Character Symbolism
Symbolism in the story can be found in the almost every character and event throughout the novel. Every character in the story has been used by Author Lee for a divine purpose, to really emit a symbolic light on the story.
Right from the beginning we can see Scout as symbolic to the story by her character, and we can see she is no ordinary nine year old. The way she turns her outlook beyond her little mind-over-matter worries to the whereabouts of everyone in Maycomb community portrays that she can cast a very curious and definitive eye over things, and look at things inside and out. The fact that she can take an understanding of and relate to the farmer Walter Cunningham’s poverty issue just shows what the little child is capable of, and how she and her brother Jem can get along well with Calpurnia, their Black housemaid, and relate to her like their proper mother.
Calpurnia, the Finch family’s housemaid, is an important attribute to the story. She is black, and the common stereotype of a black person, especially someone who works for a white man, is that one is uneducated and not very bright, but what formulates interest is the way that Calpurnia is a proper maid. She is quite intelligent, enthusiastic, and has a good relationship with the Finch children, unlike we might not expect. Also, she has a more ‘proper’ way of talking than the average Negro, and by doing that she sets a good example to the children. She is firm with them, and sets them up well.
Mrs Dubose, on the other hand, is an old woman who lives by herself in her cottage with only her housemaid, and is known to be bad tempered and gritty. These sorts of characteristics portray her as someone who is determined to get through with life and, despite her being sick and expected to pass away soon, she still sits in her chair and tells people off passing her house by for either being too loud, like Jem; she has a distinct determination to make a difference in her little big world of Maycomb town, as well as stop her ever-forging addiction to Morphine.
The Ewells, Bob and her daughter Mayella, are considered ‘white trash’ by the local community. This is an example of the contrasts in Maycomb society, of which help characterize the community. There are three main distinctive social classes: the poor, uneducated whites like the Ewells, the Negroes, and the middle to upper class white folk. It is clear that in a southern society like it, the Black folk are considered lower in social status than the whites, which is due to their overall reputation as being not as liable in social status and handiwork skills.
Right from the beginning we can see Scout as symbolic to the story by her character, and we can see she is no ordinary nine year old. The way she turns her outlook beyond her little mind-over-matter worries to the whereabouts of everyone in Maycomb community portrays that she can cast a very curious and definitive eye over things, and look at things inside and out. The fact that she can take an understanding of and relate to the farmer Walter Cunningham’s poverty issue just shows what the little child is capable of, and how she and her brother Jem can get along well with Calpurnia, their Black housemaid, and relate to her like their proper mother.
Calpurnia, the Finch family’s housemaid, is an important attribute to the story. She is black, and the common stereotype of a black person, especially someone who works for a white man, is that one is uneducated and not very bright, but what formulates interest is the way that Calpurnia is a proper maid. She is quite intelligent, enthusiastic, and has a good relationship with the Finch children, unlike we might not expect. Also, she has a more ‘proper’ way of talking than the average Negro, and by doing that she sets a good example to the children. She is firm with them, and sets them up well.
Mrs Dubose, on the other hand, is an old woman who lives by herself in her cottage with only her housemaid, and is known to be bad tempered and gritty. These sorts of characteristics portray her as someone who is determined to get through with life and, despite her being sick and expected to pass away soon, she still sits in her chair and tells people off passing her house by for either being too loud, like Jem; she has a distinct determination to make a difference in her little big world of Maycomb town, as well as stop her ever-forging addiction to Morphine.
The Ewells, Bob and her daughter Mayella, are considered ‘white trash’ by the local community. This is an example of the contrasts in Maycomb society, of which help characterize the community. There are three main distinctive social classes: the poor, uneducated whites like the Ewells, the Negroes, and the middle to upper class white folk. It is clear that in a southern society like it, the Black folk are considered lower in social status than the whites, which is due to their overall reputation as being not as liable in social status and handiwork skills.