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Symbolism Of The Tree In To Kill A Mockingbird

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Symbolism is a figure of speech which is conveyed when an author wants to create a certain mood or emotion in a work of literature. In the novel, “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, symbolism is conducted through the three following concepts, the tree, the mockingbird, and the title. The tree has a significant meaning by reason of the similarities with Boo Radley. In the novel, the tree is described slowly dying by Nathan Radley due to the knothole. Certain trees have knot holes because it is a method for them to heal after a branch had died from a disease or if the tree was injured. The diseased part of the Maycomb’s tree represents Boo’s mental instability. Further on in the text Boo Radley’s brother, Nathan Radley, decides to …show more content…

Instead of being sent to a detention centre, his father locked him up in his house and now he is mentally unstable from the years of isolation.
The mockingbird also has a compelling importance due to the connections with Boo Radley and Tom Robinson. Harper Lee uses juxtaposition to highlight the contrast of a black man and a white man facing racism and discrimination. However in this novel, one mockingbird is shot and the other is pressured to kill. A Mockingbird is considered for someone who displays innocence, kindness and does not want any recognition of the good deeds they do for others. The factors that classify Boo Radley is his morality and his sentiments. In the beginning of the novel, everyone misjudges Boo Radley as a radical and violent man, including Scout and Jem. There were many false allegations made that Boo Radley was in power of killing his father with scissors, poisoned the pecans in his yard, and is chosen to blame for all the “stealthy crimes”, in Maycomb County. For many years Boo has cared dearly for the Finch children. During Miss Maudie’s house fire, Boo lays a blanket on Scout in the winter. One would assume it was Boo Radley because she was near his house and no one else witnessed this either. Additionally,

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