In a poem by Emily Dickinson she implies that there is nothing like reading abook to take your imagination to great places. She states, “There is nofrigate like a book to take us lands away. ” Such an idea that excites theimagination to take us places is expressed in Harper Lee’s To Kill aMockingbird. In To Kill a Mockingbird there is a great use of symbolism toignite the human imagination.
The title of the book is only mentioned in thestory when the father of the protagonist, Atticus Finch, tells his children thatif they have to kill birds, they can kill any bird, but “tis a sin to kill amockingbird. ” Although this may seem peculiar, the use of symbolism is evidentin the fact that the main protagonists of the story all have a last name that isthe name of a type of bird. Such as the wrongly accused and later killed TomRobinson. Also the dedicated lawyers family name is Finch. Another way thisstory uses our imagination greatly is in the characterization of Boo Radley.
Throughout the majority of the story you just hear of him through gossip storiesof the neighbors or through the children’s imaginative games. Boo was alwaysthe amusement to the children due to the fact they had never seen him and alwaysheard of the threat he was and were kept away from his house. This sparks theimagination to think and try and create an image of Boo Radley through the eyesof these young children. There is great irony in the story as well. As mentionedabove, Boo Radley was the main focal point for the children’s games, due themystery of whom he was.
They always thought he was their major threat and if hewere to catch them, he would kill them. The view of the reader dramaticallychanges in the end when this same man ends up saving the children’s lives fromthe drunken dirt bag of the town, Bob Ewell. In conclusion, one can see that theuse of literary devices can absolutely take your imagination away. This is seenfrom the symbolism of names, to the characterization of mysterious characters orthe dramatic irony of the change of view of the reader. So, the imagination cantravel to places you never thought could, just by reading words from a paper.
