Symbols In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

Maturation, is a process which displays how a person has evolved in to something more as they grow up in life. To kill a Mocking bird, written by Harper Lee, is a novel about two siblings that live in a cynical town that have an unforgettable childhood full of adventure and life lessons set in the late 1930s. Precocious at the beginning of the novel, but by the end of the book scout has matured and has gained a more clear understanding of thing that occur around her, even though she may still be a young girl she has the mature understanding of a young adult. Her interaction with neighbors and friends and family, her experience with the Tom Robinson trial and her unforeseen meeting with Boo Radley all abetted her maturation.

Although this verdict favors the Ewell family, the father of Mayella, Bob Ewell, resents how Atticus makes a fool out of him in court. Because of this enmity, Bob decides to take his aggression out on Scout and Jem Finch, the children of Atticus. On "...the dark..." night of Halloween, Bob Ewell follows the two home from a town party and tries to "... jerk Jem to the ground..." in an effort to hurt and kill his enemy's child even though conventional wisdom would suggest not committing this crime (Lee 351). Furthermore, Bob's inconceivable actions are fueled by his ruthless hatred for Atticus Finch; this hatred overrides his ability to think the situation through.

After a few strange incidents at the Radley House that may involve Boo, Atticus Finch (Jem and Scouts father) becomes involved in a rape case against a black male named Tom Robinson. The children, because of Atticus, get bullied at school, even though they aren 't actively involved in Tom’s case. Tom’s trial ends up in a success for him. Atticus proves that Bob and Mayella Ewell are lying about the entire case. Even though all of the evidence in the case was false and everyone knew it, the all white jury sends Tom to jail, later that night Tom tries to escape and gets shot to death.

In to Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses the symbol of a mockingbird to represent innocence and people who only serve as a benefit, or at the very least have little to no negative effect on our society. Just as mockingbirds only exist to make music in the context of their affect on us, the characters in the story that are “mockingbirds” (Scout, Tom Robinson, Boo Radley) do not exist in the societal structure of Maycomb to any negative extent. Boo has almost no actual place in the societal structure of Maycomb, aside from being an urban legend, but still holds the symbolism of a mockingbird as he poses no real threat to anyone but he was still ostracized and stigmatized for no good reason. Scout is a mockingbird due to her obliviousness of

Throughout the story of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Scout Finch and her brother, Jem, encountered the many trials of living in the small county of Maycomb, Alabama. Within their society, the ingrained principle was that those of lighter colored skin were superior to those of darker skin. The black members of the community were looked down upon as slaves and simply used for labor. Although this was the common practiced belief, it created immense corruption and cold-heartedness amongst some of the white skinned dwellers of Maycomb. The word of a white man would always trump the word of a black man; this is shown in the narrative of the villain of the story, Bob Ewell, a man who enjoyed employing prejudice and racism towards black people to an

Is Mayella Ewell really going to put an innocent man in jail to save her dad from going to jail for raping her? The book To Kill A Mockingbird is written by Harper Lee and is set in 1930s in an old southern town of Maycomb, Alabama. The way I see it there are seven main characters, Atticus Finch, Tom Robinson, Boo Radley, Jem Finch, Scout Finch, Mayella Ewell. Then there’s Bob Ewell who I find the most evil, rude, and inconsiderate person in the whole book. Other people may say that Mayella Ewell is more evil than Bob Ewell.

His actions influence Jem and Scout’s development as a character. One of the main lessons that Boo teaches Jem and Scout that helps them develop their character is judgements of a person should not be made based on rumors, but should be made on a person’s actions. In the beginning of the novel, Jem and Scout are petrified by the stories that they have heard about Boo. However, they learn that Boo is not the malevolent character that he is made out to be, for Jem and Scout understand that he is the one that puts items in the tree for them, fixes Jem’s pants, and saves their lives. To emphasize this, Mr. Tate tells Atticus that Bob Ewell killed himself, and when Atticus asks Scout if she understands this, she says that ‘“it’d be sort of like shootin’ a mockingbird’”(318).

Later after the event, Atticus explained to his son, “Jem, see if you can stand in Bob Ewell’s shoes a minute. I destroyed his last shred of credibility at that trial, if he had any to begin with” (Lee, 218). The conflict between these two men had primarily

He knows the rest of the town will disapprove, but he believes in the innocence of this man and does not care of his complexion. In this moment, Scout and Jem only see how everyone will downgrade them and see them differently. Atticus shows, it does not matter what others think, all that matters is that you support what you believe in. This shows how Atticus is a strong character who contributes a lot to the overall lesson

Also, Miss Maudie and Atticus explain, “Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (Lee 103). The mockingbird portrays the innocence of a bird that causes no harm, only sings and that is why it is a sin to kill them. Tom Robinson is very similar because he is innocent and did not commit the crime and it is a sin to imprison him, yet the jury does anyway. The symbols both portray very similar

“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.” - Harper Lee To Kill A Mockingbird. A character like atticus is why To Kill a Mockingbird can explain the ugly things in the world like racism through his words to Jem and Scout which lets us understand what Atticus is saying but also the deeper meaning behind it. Similar effects of this is also seen through symbolism in the books with mockingbirds but most important would be the dog.

Boo Radley is Jem and Scout’s neighbor. Boo has been locked in his house by his father and brother and his real name is Arthur. Boo is pale from being locked in his house and is clumsy. He is kind towards Jem and Scout and even saves them from Bob

The clear villain in to kill a mockingbird is Bob Ewell. Ewell is sneaky, rude, and hostile towards Maycomb. Bob Ewell is best fit for the villain in To Kill A Mockingbird because he attempts to kill the Finch children, accuses a man for assaulting his daughter as an excuse for his own misdoing, and by hits his very own daughter. In the final pages of the book, Bob Ewell tries to kill the Finch children because of their father's efforts against him in the trial.

In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, she uses many symbols to convey the meaning and themes of the book. In my opinion, the main theme in this book is the question: What is good and what is evil? Using symbols in writing creates meaning. In this novel Lee uses the snowman or mud man as a symbol for racism, Aunt Alexandra as a symbol for sexism, and the mockingbird as a symbol of losing innocence. Without using these symbols, and the many symbols that are in the novel, the book might not have been as thought provoking.

Persuasive Essay- To Kill a Mockingbird The book To Kill a Mockingbird is about a young girl named Scout who goes through many stressful events with her older brother, Jem, and father, Atticus. Scout and her family are threatened by a very creepy man known as Bob Ewell. Bob is the father of nineteen year old Mayella Ewell, who was supposedly raped by a black man named Tom Robinson. There is a trial held to determine if Tom is guilty of raping young Miss Mayella.