TKAM NotesTKAM Notes

symbols, themes, & motifssymbols, themes, & motifs

Bird SymbolismBird Symbolism• Bluejays:Bluejays:• ““Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember, it’s a Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember, it’s a

sin to kill a mockingbird.”sin to kill a mockingbird.”• Bluejays as bullies of the bird worldBluejays as bullies of the bird world• Mockingbirds:Mockingbirds:• ““Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They

don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it is a sin to kill a thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it is a sin to kill a mockingbird.”mockingbird.”

• Who is the “mockingbird” in this novel?Who is the “mockingbird” in this novel?• Finches:Finches:• TrustingTrusting• Come readily to feeders.Come readily to feeders.• Breed in close association with peopleBreed in close association with people• Robins:Robins:• Very similar to mockingbirds, known for their song.Very similar to mockingbirds, known for their song.• One of the most common birds in America…One of the most common birds in America…

Name SymbolismName Symbolism

• Arthur “Boo” RadleyArthur “Boo” Radley• Boo = fearBoo = fear• Arthur = “bear”Arthur = “bear”• Radley =“from the fields” or “meadow”Radley =“from the fields” or “meadow”• Dolphus RaymondDolphus Raymond• Dolphus = “majestic wolf”Dolphus = “majestic wolf”• Raymond = “protecting hands’Raymond = “protecting hands’

Name Symbolism Cont.Name Symbolism Cont.• Atticus:Atticus:• Roman aristocratRoman aristocrat• Jeremy:Jeremy:• Hebrew, “appointed by god”Hebrew, “appointed by god”• Jem / gem…Jem / gem…• Jean Louise Finch:Jean Louise Finch: • Jean = “gift from god”Jean = “gift from god”• Louise = “fame in war”Louise = “fame in war”• Scout: literal definitionScout: literal definition• Alexandra: “man’s defender”Alexandra: “man’s defender”

Name Symbolism Cont.Name Symbolism Cont.• Charles “Dill” Baker HarrisCharles “Dill” Baker Harris• Charles = “free man”Charles = “free man”• Harris: “son of Harry” & Harry = “army ruler”Harris: “son of Harry” & Harry = “army ruler”• Walter Cunningham:Walter Cunningham:• Walter = “ruler/leader”Walter = “ruler/leader”• Bob:Bob:• Literal definitionLiteral definition• Robert = “fame & glory”Robert = “fame & glory”• Mayella:Mayella:• From Maia = Greek goddessFrom Maia = Greek goddess• Ella = torch, bright, lightElla = torch, bright, light

Names cont.Names cont.

• Maudie = “powerful battler”Maudie = “powerful battler”• Tennyson poem: Tennyson poem: Come to the Garden Come to the Garden

Maud…Oh! That ‘twere possibleMaud…Oh! That ‘twere possible– Closing stanza:Closing stanza:

• Let it flame or fade, and the war roll down like a Let it flame or fade, and the war roll down like a wind/We have proved we have hearts in a cause, wind/We have proved we have hearts in a cause, we are noble still,/Any myself have awaked, as it we are noble still,/Any myself have awaked, as it seems, to the better mind;/It is better to fight for seems, to the better mind;/It is better to fight for the good than to rail at the ill;/I have felt with my the good than to rail at the ill;/I have felt with my native land, I am one with my kind/I embrace the native land, I am one with my kind/I embrace the purpose of God, and the doom assign’dpurpose of God, and the doom assign’d

SymbolsSymbols

• Tom RobinsonTom Robinson– Withered arm as crippled Withered arm as crippled

powerlessness of black communitypowerlessness of black community– archetypearchetype

• WatchesWatches– Stopped timeStopped time

• Innocence lostInnocence lost– ““tree of knowledge”tree of knowledge”