To what extent does Harper Lee's Symbolism contribute to the overall effectiveness of To Kill a Mocking Bird?

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To what extent does Harper Lee's Symbolism contribute to the overall effectiveness of To Kill a Mocking Bird?

'Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.'

Symbolism is an important aspect in this novel. Harper Lee was writing in the 1950s, a time when racial tension in America was an important social issue. She said that Maycomb is a 'microcosm of America' at that time. She grew up in a town called Monroeville in the 1930s. This is the same period that the book is set in. Her father came to Monroeville in 1902, which is only 37 years after the end of the American civil war. Between 1861 and 1865 the northern and southern states fought each other because the northern states wanted to stop slavery. At the end of the civil war the slaves were set free but the southerners resented this and carried on treating them as if they were inferior. There were 3.5 million black slaves in the 19th century. Nearly all the black people in the southern states were descended from slaves. Maycomb is set in Alabama, which is one of the slave states, and Harper Lee uses symbolism to pursue her opinions on racial and other prejudice issues.

Harper Lee lived the same life style as Scout and Jem when she was growing up, as her father was a lawyer, and there was a similar case concerning the rape of white women by black men during her childhood. Harper may have used symbols to make her point because the issues were difficult and the symbols gave a picture of her point of view without her writing about it directly. A symbol is something that stands for another idea, person or object. There is symbolism in the title of the novel, as the mocking bird is the central symbol of the novel, standing for anyone who is innocent, for example, Tom Robinson and Boo Radley. The major themes of this novel are prejudice, (racism, social snobbery and sexism all appear), growing up, good and evil, courage and individuality. They are all supported by various symbols in the story.

In this essay I will be looking at the different symbols that Harper Lee uses, and analysing how each contributes to the overall effectiveness of the novel.

The mocking bird represents the innocent people in the story who are victims of prejudice. Innocent black people are separated from white society by the 'colour bar'. The colour bar meant that black people were not allowed to use the same bus, go to school or drink in bars with white people. This continued in America until the 1960s. An example of this is when the children are sitting in the 'coloured balcony' at the trial. The innocents also include Boo Radley and Tom Robinson. Boo is innocent of being a monster, and Tom is innocent of being a rapist. The mocking bird symbol appears repeatedly throughout the novel. It first appears in chapter 10 when Atticus gives the children air rifles and tells them that 'it's a sin to kill a mocking bird'. Later, when Atticus shoots the rabid dog in chapter 10 we are told that 'the mocking birds were silent'. This means that the innocents could not stand up for themselves and are suffering in silence. In Chapter 21 the mocking birds are still again while Tom Robinson (an innocent) is waiting for the jury's verdict. After Tom's death the local newspaper writes an article comparing his killing to '...the senseless slaughter of songbirds...', and finally, when Scout is talking with Atticus about the sheriff's plan to say that Bob Ewell 'fell on his own knife' she says that anything else would be 'Sort of like shooting a mocking bird, wouldn't it?'. This symbol is linked to the theme of prejudice, which is a major feature of this novel. The final time when it appears Scout uses it, and it shows that she is growing up and understanding her father more. Scout growing up is another of the themes of the novel, and the fact that she begins to understand her father's point of view shows this happening.
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The symbol of the mocking bird is effective because its use in the title makes it obvious when it appears in the book, and because songbirds are fragile creatures, who don't do any harm. The idea is strengthened by their contrast with Blue Jays who are vicious and bully songbirds. The Blue Jays represent the people who are prejudiced and accusing. This might symbolise the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). The KKK was formed during the civil war and was strong in the southern states such as Alabama. It started in 1866 and was a terrorist organisation against blacks ...

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