A symbol is a word or expression which signifies something other than the physical object to which it directly refers. The book “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee contains three recognizable symbols.
“Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” (103) This could possibly be a symbol for Tom Robinson. He was innocent, yet sentenced to death because of his ethnicity. Robinson could also be a symbol of the mockingbird in another way, killing him produced neither good nor prevented any evil, just like killing a mockingbird. Since Maycomb County never sees Boo Radley, they blame him for all of the small unexplained happenings and crimes. Atticus doesn’t believe that he should be punished for these crimes. Scout says that it would be a little like killing a mockingbird.
Maycomb County came face to face with a rabid dog named Tim Johnson one afternoon. Luckily, One-Shot-Finch (Atticus) was available to shoot the dog down. In this instance, Atticus is facing a mindless threat, much like the trial of Tom Robinson. His skill with a rifle saved the town that time, but his skill with words didn’t work as well during the trial. Rabies, like prejudice, represents the known and feared. The town knows that rabies is dangerous, they know that it should be eliminated. But sometimes they both go untreated and spread like a disease. Rabies lead to the death of the Tim Johnson. Prejudice lead to the death of Tom Robinson. Coincidence? No.
Boo Radley is a recluse. He never leaves his house. This leaves everyone in Maycomb County to imagine things about him. Boo Radley is sort of a timeline of growing up. He starts off as just a figment of the children’s imaginations, but at the end of the book, he reveals himself as a real person. All of the children’s ideas prove to be false. He is also a symbol of the good within people. After living in a box for a great part of his life, Boo Radley has the decency to give gifts to Jem and Scout. He even saves their lives in the end. The book ends with Atticus reading a book called The Gray Ghost.
Boo Radley is first introduced as a mysterious monster-like man that doesn’t leave his house, but the truth is later revealed. Boo’s backstory was one of a misunderstood teen that hung around the wrong crowd d out the truth with a strict father. Boo was preyed upon by a couple of boys that led him to get into trouble and then seen as a creepy shameful man although he was just a harmless mentally ill person. Boo was very reclusive and possibly autistic. This explains why his father was so protective, also why he was very shy never left his house because he could be socially awkward. Boo’s possible undiagnosed autism and lack of knowledge of mental illness
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.
Boo Radley, also known as Arthur Radley, is the scary, evil creature that lives in the creepy old house down the street from Jem and Scout, and is misjudged at first. Jem and Scout, two main characters, first see Boo as some sort of scary monster. Jem described him in the first chapter as “...six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks...” and said “...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...” Jem also mentioned Boo had 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.” Scout and Jem also call Boo a “...malevolent phantom...” As if that isn't bad enough, the kids hear and tell horrible stories about Boo. One is of how he stabbed his dad with a pair of scissors; another tells how he was locked up in the courthouse basement. Even with such a grisly initial perception at the beginning of...
To begin with, Tom Robinson is an innocent being that resembles a mockingbird because he is falsely accused of raping Mayella Ewell. He is a black man that believes in equality. '''Yes suh. I felt sorry for her, she seemed to try more'n the rest of 'em-''' (Lee, 209) This honest statement Tom Robinson makes is a big mistake because back in the 1900s, there was a lot of discrimination which meant black people should never feel sorry for white people. It is a sin to kill Tom Robinson because he is a harmless citizen that means no harm to anyone in Maycomb. The death of Tom Robinson was typical to many white citizens in Maycomb because if black people were ever convicte...
Boo Radley is thought to be a malevolent, soulless, deceitful person, but he proves to be a caring, good-natured person. In Chapter 1, Jem offers his perception of Boo Radley to Scout and Dill: " ‘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’ " (16). Jem perceives Boo Radley as being a “monster” instead of being a man. Jem comes to this conclusion despite having never even seen Boo Radley in person. Jem’s understanding of Boo Radley is based on the rumors that he has heard about him. In Chapter 8, after the fire at Miss Maudie’s house, Scout notices that she was wrapped in a blanket that she did not have with she left the house. Scout asks Atticus who was the person that put the blanket around her. Atticus tells Scout, "Boo Radley. You were so busy watching the fire you didn't know it when he...
