Sunday, May 5, 2013

What are some quotations and literary devices used in To Kill a Mockingbird?

FAMOUS QUOTATIONS FROM
TO KILL A
MOCKINGBIRD
.


  • Probably
    the most famous is the quote used in the title of the novel. After the children have
    received air rifles for Christmas, Atticus tells Jem that it's okay to shoot all the
    blue jays he wants, since they are a pesky bird that harm human crops and such. But he
    warns him that "it's a sin to kill a mockingbird," since they are harmless and only make
    music for people to enjoy.

  • Atticus' best advice comes as
    a warning to Scout: "You never really understand a person until you consider things from
    his point of view--until you climb into his skin and walk around in it." Scout takes the
    advice to heart, especially at the end of the story when she steps in Boo's shoes and
    sees her neighborhood through his eyes for the first
    time.

  • "I wish Bob Ewell wouldn't chew tobacco." This is
    Atticus' humorous response after Bob spit in his
    face.

  • "In the name of God, do your duty... In the name of
    God, believe him." These are Atticus' final remarks to the jury in his summation during
    the Tom Robinson trial.

There are far too many
literary devices used by author Harper Lee to mention. There is a great deal of
symbolism--from the mockingbird (human and winged) to the injured arms of Tom and Jem to
the "morphodite" snowman created by Jem and Scout (with a black center and white
outside). I also enjoy many of the allusions made by Lee: Civil War, sports, political,
educational, geographical, cinematic and literary are just a few of the types of
references that can be found throughout the book. 

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