To Kill a Mockingbird Quotes Flashcards
(18 cards)
Historical allusion/metaphor
The pillars, which hold up the building are what remains which is a metaphor for how Southeners’ mindsets haven’t changed since the civil war.
“The pillars were all that remained standing when the original court house was burned in 1865. Another court was built around them”
Justice
Repetition
Not one of the five jurors were able to stand up for what’s right which represents the cowardice of white society.
“Guilty…guilty… guilty…guilty…”
Justice/Racism
Metaphor
Shows that Negroes are presumed guilty, especially when accused by a white person
“Tom Robinson was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed”
Justice/Racism
Hyperbole
Creates a positive image of mockingbird as selfless and harmless creatures.
“Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy.”
Integrity
Juxstaposition
While harmful people may deserve judgment (bluejays), kind ones should be protected (mockingbirds). Empathy is essential to avoid harming the innocent.
“Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”
Integrity/Empathy
Metaphor
The Radley porch represents a shift in perspective; Scout is literally and figuratively seeing the world from Boo’s point of view.
“One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them. Just standing on the Radley porch was enough.”
Integrity/Empathy
Irony
Negroes have been depicted as nothing but respectful despite the racism they experience. It shows how prejudice prevails over evidence in a trial of a Negroe
“The evil assumption…that all Negroes are immoral beings.”
Racism/Justice
Metaphor
Shows Atticus’ belief that racism isn’t just wrong—it’s morally degrading for those who practice it.
“Whenever a white man does that [cheats] to a black man…that white man is trash.”
Racism
Juxtaposition
Shows how deeply racism affected Tom’s sense of survival and freedom and the hopelessness he felt due to the failure of justice in the white way of a trial.
“I guess Tom was tired of taking white men’s chances and preferred to take his own.”
Racism/Integrity/Justice
Irony
Shows a moment of appreciation for femininity, which is otherwise often devalued in Scout’s world
“By watching her, I began to think there was some skill in being a girl.”
Gender
Juxtaposition
Reveals that true strength and dignity can exist quietly, even in grief and injustice and a new found sense of admiration towards her Aunty.
“If Aunty could be a lady at a time like this, so could I.”
Gender
Juxtaposition
Shows that acting like a girl used to mean being scared and hesitant, and something Scout should not aspire to be.
“I swear, Scout, sometimes you act so much like a girl, it’s mortifying.”
Gender
Hyperbole
Highlights Aunt Alexandra’s obsessive concern with traditional gender roles and outward appearances despite Scout finding them ridiculous and limiting
“Aunt Alexandra was fanatical on the subject of my attire. I could not possibly hope to be a lady if I wore breeches.”
Gender
Inclusive language
Shows Scout’s naive view that hasn’t been tainted by her world and how she believes status is shaped by circumstances not a birthright.
“There’s just one kind of folks. Folks.”
Class
Rhetorical question
Proves how the world is unfair because people are always in conflict and do things to spite each other creating divides and differences in society.
“That’s what I thought too…If there’s just one kind of folks, why can’t they get along with each other?”
Class
Visual Imagery/Juxtaposition
Demonstrates the fixed status’ within the white society as somethign a person is born into and does not change for the rest of their lives.
“The thing is, you can scrub Walter Cunningham till he shines, you can put him in shoes and a new suit, but he’ll never be like Jem.”
Class
Punctuation
Conveys that because of Walter’s low economic status, he is not good enough to be around the Finch family and should be prejudiced and treated as inferior.
“…because - he - is - trash…”
Class
Categorisation
Harper Lee critiques the way people are divided and ranked based on race and class by exposing the deep-rooted bias in Maycomb and by extension, in American society at the time.
“There’s four kinds of folks in the world. There’s the ordinary kind like us…there’s the kind like the Cunninghams…the kind like the Ewells…and the Negroes.”
