Symbolism In To Kill A Mockingbird

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Symbolism within novels is often a debatable topic amongst readers. One can never be entirely sure if certain symbols within stories were actually intended to be interpreted as so by the author. However, whether they are meant to be there or not, there are some very clear uses of symbolism within To Kill a Mockingbird. The biggest symbol within the novel is perhaps the Radley place. This is the property inhabited by the elusive and chilling character Arthur (Boo) Radley and his family. The town is filled with haunting rumors about Boo and terribly frightful things he’s done in his past. Children and adults alike avoid the residence at all costs, they never walk by it at night, for fear that Boo will come out on one of his nightly hunts and…show more content…
The main two are the Gold Carp and the characters of Horse and Bones, the first one being a more concrete example than the latter. The Golden Carp seems to symbolize Antonio’s questions and doubts about God. Only some select people are able to see this bewildering creature that surfaces from the depths of a remote body of water at the edge of town. The only people which can see it are those that question God but are still good hearted and do not sin. The concept of the Golden Carp pushed Tony to wonder if there could be more gods, faults in his own supreme creator, or even superior beings to his God. The Carp poses a threat to the idea that all who don’t believe in God or sin will be banished to hell. The Golden Carp was said to be a God who loved his people and even after his subjects were burdened with sin, he saved their souls and turned them into immortal carp, and he joined them in the river, to return when the sins of mankind became too heavy. Tony wonders if it is fair that Florence would be sentenced to an eternity in hell by God just because he was faced with too much hardship to continue being faithful. Florence was an innocent boy who, when persecuted by his peers to confess his sins, responded with, “‘I don’t have any… I have not sinned!’”(p 224) He tells of how God took the lives of his parents and made his sisters prostitutes, and reveals that God punishes people “‘without just cause’”(p 225) The Golden…show more content…
Scout was raised accustomed to the eerie nature of Boo Radley’s existence, however when she meets him for the first time at the end of the story, she realizes that she shouldn’t accept ideas that are fed to her without testing them first. She sees that the rumors and tales told throughout the town were not true in the slightest. Anaya uses the Golden Carp to make Tony see fault in his God. Tony was raised to be a religious boy, and from the start of the novel where he was merely six years of age, he was faithful and loyal to his one God. But when the Golden Carp enters his life, so do new ideas and questions which in the end lead to him ultimately deciding that maybe God isn’t all He’s been made out to be. He is unfair and lets evil occur in the world, and created an earth full of imperfections. He punishes those who don’t deserve it as a trial of their faith towards him, instead of following the ways of the Golden Carp and loving His people and trying to save them. God doesn’t let his dependents follow the lead of any other gods but Himself. Antonio asked Cico if one had to choose between the Golden Carp and God, and Cico responded by saying, “‘The golden carp accepts all magic that is good, but your god, Tony, is a jealous god. He does not accept competition.’”(p 252) Near the end of the story, Tony discusses his thoughts on the tradition of
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