Figurative Language In To Kill A Mockingbird

Atticus Finch is a lawyer who lives in Maycomb, Alabama during the 1930s, a time of great oppression and racism. He is a widow and has two children, a boy named Jem and a girl named Jean Louise, also known as Scout. Atticus has been called to defend a colored man named Tom Robinson who was accused of raping a white woman, Mayella Cunningham. In his closing arguments, Atticus Finch wants the jury and his community to understand the societal problems of oppression in order to persuade readers to treat people who are different from them with empathy and understanding. He does this by utilizing imagery, hyperbole, and repetition.

In his final statement, Atticus uses Imagery, which uses visually descriptive or figurative language to make his or her point. Atticus does this a few times throughout the book. For example, Atticus says, “No code mattered to her before she broke it, but it came crashing down on her afterwards.” (Lee 272). The use

Atticus says, “The evil assumption—that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings, that all Negro men are not to be trusted around our women, an assumption one associates with minds of their caliber.” (Lee 273). The use of all is emphasizing how white people generalize all black people. He wants the jury to hear how ridiculous and ignorant they sound and to understand that you can’t assume all black people are bad just by looking at the color of their skin. Earlier in the book Atticus says, “The main one is, if I didn’t I couldn’t hold up my head in town, I couldn’t represent this county in the legislature, I couldn’t even tell you or Jem not to do something again.” (Lee 100). The repetition of “I couldn’t” highlights the fact that Atticus would be ashamed of himself if he didn’t defend Tom because refusing to defend someone simply because of their skin color is