To Kill a Mockingbird - Essay Example

To kill a mocking bird Humor To kill a mocking bird by Harper Lee is a book that uses a substantial amount of humor in various ways; of which some are clever and unexpected. Such use of humor in unexpected areas ensures that the reader is attacked with obvious use of humor as seen in other books. This is achieved by avoiding the obvious one line that many authors believe qualifies to be humorous. The Humor appears subtly throughout the book in a manner that requires wit and a deep understanding of the content, as well as the intended meaning. Most of the humorous events in Harper Lee’s book emanate from the child, Scout Finch, who makes numerous hysterical mistakes that leave the reader in stitches. This owes to the naïve nature of the child and the various comical musings she goes through trying to come to terms with certain issues. As stated earlier, there is the need for wit in understanding humor in the book, especially in the eighth chapter of the book. This is the part where Scout Finch and Jem make a snowman for the time in their lives that bears a caricature resemblance of their neighbor, Avery and Atticus tells them, “You can’t go around making caricatures of the neighbors.” (Lee 89). Another part in which subtle humor is applied is that which the snowman melts and Miss Maudie makes the children clean it up. Owing to a prior event in which finch’s father and Miss Maudie had been commenting on the snowman, Scout makes a funny comment that leaves Miss Maudie laughing and the reader figuring out the funny bit . Altogether, the humor in the book is masked or disguised to improve its quality and heighten one’s sense of humor. This is unlike spoon feeding the funny bits to the reader; which makes it less funny, thus letting the reader pick it out of the misconceptions possessed by Scout. The humor, in the book, remains hidden in wordy text requiring one to understand Harper’s style and comedy technique. To add to the subtle humor scenes, Harper uses adult conceptions and children’s instinct to create humor in a sarcastic manner. This is evident in the case where Aunt Alexandra comments about families that squat on the same piece of land for extended periods are fine. The feedback provided by Jem is hilarious as it shows how wrong her idea is, while, at the same time, making fun of the Ewell family. In addition, humor is expressed through the use of irony as in the case of Ewell cursing and spitting on Atticus while Atticus responds in a manner opposite of the expected by wiping his face. This shows Bob Ewell making a fool of himself, a funny event that creates tension between the two characters. In the wordy humorous texts, Harper states that Scout strips her knuckles to the bone on Francis’ front teeth. This is a hazy way of expressing humor as the reader already knows that Scout is prone to having fights. The other way used to express humor is through the reversal of roles where the character of a known character is switched a totally opposite one. This is seen in the case of Miss Caroline in the classroom where students clutter around her in an attempt to comfort her; showing the fragility of stereotypes. Symbolism Symbols refer to objects, characters and figures, as well as colors used as representatives of abstract ideas and concepts that cannot be easily conceived or perceived. Harper Lee in her book, How to kill a mocking bird uses literal connection to the plot of the book, but in a marginal way. Instead, most of the content presented is symbolic of the books intended meaning and concept. This begins in the title of the book “To Kill a Mocking Bird”, in which case the mocking bird represents innocence. This is in light of the innocence of the children characters found in the book facing evil thus destroying it. This is particularly so in the event where Tom Robinson is shot and Underwood compares his death to senseless slaughter of songbirds. In this moment, Scout translates hurting Bradley as an equivalent of shooting a mockingbird, after which; Miss Maude explains the evil behind the killing of mocking birds. In this light, it is symbolic of how wrong it is to corrupt the innocence of young ones and the susceptibility of young people to the vices of the world. The other aspect of symbolism portrayed in the book is that of the snowman scene where Jem and Scout make the snowman. Since there is not enough snow, the two children create the base out of dirt and cover it with snow; thus showing an attempt to cover the black man, and give him an equal status as the white man in all aspects, as he is no differenthis is the point where Jem states, “Jem, I aint ever heard of a nigger snowman.” (Lee 84). In addition, the fire in Maudie Atkinson House depicts the prejudice born by Maycomb; as it melts down the snow on the snow man and leaves it as bare mud showing that blacks and whites are nothing alike. In addition to the idea of shooting a mocking bird, Atticus adds that it is a crime, as mocking birds only make music, and are, therefore, innocent creatures. This likened to a black man identifies Mr. Atticus as the only lawyer in town willing to stand up for the wellbeing of a black man. Pathos Pathos is a stylistic device in literature used to draw the attention of the reader in an emotional manner, rhetorically. In “To Kill a Mocking Bird”, Harper Lee uses pathos in multiple instances to draw sympathy this occurs in the case where Atticus attempts to remind the jurors of their responsibility and prove that Tom Robinson is innocent of the crime of raping Mayella. The use of pathos is achieved by making Atticus state the role f the jury is to bring the rich and the poor as equals before justice. Furthermore, it is in this part that Lee manipulates the emotions of the reader through the use of ethos by Atticus to influence the jury on the innocence of Tom. In addition, he appeals to the public by making the statement, “I have nothing but pity in my heart for the chief witness for the state, but my pity does not extend so far as to her putting a man’s life at stake, which she has done in an effort to get rid of her own guilt” (Lee 231). At the end of the argument put across by Atticus, both the jury and the audience clearly know who is at fault for the conviction of an innocent man. Satire The skills used by Harper Lee in her book are exceptional in writing and depicting satire. This is as seen in the case where Mrs. Caroline yells at Scout for being too smart, a highly unusual case in any classroom situation this is because every teacher who appreciates his or her job is bound to welcome challenging students. In addition, Mrs. Caroline tells Scout to cease reading out of school, both a humorous and satirical statement. Moreover, on Scout’s first day in school, her teacher frustrates her by claiming that she is bound to undo the damage inflicted by Atticus, “Now you tell your father not to teach you anymore. It’s best to begin reading with a fresh mind. You tell him I’ll take over from here and try to undo the damage—” (Lee 15). This is in reference to Atticus having taught Scout how to read and write, then goes ahead and forbids Atticus from teaching her anymore, “Miss Caroline told me to tell my father not to teach me anymore, it would interfere with my reading.” (Lee 18). Another case of the use of satire is that which Miss Gates writes the word DEMOCRACY n the board and declares that no one in America is prejudiced. However, at the end of the book, after the court ruling, Miss Gates is heard saying that someone needed to put them in their place. This beats her earlier statement against prejudice and the avocation for democracy. Altogether, the book remains highly suitable and relevant in the teaching career. This is in reference to the moral teachings it bears and classic examples of the evils in the world. In this light, the book exposes students to situations existent in real life that they may be oblivious of or ignorant. Also, the book seeks to call for social justice, one of the responsibilities that a teacher has to impart to his or her students. Work Cited Lee, Harper. To Kill A Mocking Bird. New York United States: J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1960. Print. Read More