To Kill a Mockingbird
In class we read the book To Kill a Mockingbird. There was many symbols throughout the story. I think the purpose of the symbol wheel project was to get us to better understand what the different symbols in the book were. By making a chart it made us think more in depth of what the meaning to the symbols are. A symbol is a thing that represents or stands for something else. A motif is something that is shown throughout the story. A motif is a general idea and symbols are something that represents it one time in the story. A symbol is only one instance of the motif.
Flowers showed up a few different times in the story. However, they are still a symbol because they are different people and different flowers that are spoke about. They represent a variety of things to several people. To Mrs. Dubose her flowers meant a lot. She had camellias and they represented hardship to her. She was going through a rough time trying to get over her drug addiction. Miss Maudie had azaleas and they stood for peace and calmness. Even when her house burned down, her flowers calmed her down. The geraniums belonged to Mayella Ewell. She might not have even noticed but they signified hidden beauty. She had a rough life but always found beauty in her flowers.
Mocking birds are another symbol that appeared in the story TKAM, hence it is right in the title. I think they meant peace, tranquility, and joy. In Maycomb, it was a sin to kill a mockingbird. They sang pretty songs and were there to put joy in peoples lives. Hearing a mockingbird's song gives you a sense of tranquility, or calmness. Someone might be having a bad day and a mockingbird song would cheer them up.
Morphodite means change. One of the main examples of this in the story would be the brown snowman. It shows that people are different on the outside than they are on the inside. Another famous quote is "don't judge a book by its cover." Just because someone has a different color of skin doesn't mean they should be treated any different. In the end, we are all still human. Another great example is Boo Radley. In the beginning of the story nobody even knew if he was alive or not. He kept to himself and stayed inside his house all the time. Throughout the story he broke out of his shell more. Boo Radley definitely changed in the midst of the story.
Tim Johnson symbolized a lot of different things. I think he stood for death, protection/caring, disease, destruction, and depression. Calpurnia was the main one that showed protection and caring, although Boo Radely did also. As soon as Calpurnia found out about Tim Johnson she went to warn everyone. She even stopped at the Radley house to warn Boo. She takes care of the children and is almost like a mother to them. Boo shows protection by helping out Scout. When Miss Maudie's house burned down, he secretly placed a blanket on Scout. He also saves the children from the mob. Even though he wasn't close with Scout and barely even knew her, he still cared enough to look out for her and her family. Atticus was depressed when he found out that Tom Robinson was shot and killed. That also caused destruction.
Motifs create symbols. Without a theme or general idea to the story there wouldn't be any symbols. That would make for a really boring story. I think by doing the symbol wheel it really helped me to better understand the story's motifs and symbols. It made me think a lot deeper and put pieces together. Not only did it help with understanding the symbols and motifs, it also helped me to understand the story in general. The story made even more sense to me once I thought about why the symbols were put in the story and what they have to do with the plot.
In class we read the book To Kill a Mockingbird. There was many symbols throughout the story. I think the purpose of the symbol wheel project was to get us to better understand what the different symbols in the book were. By making a chart it made us think more in depth of what the meaning to the symbols are. A symbol is a thing that represents or stands for something else. A motif is something that is shown throughout the story. A motif is a general idea and symbols are something that represents it one time in the story. A symbol is only one instance of the motif.
Flowers showed up a few different times in the story. However, they are still a symbol because they are different people and different flowers that are spoke about. They represent a variety of things to several people. To Mrs. Dubose her flowers meant a lot. She had camellias and they represented hardship to her. She was going through a rough time trying to get over her drug addiction. Miss Maudie had azaleas and they stood for peace and calmness. Even when her house burned down, her flowers calmed her down. The geraniums belonged to Mayella Ewell. She might not have even noticed but they signified hidden beauty. She had a rough life but always found beauty in her flowers.
Mocking birds are another symbol that appeared in the story TKAM, hence it is right in the title. I think they meant peace, tranquility, and joy. In Maycomb, it was a sin to kill a mockingbird. They sang pretty songs and were there to put joy in peoples lives. Hearing a mockingbird's song gives you a sense of tranquility, or calmness. Someone might be having a bad day and a mockingbird song would cheer them up.
Morphodite means change. One of the main examples of this in the story would be the brown snowman. It shows that people are different on the outside than they are on the inside. Another famous quote is "don't judge a book by its cover." Just because someone has a different color of skin doesn't mean they should be treated any different. In the end, we are all still human. Another great example is Boo Radley. In the beginning of the story nobody even knew if he was alive or not. He kept to himself and stayed inside his house all the time. Throughout the story he broke out of his shell more. Boo Radley definitely changed in the midst of the story.
Tim Johnson symbolized a lot of different things. I think he stood for death, protection/caring, disease, destruction, and depression. Calpurnia was the main one that showed protection and caring, although Boo Radely did also. As soon as Calpurnia found out about Tim Johnson she went to warn everyone. She even stopped at the Radley house to warn Boo. She takes care of the children and is almost like a mother to them. Boo shows protection by helping out Scout. When Miss Maudie's house burned down, he secretly placed a blanket on Scout. He also saves the children from the mob. Even though he wasn't close with Scout and barely even knew her, he still cared enough to look out for her and her family. Atticus was depressed when he found out that Tom Robinson was shot and killed. That also caused destruction.
Motifs create symbols. Without a theme or general idea to the story there wouldn't be any symbols. That would make for a really boring story. I think by doing the symbol wheel it really helped me to better understand the story's motifs and symbols. It made me think a lot deeper and put pieces together. Not only did it help with understanding the symbols and motifs, it also helped me to understand the story in general. The story made even more sense to me once I thought about why the symbols were put in the story and what they have to do with the plot.