“Atticus took his coat off the back of his chair and pulled it over his shoulder. Then he left the courtroom… he walked quickly down the middle aisle toward the south exit. I followed the top of his head as he made his way to the door. He did not look up.” (Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, Page 283) Harper Lee published To Kill a Mockingbird, on July 11, 1960. The story told through the author’s words is a narrative of her childhood, a narrative of southern Alabamian racism through the eyes of a child, a narrative of growing up and losing inner innocence. To Kill a Mockingbird is told from the perspective of a young girl, living in southern Alabama, named Scout. It follows her thoughts on a case in which her father, Atticus Finch, has been …show more content…
The book is set during the 1930s as the United States is still recovering from the Great Depression. This is purposeful, as this was a time of intense dissatisfaction within the country with widespread swells of racism. The book is divided into two parts. The first part is masterfully filled with symbols, foreshadowing what is to come in part two. Symbols like Snow, a Mad Dog, and the namesake, the Mockingbird, are all used by Harper Lee to foreshadow significant events that will occur throughout her novel. To begin, Lee starts cluing in readers with symbols by using a weather change that brings Snow to Alabama. This is a huge event for Scout, the main character. Atticus Finch announces it as, “‘I quote- ‘As it has not snowed in Maycomb County since 1885, there will be no school today.’” (Lee 86). A change in the weather, especially one as intense as this, is a cue that an equally intense change in the town will soon occur. Having Snow as a big weather event tells us that in this deep southern town, white will continue to reign over all. It symbolizes white oppression by showing white lying on top of everything. This is evidenced later in the book when Scout is watching the trial of her father defending the black man. She takes a step outside after watching the reputation …show more content…
Harper Lee uses bird symbolism and references to connect themes throughout her novel. The first reference to the Mockingbird comes from Atticus Finch after Scout and Jem, who is Scout’s older brother by three years, are gifted small rifles for Christmas. He says, “‘I’d rather you shoot at tin cans in the back yard, 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.’” (Lee 119) It's a sin to kill a mockingbird is how the reader learns that the symbol of the Mockingbird is a symbol of the death of innocence or the death of an innocent. The innocence symbolism is shown by a later quote saying, “Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy… They don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us.” (Lee 119). The Mockingbird is innocent because it does not hurt or harm in any way. A mockingbird simply exists and when the world kills that peaceful existence, it is considered a sin. The physical Mockingbirds in Harper Lee’s story are subtly pointed out by the names of her characters. The Finch family refers to finches. Tom Robinson refers to a robin. The first death of a mockingbird, and therefore the sin committed, is through the conviction of Tom Robinson. Tom is killed, both figuratively, by his sentence, and literally, when he is shot. It can be inferred that the court’s
"To Kill a Mockingbird" is a novel written by the American author Harper Lee. The Story took in the time of the Great Depression, the story follows young Scout Finch, her brother Jem, and their father, the morally upright lawyer Atticus Finch, throughout the story it revolves around Atticus defending a black man named Tom Robinson, who has been falsely accused of raping a white woman, Mayella Well. Despite compelling evidence in favor of Tom’s innocence, the racially biased jury finds Tom Robinson guilty. The character of Atticus Finch serves as a beacon of morality, a figure who not only upholds justice but also personifies it. Through his actions and words, Atticus demonstrates an unwavering commitment to fairness and empathy, ultimately
A young girl who realizes the truth of society. A mature father who fixes the wrongs of society. A misjudged man who doesn’t realize how society has judged him. Throughout the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” written by Harper Lee, prejudice and discrimination occurs in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama. As social injustice continues to spread during the civil rights movement, the main character, Jean Louise Finch also known as Scout, is exposed to racism as she sees multiple unjust situations happen right before her eyes -- causing her to mature and come of age.
In Harper Lee’s book, To Kill A Mockingbird, Lee personifies the mockingbirds by saying that they have done no harm and that they are not pests (90). Atticus explains to the children after they get their airguns that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird (90). Miss Maudie further explains that all they do is sing beautifully and live peacefully (90). Harper Lee uses the mockingbird to represent innocence and goodness in the people of Maycomb which makes the trial seem even worse than it is.
In “To Kill a Mockingbird”, Harper Lee uses Snow, the Snowman, and White Camellias to foreshadow further events in the book. To begin, Harper Lee uses Snow to foreshadow Tom’s
This quote provides the symbolism of the Mockingbird as being innocence and innocent. Different characters in the story are deemed to be Mockingbirds as they had suffered despite their innocence. Brilliantly, the Mockingbird title is represented by a character’s name within the book, characters such as Atticus and Scout Finch as well as Tom Robinson have the names of birds within their names to symbolize that they are a Mockingbird. Harper Lee uses this idea of a character as a mockingbird to foreshadow that something will happen to kill them or their innocence. Later on in the book the death of a Mockingbird takes place.