In the novel, the mockingbird represents several different characters in various ways. For example, Boo Radley is portrayed as losing his innocence in society. He has proven that he is nothing but kind and generous by helping Jem and Scout in various occasions, but him being distant from society has allowed them, especially Jem and Scout, to make up stories about his doings causing him to look like a psychopath and obtaining a negative reputation amongst society. Jem also loses his innocence as well; this occurs when Tom Robinson is found guilty. Jem is well aware of the racial segregation that exists, but he believed that all the prejudice towards blacks did not exist in the courtroom. Jem is almost one-hundred percent sure that Tom will be found innocent because of the evidence his father Atticus has shown to the jury, but when he is declared guilty Jem has a realization that a white man will always win against a black one. In this point is where Jem loses his innocence and goes from a child mindset to an adult mindset where he now understands that prejudice exists everywhere. Another character that is portrayed as a mockingbird and is surely the most important out of the whole novel is Tom Robinson. Tom is an extremely vulnerable character since he is a cripple and black. His experience was different from Boos and Jems experience. The title of the book “To kill a
Boo Radley and Tom Robinson are both symbolized by the mockingbird. Earlier in the novel Atticus tells the kids “Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (Lee 103) Miss Maudie is the one to explain to them why he said that. Mockingbirds do not bother anyone; they only make music for us to enjoy. The mockingbird can symbolize Boo Radley in many ways. The first reason is everyone assumes he is a bad and evil person just because of rumors people have spread. Whenever a crime is committed in Maycomb many believe it is the works of Arthur Radley. If the town’s azaleas froze it was because Boo had breathed on them. No child would ever eat the pecans from the Radley tree because they
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
A symbol is an object used to stand for something else. Symbolism has a hidden meaning lying within it; these meanings unite to form a more detailed theme. Symbolism is widely used in The Scarlet Letter to help the reader better understand the deep meanings Nathaniel Hawthorne portrays throughout his novel. He shows that sin, known or unknown to the community, isolates a person from their community and from God. Hawthorne also shows this by symbols in nature around the town, natural symbols in the heavens, and nature in the forest.
Symbol: A Symbol is defined as something that represents something else. An example of this can be seen in things that represent us as people. For instance, names is a good example and represents who you are. Also, it should be noted that symbols are arbitrary, since symbols have no necessary connection to what they represent.
In a way, Arthur “Boo” Radley was a mockingbird. He was an innocent and caring man, giving presents to Jem and Scout throughout their years at Maycomb. Boo had also saved the lives of Jem and Scout when they had been attacked by Bob Ewell on their way back home. In reality, Boo Radley had been punished and abused by his father severely. The evil father was not killing him, but tearing away his youth time after time.
Boo Radley is more subtle in showing how he represents the mockingbird, as he is more of a quiet, shy character. Boo was confined to his home but is still aware of the people around him. The children view him more as a superstition than a person in the beginning of the novel but Scout realizes just how good of a person Boo really is when he saves her and Jem from Mr. Ewell. Tom Robinson represented the killing of the mockingbird. He was looked down upon by most of the community but he was an innocent man who had no intention of harming anyone, yet he was still convicted of the crime and sentenced to
Symbols are something that represent or stand for something else, especially a material object representing something abstract. In “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini, Hosseini demonstrates symbolic meanings throughout the entire novel by involving them into an epic tale of betrayal and eventual redemption. Every symbol contributed a large part of the reader’s understanding of the story. Three very important symbols in the novel were; the pomegranate tree, Amir’s scar above his lip, and the title itself.
When the children were given toy guns for Christmas from their uncle, Atticus tells them that is a sin to kill a mockingbird, because mockingbirds are innocent creatures that only make pretty music and do not harm anything. Boo Radley is shown throughout the story as a gentile man when he covers Scout up with a blanket the night she was waiting on the sidewalk for the fire burning from Miss Maudie’s house to be put out. He also leaves the children presents in the knothole and saves their lives when Bob Ewell tries to kill them. His bad reputation comes from the idea that all people who isolate themselves from their communities are horrible, violent people who need to be shut off from everyone for their own safety, when in reality we are left to guess that he detaches himself from Maycomb because of some form of social anxiety or dislike of socializing. The comparison of him to a mockingbird is prominent at the end of the book, when Heck Tate is explaining to Atticus that it was Boo who killed Bob Ewell, and not Jem. He tells him that it would be best to pretend that Bob Ewell fell on his own knife because sharing the actual story would bring Boo into the spotlight, which Scout compares to being a sin as bad as killing a mockingbird. Tom Robinson also represents a Mockingbird because he is just as innocent as one. During the time when Mayella and Bob
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).