To Kill A Mockingbird Symbolism

Nelly Harper Lee is a well-known American novelist from the 20th Century. She was born in Monroeville, Alabama, a small town in the deep South. While attending the University of Alabama, Lee was accepted into Law School at the University. After her first year of the program she decided not to pursue her father’s profession of being a lawyer and chased after her passion of writing. By the help of her friends financial support, Harper was able to ensue writing full-time soon after leaving Law School. It was in the following years that Harper produced most notorious literary achievements. Harper is nationally know for her fictional work To Kill a MockingBird, because of its great success she received a pulitzer prize in 1961. Go Set a Watchman …show more content…
Lee brings to light the stark difference between a Juvenile’s perspective of the world and an adult’s. The Title, To Kill a Mockingbird, holds deep symbolism in light of the plot of the book. In the book Miss Maudie explains to Scout the meaning of the phrase. “Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy…but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.” (Lee, 93). Thus, it represents the destruction of innocence. The thought behind the Mockingbird is that since they do not cause harm to other’s no one should bring harm to them, which comes down to play a large role in the mind of the children throughout the book. Over the course of the story Scout and Jem are brought to distress many times by the slander and discrimination towards blacks and even those who seek to defend them. The reader learns through Scouts proclamation that Jem is visually impaired, “Jem’s color blind.” (Lee, 119). At first glance this seems like a minor detail to the story, yet this serves to show the readers of his blindness to the separations between whites and black; his youthfulness and innocence. Jem, though a child, saw the good and bad in people; nonetheless he saw them as people. Mayella, whom Robinson was convicted of raping, had an up bringing that left her to think that it is permissible to overlook morals to uphold one’s …show more content…
More than ever before people are going against the cultural norm, identifying with what they merely were not created to be, and venturing into undiscovered territory of self-expression. I think that Christians can apply the lessons that Atticus was able to teach his children, Scout and Jem, throughout the book; all people are equal and are to be seen and treated without partiality. I think mainly Christians think that since they know the commands of Christ that this gives them liberty to enforce them on others, to have unsaid prejudices or to simply try and conform others to their way of thinking. While doing this, they fail to uphold those beliefs themselves. We must be able to take on one’s perspective before we can love them effectively or begin to understand why they are who they are; contextualize to them in sorts. Through To Kill a Mocingbird, Lee offers great insight on how to see the world as it truly is and to form your own understanding of people from taking on their perspective of the