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To Kill a Mockingbird Chapter 14

 
 
tkam
 
Reply Sat 12 Apr, 2014 07:47 pm
Hi all I was just wondering if you could tell me some symbols/context, setting, theme analysis and character development on chapter 14 of to Kill a Mockingbird? Thank you in advance.
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chai2
 
  2  
Reply Sat 12 Apr, 2014 08:17 pm
@tkam,
Care to tell us what's in Chapter 14, or do you want us to look that up for you too?
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tkam
 
  1  
Reply Sat 12 Apr, 2014 08:53 pm
@tkam,
Sorry, this is the plot summary for chapter 14:
The impending trial of Tom Robinson and Atticus’s role as his defense lawyer make Jem and Scout the objects of whispers and glances whenever they go to town. One day, Scout tries to ask Atticus what “rape” is, and the subject of the children’s trip to Calpurnia’s church comes up. Aunt Alexandra tells Scout she cannot go back the next Sunday. Later, she tries to convince Atticus to get rid of Calpurnia, saying that they no longer need her. Atticus refuses. That night, Jem tells Scout not to antagonize Alexandra. Scout gets angry at being lectured and attacks Jem. Atticus breaks up the fight and sends them to bed. Scout discovers something under her bed. She calls Jem in and they discover Dill hiding there.

Dill has run away from home because his mother and new father did not pay enough attention to him. He took a train from Meridian to Maycomb Junction, fourteen miles away, and covered the remaining distance on foot and on the back of a cotton wagon. Jem goes down the hall and tells Atticus. Atticus asks Scout to get more food than a pan of cold corn bread for Dill, before going next door to tell Dill’s aunt, Miss Rachel, of his whereabouts. Dill eats, then gets into Jem’s bed to sleep, but soon climbs over to Scout’s bed to talk things over.
glitterbag
 
  2  
Reply Sat 12 Apr, 2014 10:47 pm
@tkam,
If you're reading cliff notes, you might want to actually read chapter 14. It's a rich and wonderful book. I've loaned mine out, otherwise I would look for the tip offs you are looking for. If you have the book, please, please, please read it and use the cliff notes to refresh your memory.
tkam
 
  1  
Reply Sun 13 Apr, 2014 06:35 am
@glitterbag,
I have read chapter 14 numerous times, but I am struggling to find symbols used ONLY in chapter 14 along with themes and the other things I mentioned in my question. Smile
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bobsal u1553115
 
  1  
Reply Mon 14 Apr, 2014 11:53 pm
Have you ever used a search engine?

Got this on the first try,

http://www.brighthubeducation.com/homework-help-literature/62762-to-kill-a-mockingbird-symbolism/

Symbolism in To Kill a Mockingbird
written by: Jessica Cook • edited by: SForsyth • updated: 1/20/2012

A list of the symbols found in Harper Lee's novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, along with explanations of their significance.

A symbol is something that is used to represent something else. It can be simple, like a logo being used to represent a company. In literature, symbols can be objects, characters, ideas, or even colors that are used to represent larger concepts. Harper Lee's novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, is full of symbols. Each symbol has a deeper meaning that leads the reader to understand the greater themes of the novel.
The Mockingbird

The mockingbird is one of the most obvious symbols in the novel, mainly because it's in the title and there's usually a picture of a mockingbird on the cover. In the novel, Scout and Jem learn that it's a sin to kill a mockingbird, because they don't do anything to harm other creatures and therefore should never be harmed.

In the novel, several characters can be symbolic mockingbirds. Surely Tom Robinson, accused of a crime he didn't truly commit, can be the top on that list. Tom's innocence stems from the fact that he tried to help a fellow human being and ended up losing his life over it, all due to circumstances outside of his control (like being black).

Jem and Scout are also mockingbirds in the novel, in that they lose some of their innocence due to their exposure to the evil in the world. Throughout the course of the novel, they learn about cruelties in life: from Tom's trial to Dolphus Raymond's essential exile from white society to the incidents with Bob Ewell toward the end of the novel. Ewell's attempt at killing the children is one more example of their mockingbird status as well.

Finally, Boo Radley is a mockingbird in this novel. Though he had some not-so-innocent times in his past (like stabbing his father with a pair of scissors or running around town with a "bad crowd"), the imprisonment he has lived with for years under the hands of his parents and brother gives him mockingbird status in the novel. The way he has become a town ghost story also shows the cruelty he faces from the people of Maycomb, whether they mean to be cruel or not.
Boo Radley

Aside from being a mockingbird character, Boo Radley also shows the reader how Scout grows up throughout the novel (and, by some extension, Jem as well). In the beginning, the kids all like to play Boo Radley games, pretending to be him or telling scary stories about him. As they progress throughout the novel, they begin to discover that he might not be the town spook they fear he is. In the end, they realize that he is a caring, sensitive man who has done them a hero's service. This growing understanding of Boo Radley is symbolic of the overall maturity that Scout and Jem experience in the novel.
Symbolic Roles

Scout

The characters in To Kill a Mockingbird portray stereotypes and classic roles. Scout is the epitome of an innocent child, and through her eyes we see events unfold that change her status and broaden her awareness of the world around her. Due to her innocence in the beginning of the novel, we have to view her as an unreliable narrator because her views on the situations in the novel are somewhat skewed by her inexperience with the evils in the world.

Bob Ewell

Bob Ewell symbolizes the evils of racism. He is uneducated, poor, and rude. He has an abusive parenting style and an adamant distrust of outsiders. His feelings toward Tom Robinson are misdirected as a result of his anger at Mayella for kissing a black man. His attempt to attack Scout after the school pageant shows that he is absolutely evil, because he has already destroyed one innocent life and is ready to take another simply for the sake of saving his pride.

Atticus

Atticus symbolizes logical thinking; he is able to act on the right thing while still trying to keep the peace in the small town he loves. His upstanding morality is characterized by a lack of pride, in stark contrast to Bob Ewell (we see this when his own children don't even know he's a perfect shot, for example). As he instructs Scout and Jem on the proper ways to behave, he symbolizes a teacher for all of the novel's readers as well.

Walter Cunningham

Walter Cunningham, Sr. can be used to symbolize the possibility of change. Mr. Cunningham's situation isn't all that different from Bob Ewell's; the main difference is that Ewell seems content to take handouts while Cunningham works for everything he has, even if it isn't much. Cunningham is a visible presence in the lynch mob that visits Tom Robinson in jail, but his conversation with Scout marks a turning point. If he is willing to see beyond his own hatred and listen to the voice of innocence and reason, perhaps Ms. Lee used him as a symbolic example to the rest of us that such a thing could be possible outside of Maycomb, too.


tkam
 
  1  
Reply Fri 18 Apr, 2014 02:38 am
@bobsal u1553115,
Thank you, but I am looking for symbolism shown specifically in chapter 14 iteself. It would help me a lot if you could help me find something, because I am struggling to.
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