As Melissa so adorably said, "I want to read Mockingbird again; I think I read a different book this summer!". After discussing TKM in class, what is your favorite epiphany or revelation? What symbol, motif, or stylistic device have you found the coolest ? What passage did you reread for class that you missed the meaning of before? Share with the rest of us, please!
15 comments:
Honestly, when i read the book over the summer, i did not pick up that the knothole gifts had a meaning. Once we discussed in class all of their meanings, i thought i was really "cool." I also liked the part of the book that had the peeing contest! haha it was really funny.
I think one of the epihanies that surprised me the most was either the meaning behind the knothole gifts or the thing with Bob Ewell and Mayella.
I honestly had no idea that there were even symbolic meanings behind half of the objects. The knothole gifts were probably the coolest to me. The class discussions about the symbols helped me a lot because otherwise i never would have known these symbols existed and they make the book ten times better.
Most of the time, symbols drive me insane because i think, "what if the author just wanted the box to be a box? why does it have to mean something? can't it just be a box?" However, in To Kill a Mockingbird, I can see that Harper Lee actually meant for them to be there.
The chapter where it snowed and Miss Maudie's house burned down was the chapter that I had no idea had so amny symbols. I thought it just snowed because Jem and Scout thouht they did something wrong and the fire was because it was so cold and a fire warming somepne's house spread and burned the house. I would have never guessed that the snow represented Boo, and the fire for Bob Ewell, and the flowers, maybe Tom Robinson. It's all so clear now.
Haha...I meant what I said. The book seems much more different now that we know about every little thing and how it connects to another. The major epipahny for me was how much of a children and father relationship Boo and the kids had. I did not see that at all. The novel seems much more interesting now that we have breaken it down.
i really think that i read a different book over the summer... i would not have been able to decifer any of the symbols/objects in the tree. i feel like the book is so great after understanding what everything means... i actually really like this book
Over the summer, I didn't realize that this book had so many symbols but also that there were so many themes that connected to so many things. Also, I never would have understood the allusions in the book. They make the book so much funnier. Another part I didn't catch that I thought was so funny was the part where Little Chuck stood up to Burris Ewell and was ready to pull out a knife. I can picture a tiny little boy with a knife right next to this huge, older, mean boy!
I think some of the most surprising things I have learned about TKM are from extra help. Some like "For unlawful carnal knowledge" or the metaphor of Mayella being like a cat towards Tom Robinson (the mockingbird.)
I've got to go with Katie on that one...the unlawful..I was dieing!
I hadn't realized that the church Cal goes to was used by white men for gambling durring the week, or that the judge picked Atticus for the case because he was the only D.A. who would give Tom Robinson a chance, i thought it was because he knew Atticus
yeah the other thing i did not pick up during the book at all was Mayella and Bob "having dinner" and i also never picked up on "for unlawful carnal knowlede!" its true though, after reading the book for a second time, i picked up on a lot more stuff than i did the first tim ei read it...actually i didnt pick up on ANYTHING the first time i read it!
from discussing the book in class i finally picked up on the grey ghost and all the other symbols. another thing is that i did not understand who kill Bob Ewell. i had no idea that Boo did until rereading it. it was a good thing we were not tested on this book once we got back from summer break!!!!
When i read the book over the summer i didn't understand the part where Scout connects Mayella to a cat during the trial. Now i realize that cats eat birds and that Harper Lee ment for the Finches and Robinson(Robin)to be the birds.
This book has so many symbols and hidden themes / messages that it must of taken Harper Lee a decade to write it or she somehow put them all in without thinking about it. It seems as though every word has some kind of underlying message or meaning. This makes you have to really read with with a fine-tooth comb to see what Harper Lee is trying to get through to you.
Thank you for your posts. This thread is now closed.
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