To Kill A Mockingbird
In English class we created a symbol/motif wheel. The purpose of this was to help us understand what symbols in the story mean. A motif is a something that repeats itself through a story and symbols something. The symbols throughout the story keep recurring to create motifs. Each of the motifs has a symbolic reasoning behind it to help us understand the book.
One symbol we used in our wheel was flowers. Three different flowers were used in To Kill A Mockingbird and they each followed around a person in the story. The camellias represented understanding and love. After Jem ripped up Mrs. Dubose's flowers she gave one to him showing her understanding behind his anger. The azaleas represented protection and determination. Miss Maudie grows these flowers and she thinks having a small house will help her with her protection and show her determination. Geraniums represented beauty and strength. Mayella Ewell did not have any beauty in her life but she had the flowers to help her with that. She used the geranium to also build her strength and believe in herself. All of the flowers had a purpose throughout the story and had recurring appearances to show what they symbolized.
A second symbol we used was the mockingbird. It symbolized peace, tranquility, and joy. As the mockingbird sang people could listen to the songs it sang. As the story read, "It is a sin to kill a mockingbird." The bird was a very peaceful thing and people really like them. During the story it reappeared and it was a good symbol overall.
A third symbol we used was Tim Johnson. He was the rabid dog in the story that represented death, destruction/depression and protection. An example for death would be when Atticus shoots the dog, because the sheriff did not have the nerve to. For depression an example would be Boo Radley, because he never comes out of his house. Finally for protection, Calpurnia is very protective of Jem and Scout and will practically do anything for them. She knows that she needs to keep them safe because their father cannot always and she has the motherly side to her that makes her want them to be safe.
The fourth symbol we used was morphodite. It represented change and that people are not always what like what they are on the outside as they are on the inside. One example is the snowman that Jem and Scout built when it snowed. It was brown and then after it started melting it turned more white again. It showed the change of that some people are different on the inside and outside. A saying some people say is 'Don't judge a book by its cover,' for you may actually like someone if you get to know them. For example Boo Radley, everyone thinks that he is a bad person, but he actually is a very nice and caring man. Some things can change or represent different things and a morphodite can show that.
Overall I feel that the symbol/motif wheel helped a lot with a better understanding of each thing that kept recurring through the story. Each of the motifs represented different parts of the story and it really made me think about why and where each symbol appearing. Because we created the wheel, I think that I better understand the story altogether and it makes more sense.
One symbol we used in our wheel was flowers. Three different flowers were used in To Kill A Mockingbird and they each followed around a person in the story. The camellias represented understanding and love. After Jem ripped up Mrs. Dubose's flowers she gave one to him showing her understanding behind his anger. The azaleas represented protection and determination. Miss Maudie grows these flowers and she thinks having a small house will help her with her protection and show her determination. Geraniums represented beauty and strength. Mayella Ewell did not have any beauty in her life but she had the flowers to help her with that. She used the geranium to also build her strength and believe in herself. All of the flowers had a purpose throughout the story and had recurring appearances to show what they symbolized.
A second symbol we used was the mockingbird. It symbolized peace, tranquility, and joy. As the mockingbird sang people could listen to the songs it sang. As the story read, "It is a sin to kill a mockingbird." The bird was a very peaceful thing and people really like them. During the story it reappeared and it was a good symbol overall.
A third symbol we used was Tim Johnson. He was the rabid dog in the story that represented death, destruction/depression and protection. An example for death would be when Atticus shoots the dog, because the sheriff did not have the nerve to. For depression an example would be Boo Radley, because he never comes out of his house. Finally for protection, Calpurnia is very protective of Jem and Scout and will practically do anything for them. She knows that she needs to keep them safe because their father cannot always and she has the motherly side to her that makes her want them to be safe.
The fourth symbol we used was morphodite. It represented change and that people are not always what like what they are on the outside as they are on the inside. One example is the snowman that Jem and Scout built when it snowed. It was brown and then after it started melting it turned more white again. It showed the change of that some people are different on the inside and outside. A saying some people say is 'Don't judge a book by its cover,' for you may actually like someone if you get to know them. For example Boo Radley, everyone thinks that he is a bad person, but he actually is a very nice and caring man. Some things can change or represent different things and a morphodite can show that.
Overall I feel that the symbol/motif wheel helped a lot with a better understanding of each thing that kept recurring through the story. Each of the motifs represented different parts of the story and it really made me think about why and where each symbol appearing. Because we created the wheel, I think that I better understand the story altogether and it makes more sense.
In my literary analysis paper I discussed the literary device, symbolism in the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird. I described three different symbols and how they represented something different. The first symbol I talked about is Tim Johnson, the rabid dog. The representations that Tim Johnson showed is protection and caring, death and destruction, and depression. The second symbol discussed is the mockingbird. Reading through the story, the mockingbird represents prejudice, innocence and joy. For the final symbol, I talked about the three flowers in the story, camellia, azalea, and geranium. Each flower represented a person and something about them. Each symbol is crucial in developing the whole story and Harper Lee portrays each literary device in a great way.