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, a young girl by the name of Jean Finch and her brother Jeremy Finch go through events that teach them multiple different life lessons like changing their perspectives to other peoples before judging them. This ties in the meaning of the mockingbird which represents innocence because it causes no harm to anyone; to judge or to harm it proves that one does not understand its perspective. In the novel, Harper Lee brings up many times where the representation of a mockingbird appears. There is one direct time when their father, Atticus, asks the kids not to shoot any mockingbirds and Ms. Maudie tells Scout “Your father’s right. Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy.
The novel To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in the segregated South of the 1930’s. The book is told in the eyes of an eight year old girl, Scout Finch. Her father, Atticus Finch, is an attorney who is struggling to prove the innocence of a black man incorrectly accused of rape. The historical context of the book lets one see the social status of different groups during the civil rights era. The story explores who fits into certain societies, who is respected in the community, written and unwritten rules concerning family, gender, age, and race, expectations of certain people, and what conflicts arise out of tension.
Later Scout asks Mrs. Maudie, the Finch's next-door neighbor, about what Atticus said and she explains, “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” (Lee 103). This means mockingbirds directly symbolize innocents, when Mrs. Maudie says they don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs she means they don't do anything wrong. So it would be a sin to kill something or someone that is innocent. Later in the book after Tom Robinson is found guilty even though Atticus proves his innocence beyond responsible doubt and it is shown to the courtroom that Bob Ewell is the true perpetrator.
The Mockingbird is originally brought up as the only thing Atticus has ever called a sin, which is why Scout remembers it. Atticus says, “Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a Mockingbird” (Lee 103). Later on, it is stated that it is a sin to kill a Mockingbird because they are innocent, and all they do is sing songs for other people to enjoy. As the plot thickens, we get introduced to a Mockingbird, Tom Robinson, someone who was innocent but got killed. Tom Robinson gets tried for rape and gets sentenced guilty, even though the story did not add up in the slightest, and quickly becomes a victim of overkill.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is an amazing book with an abundant of surprises. Set back in the 1930’s in Maycomb, Alabama, when the Great Depression was happening and racism from the civil war still rages on in this southern city. All the quotes and themes in the novel can still be associated to life today. As the book was narrating in the past by Jean Louise Finch (Scout), there is one man that guides her and her brother, Jem Finch. It is their father, Atticus Finch.
The classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee is a perfect example of a way to look into the past and see what it was like from a first-person point of view. This novel shows what it was really like in the deep south of Maycomb Alabama, and takes place around the early 1930s, one of the most racist periods in history. This novel is from the point of view of our young Jean Louise ( Scout) Finch, who lives with her older brother Jem and her father Atticus. Atticus, a strong-willed character with a good moral compass, is a lawyer, defending a black
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee many characters are victims of the harsh conditions of Maycomb County. Often those who are seen to be metaphorical mockingbirds are punished the most. A mockingbird is one who only wants and attempts to do good. Characters such as Boo Radley, Jem Finch and Tom Robinson are exemplars of mockingbirds in Maycomb. In the novel it is explained by Atticus that killing a mockingbird is a sin because they do not do anything to harm to us like nesting in corncribs, or eating up the gardens, they only sing for us.
As mentioned by Miss Maudie on Chapter 10 of the story, mockingbirds are just innocent creatures who don’t do any harm, which is why it’s a sin to kill one. In the story, the people of Maycomb criticize Boo Radley and Tom Robinson based on what others say about them. Therefore, this destroys their innocence, leaving them an outsider in society. Throughout the novel, Lee exhibits the loss of innocence throughout Boo Radley and Tom Robinson who are both
To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee and set in the early 1930s, follows through the young eyes Scout, Jem and Dill and their development throughout the book. The book reflects the dominant view of racism, through the use of the characters who see the world through innocent eyes. Through the use of characterisation Harper lee invites the reader to view Scout, Jem and Dills loss of innocence through the racist beliefs of the 1930. Throughout the novel Scout gradually loses her childhood innocence as she encounters life's many injustices. Jem loses his innocence by realising the racist stereotypes of the people in Maycomb and Dill loses his care free attitude by seeing how Maycomb treat Tom Robinson.
Even though Scout displayed innocence but still was excluded from games with Dill and Jem because of her gender, Harper Lee did not intend for her to be perceived as a Mockingbird. On the contrary, Tom Robinson and Boo Radley are portrayed as mockingbirds, birds recognized for their innocence but also targeted. Body Paragraph #1 Topic Sentence #1: Tom Robinson, a black man convicted of rape, was an example of à Mockingbird because he was targeted even though he was innocent. Integrated Evidence #1: After the town of Maycomb found out about the tragic killing of Tom Robinson, “[Mr. Underwood] likened Tom’s death to the senseless slaughter of songbirds by hunters and children”(Lee 323) in an editorial. Analysis 1: Tom Robinson was wrongfully accused of raping Mayella Ewell.