How did Harper Lee use symbolism in her novel?
In her novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee use a range of symbols to present concepts to the reader. When something represents something else, it is considered a symbol. Sometimes symbolisms lead to hidden and deeper meaning in the novel. The symbolisms in To Kill A Mockingbird covers much of its themes such as prejudice, discrimination and innocence. Particular /symbols that are being portrays in the novel are the mockingbird which represent innocence; the house fire at Miss Maudie’s house and the snowman which highlights the racism of Maycomb; and the mad dog which symbolize the town’s prejudice in the text.
Harper Lee uses the mockingbird to demonstrate innocence. The mockingbird becomes highly symbolic as we progress through the plot. Throughout the text, any innocent people are hurt or destroyed by evil. Tom Robison and Arthur Radley are both mockingbirds. Tom Robison is a Negro accused of raping a white girl and discriminated against by the people of Maycomb because of his colour. Boo Radley, a recluse who were actually secretly looking out for Jem and Scout, is prejudiced to be a “malevolent phantom” only because he chose to isolates himself from society and does not conforms to Maycomb’s ways. Atticus’ most remarkable words are to his children when he tells them that they may “shoot all the bluejays [they] want” but he reminds them that “it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird”. As Miss Maudie explains to the children mockingbirds are not harmful to anyone and only “make music for [people] to enjoy”. The discrimination of Maycomb toward Tom Robison, and their victimizing of Boo, is equivalent to that of shooting a mockingbird as these men are both innocent.
The Essay on Novel "To Kill A Mockingbird" By Harper Lee
... the prejudice that occurs in Maycomb. They are shocked when Tom Robinson is convicted guilty, when Atticus has basically proven his innocence. ... Radley and Tom Robinson are both mockingbirds in their respective plot lines and Harper Lee uses this symbol to develop the ... but instead there was a certain class system, and prejudice against some people. ‘I’ve thought about it a lot lately and ...
The house fire that destroyed Miss Maudie’s house represents racism and discrimination. Harper Lee purposely linked this symbolism with the snowman, which symbolize equality, to give us the big picture of Maycomb’s fiery attitude toward the mixing of races. Jem is depicted covering up the “nigger snowman” with white snow; here Harper Lee is implying that everybody is the same and equal, despite of a white man’s skin colour, inside he is just the same as what a black man is. Lee also emphasise this point again later in the book when we see Atticus quoting Thomas Jefferson’s “all men are created equal” in the court case in the defence of Tom Robison. The snowman was melted following the event of Miss Maudie’s house fire. The fire here represents “Maycomb’s usual disease” which is a severe case of racism and discrimination. The fire melts the white snow of the snowman, leaving only black mud, this demonstrating that racism points out the concept that black and white people are nothing alike and would never be able to mix together peacefully.
The mad dog itself is also a symbol for the madness of racism and prejudice of Maycomb town. Tim Johnson, whom name somewhat replicate the name of the accused Negro Tom Robison in the novel, is shot because it was presumed to be mad. Til the very end of the event, Lee is very vague on whether or not Tim was actually mad. This is emphasising the fact that Maycomb is plagued with prejudice. Disregarding the fact that Tim may not actually have been mad, they still demanded for him to be shot just because they assumed he was, even without any evidence, just like the presumption of Boo Radley’s supposedly malicious nature and Tom Robison’s accusation. Scout described that Tim seemed sick but did not show any signs that a mad dog would have, which was quite strange. If Tim had actually showed any signs of him going mad, Scout “would have been less frightened”. This is evident that Scout is nervous because she is actually unsure about whether or not Tim Johnson deserve to be shot as there is no real sign of him being mad.
The Essay on Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird”
In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch is a man of action. He will never sit idly by while danger is afoot. He steps in, takes charge, and does the job right. Atticus is a man the town can call upon when crisis has arisen. One concrete example of this ability would be the Mad Dog incident. Tim Johnson ran rabid in the streets of Maycomb, and the man called for the job was none ...
Thus, many of the main themes of the novel To Kill A Mockingbird are demonstrated through Harper Lee’s use of symbolism. The killing of a mockingbird symbolizes the mistreatment and destruction of the innocent, such as Tom Robison and Arthur Radley. The fire melting the snowman portrays how racism could separate men just by the colour difference. The mad dog emphasises the impact that prejudice has in society and people who are victimised by it. Lee has effectively presented her contention and concepts through the use of symbolism in the novel as it gives us a sense of her insights. To Kill A Mockingbird would not be completed without these use of symbolism.
