Ethan Chattin
Mrs. DiTallo
LA.5
17 March 2017
To Kill a Mockingbird Literary Devices
Racism is still a problem in 2017 but not as bad as it was in the 1930’s. To Kill a Mockingbird by Lee Harper was published in the 1960’s and tells the story of bigotry in Maycomb County, Alabama, in the 1930’s. The story is told by young Scout, the daughter of attorney Atticus Finch. Scout witness’s bigotry and racism when Tom Robinson, an African- American, is accused of rape. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee uses the literary devices of irony, hyperbole, dialogue, and symbolism.
There are many examples of irony in the novel. The first example occurs when Scout and Jem, her brother, have an obsession with Boo Radley. Scout and Jem are always curious about …show more content…
One example is when Atticus says to Scout, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from their point of view… until you climb into one's skin and walk around in it” (Ross 1). This is a common mistake that most people make. They might say they know how someone is feeling but they don't unless they have had some experience. People never really understand others’ pain until they are in their skin. Another piece of dialogue is when Calpurnia says “Mockingbirds don't do one thing to us but make music for us to enjoy. They do not eat up gardens, do not nest in corncribs, they do not do one thing but make us sing their hearts out. That is why it is a sin to kill a mockingbird (Ross 1). These birds do not do anything to bother humans. They do not deserve to be shot. They just sing music to people all day long. Therefore, it would be bad to shoot a mockingbird because it does not deserve to die that way. In another example, Atticus explains, “As you grow older, you’ll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don’t you forget it- whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, or how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash” (“To Kill a Mockingbird Quotes”). People were very mean to black people in Maycomb County in the 1930’s. Racism was a huge issue. A few people felt bad for black people. Scout was one of them who did not care about someone's skin color. The dialogue in the novel is very meaningful and tells a number of
Mrs. DiTallo
LA.5
17 March 2017
To Kill a Mockingbird Literary Devices
Racism is still a problem in 2017 but not as bad as it was in the 1930’s. To Kill a Mockingbird by Lee Harper was published in the 1960’s and tells the story of bigotry in Maycomb County, Alabama, in the 1930’s. The story is told by young Scout, the daughter of attorney Atticus Finch. Scout witness’s bigotry and racism when Tom Robinson, an African- American, is accused of rape. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee uses the literary devices of irony, hyperbole, dialogue, and symbolism.
There are many examples of irony in the novel. The first example occurs when Scout and Jem, her brother, have an obsession with Boo Radley. Scout and Jem are always curious about …show more content…
One example is when Atticus says to Scout, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from their point of view… until you climb into one's skin and walk around in it” (Ross 1). This is a common mistake that most people make. They might say they know how someone is feeling but they don't unless they have had some experience. People never really understand others’ pain until they are in their skin. Another piece of dialogue is when Calpurnia says “Mockingbirds don't do one thing to us but make music for us to enjoy. They do not eat up gardens, do not nest in corncribs, they do not do one thing but make us sing their hearts out. That is why it is a sin to kill a mockingbird (Ross 1). These birds do not do anything to bother humans. They do not deserve to be shot. They just sing music to people all day long. Therefore, it would be bad to shoot a mockingbird because it does not deserve to die that way. In another example, Atticus explains, “As you grow older, you’ll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don’t you forget it- whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, or how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash” (“To Kill a Mockingbird Quotes”). People were very mean to black people in Maycomb County in the 1930’s. Racism was a huge issue. A few people felt bad for black people. Scout was one of them who did not care about someone's skin color. The dialogue in the novel is very meaningful and tells a number of