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Literary Devices Used In To Kill A Mockingbird

Decent Essays

In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee gives us the character Atticus Finch to give us an example of what courage is through symbolism, pathos, and irony. In this analysis I will talk about about how Atticus’s actions and words all seem to try to teach us something, and that something is courage. We can see the biggest example of Atticus’s courage when he has to talk about Tom Robinson’s case or when he talked to the kids about what Mrs. Dubose was trying to do before her death. Atticus’s courage is the type that allows him to do what he thinks is right even if people don’t agree with him or if it seems hopeless to try. Atticus is also seen trying to pass down his courage and wisdom to his kids throughout the story. My first literary element is symbolism and through symbolism Atticus is able to show his courage. His actions during the trial had symbolism when he was defending Tom Robinson because he was trying to prove Tom’s innocence but he was also being courageous enough to …show more content…

The definition of irony that I will use is “a state of affairs or an event that seems deliberately contrary to what one expects and is often amusing as a result” this definition will allow me to be able to show that Atticus’s actions have irony. An example of this is “Scout, you aren’t old enough to understand some things yet, but there’s some been some high talk around town to the effect that I shouldn’t do much about defending this man.” (Page 100) This quote shows that most of the town doesn’t agree with Atticus defending Tom Robinson, they are saying that he won’t try to defend him. However, Atticus against everyone’s wishes does the opposite and goes all out in defending Tom Robinson, this fits with the definition of irony i used perfectly, except for the part about there being an amusing

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