into southern society, they will make you into an outsider and a bad legend. Another example of Boo Radley being an innocent character is when he gives a blanket to Scout. Miss Maudie Atkinson, one of the Finch’s neighbors, had a house fire. Atticus (Scout and Jem’s father) woke up the kids and made them go outside, in case the fire spread to their house. While Scout was not looking someone gave her a blanket, “‘Someday, maybe, Scout can thank him for covering her up.’ ‘Thank who?’ I asked. ‘Boo Radley. You were so busy looking at the fire you didn’t know it when he put the blanket around you.’”(Lee ). Boo Radley is an innocent character because he helped warm up Scout in the cold, yet Scout was still scared that Boo had been near here. Harper Lee is showing us that Boo could do a nice thing, and yet Scout would still be scared because of his reputation. Finally, another
Scout Finch, the youngest child of Atticus Finch, narrates the story. It is summer and her cousin Dill and brother Jem are her companions and playmates. They play all summer long until Dill has to go back home to Maridian and Scout and her brother start school. The Atticus’ maid, a black woman by the name of Calpurnia, is like a mother to the children. While playing, Scout and Jem discover small trinkets in a knothole in an old oak tree on the Radley property. Summer rolls around again and Dill comes back to visit. A sence of discrimination develops towards the Radley’s because of their race. Scout forms a friendship with her neighbor Miss Maudie, whose house is later burnt down. She tells Scout to respect Boo Radley and treat him like a person. Treasures keep appearing in the knothole until it is filled with cement to prevent decay. As winter comes it snows for the first time in a century. Boo gives scout a blanket and she finally understands her father’s and Miss Maudie’s point of view and treats him respectfully. Scout and Jem receive air guns for Christmas, and promise Atticus never to shoot a mockingbird, for they are peaceful and don’t deserve to die in that manner. Atticus then takes a case defending a black man accused of rape. He knows that such a case will bring trouble for his family but he takes it anyways. This is the sense of courage he tries to instill in his son Jem.
The events of the book To Kill a Mockingbird take place from 1933-1935 and happen in Maycomb County, Alabama. Scout Finch is the main character of this book, at the start of the book she is 6 years old, and has a brother Jem, who is almost 13. They have a father, Atticus, who is a lawyer, and an African-American caretaker named Calpurnia. Over the summer a boy named Dill comes over and has an idea, he wants to make Boo Radley come out of his house. Boo Radley is the son of Arthur Radley, who when he was younger, joined a gang and was later arrested for resisting arrest after they stole a car. Boo was let out because his father vouched that he would never do anything illegal
You hardly ever seen anyone get close to the Radley gate and the children stayed as far away as they could, but after accidentally rolling a tire into the Radley gate, when trying to get Jem to retrieve it Scout exclaimed, “Go on inside, it’s not that far.” Jem was panic-stricken and seem to be walking on cold feet by thinking that Boo’d come out and get him or something. No one had ever went that close to the Radley’s house because it seemed to be a near death experience. The night Miss Maudie’s house caught on fire, Jem and Scout were standing in front of the Radley gate in the cold, and later discovered there was a blanket placed on Scout. “Boo Radley,” said Atticus. The thought of almost being able to see Boo for the first time intrigued her. Scout seems be in a daze since she came that close to Boo, but also seems to wonder how he did it. He was the type of person to blow one’s mind.
The Radley family has a presence that startles nearly all of Maycomb County in some way. For example, every resident of Maycomb County would never set foot in even the Radley house yard. However, this was not the case for protagonist Scout Finch and her brother Jem. This show of bravery represents outstanding courage. Moreover, the main area of fear of the Radley family is provided by Boo. Boo is the child of the family, and is rumored to eat grotesque foods such as live rats. Although very few people had ever seen Boo, nobody dared to search for him. That is, except for Scout and Jem. Despite being terrified of what Boo could be, Jem and Scout searched tirelessly for him. Even after their father forbid them to search for Boo, Jem and Scout would not be denied and searched for him anyways. The courage shown by the young children in this novel is good.
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
In the novel, ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee some characters suffer in the hands of justice and fairness more than others. Many characters in the novel are discriminated against such as Calpurnia, Dolphus Raymond, Helen Robinson, Burris Ewell and more. However I will be focusing on the discrimination against Tom Robinson for his race, Walter Cunningham for his low socioeconomic status and Boo Radley for the rumors and supposed mental instability he holds. I chose those three because they are the most prominent and I will discuss how the discrimination against the characters therefore leads to their injustice or unfairness.
Lee employs the mockingbird and the sin of its death to develop two key characters, the plot sequence and an important theme of her novel. Boo Radley emerges as the first of Lee’s mockingbirds because he not only leaves gifts for the children, but also protects Scout with a blanket after the fire at Miss Maudie’s house and, ultimately, saves the children’s lives. He may live a secluded life, but he only brings joy to Jem and Scout. Similarly, Tom Robinson resembles a mockingbird since he is an innocent man who simply tries to help Mayella with her chores because he feels “’sorry for her ‘” (264). In fact, Scout observes that Robinson’s manners are “as good as Atticus’s” (260), and Link Deas acknowledges that when Tom worked for him, he ‘”ain’t had a speck o’trouble outa him’”(261). In addition to developing these two characters as mockingbirds, Lee employs the mockingbird in several plot sequences. After the children are given air rifles for Christmas and are warned not to shoot at mockingbirds, the bird is not mentioned again until Mr. Underwood’s editorial in which he compares the killing of Tom Robinson to “ the senseless slaughter of songbirds” (323). Indeed the senseless shooting of the
Today, racism is a problematic situation that can break nation apart. Discrimination on one’s personal characteristics can sway a community's opinion greatly. Harper Lee was indulged in numerous racist encounters in her life, many of which transpire into her novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. In the novel, one is seen as an animal when enduring the venom of racism. Throughout the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, racism leads to the dehumanization of both the victims and the infectors.
For Scout and all of the other children in Maycomb, the frightening thing is Boo Radley. Boo Radley is a grown man who never comes out of his house. The Radley house is a dark, creepy mansion who nobody sets foot on. At the beginning of the book, Scout is terrified to even get close to that house.
The story To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is set in 1932 in the middle of the Great Depression in a deep southern town called Maycomb, Alabama. In this time African Americans were segregated and looked down upon in America and especially in southern states like Alabama. In FDR’s 1932 inaugural address he stated that “We have nothing to fear but ourselves”. He said this because in a time of economical depression there was no hope. With no hope in a society things can start to fall apart and people go crazy. Harper Lee cleverly illustrates this.