Mood, Imagery and Characterization in To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee (Book Analysis)

📌Category: Books, To Kill a Mockingbird
📌Words: 897
📌Pages: 4
📌Published: 04 February 2022

In To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, she wrote this book to show the difference between today and the past. This novel had a setting of a small town, in Maycomb Alabama, during the early 1930s. Throughout the novel, Lee includes many secrets the characters in the story have. Having the theme, secret, shows that not many people are who they decide to show themselves and not tell the whole truth. Lee also includes more secrets in the beginning of the book, as Scout was still a child and didn’t understand much. Lee uses mood, imagery, and characterization to help show that secrets were inputted and important throughout the novel.

In the first place, Lee uses mood to help show the importance of secrets when Christmas occurred in the novel. In chapter nine, Lee sets the mood of Christmas to have mixed feelings as Scout and Francis have a fight. At the beginning of Christmas, the mood was pleasant, as everyone ate and did their own stuff. After a while the fight that happens between them sets the mood of anger, which would then lead Scout and Uncle Jack to keep a promise/secret. “He’s nothin’ but a nigger-lover!” (Lee 110). Francis said this to Scout about Atticus. Of course this makes Scout mad as she tries to defend her father. This proves that the mood changed from arriving at Aunt Alexandra's house, being normal and then during the fight, the mood became a provoking mood. “Franics called Atticus somethin’, an’ I wasn’t about to take it off him” (114). Scout said to Uncle Jack when coming back home from the Christmas dinner. As Scout tells Uncle Jack what Francis called Atticus, she says to not tell Atticus because he asked Scout not to get mad at things said about him. In the novel it states, “Uncle Jack, please promise me somethin’ please sir. Promise you won’t tell Atticus about this'' (114). Cleary, this shows a secret between Uncle Jack and Scout.

Equally important, Lee uses imagery to show how the theme secret is major. Throughout the beginning of the novel, Jem and Scout kept finding items stored in the tree's knot hole, which is located right next to the Radley’s house. Boo Radley is known to be a terrifying man, who isolated himself from society. They found many objects like the following, gums, Indian coins, grey twine, spelling bee medal, an old watch, a structure figural of Jem and Scout, and an aluminium knife. These seven gifts that Boo Radley gives to them shows that he isn’t a scary person, but instead a hopeful man. Near the end of chapter seven, Jem and Scout realize the tree that gave them the stuff was now packed with cement. Jem asks Nathan Radley if he cemented the knot hole and why. Nathan Radley is Boo’s older brother and he replied with yes he did. “Tree’s dying, You plug’em with cement when they’re sick. You ought to know that, Jem” (83). Plainly, Jem didn’t think that was even a thing so he asked Atticus. He said the tree was healthy and that proves that Nathan Radley was lying. Jem cried softly at the end of this chapter, knowing what Boo Radley is really like. Nathan Radley cementing the knot hole is a secret because there is no idea why Nathan would cover up the hole. Maybe to keep Boo Radley safe or maybe the opposite, but the truth will never be picked out. Certainly, throughout reading this chapter, the readers can imagine the tree being cemented by Nathan Radley which will be a secret on why he covered the knot hole.  

Additionally, more early in the novel, Lee uses Jem’s characterization to value the theme secrets. Jem is Scout’s older brother and they are four years apart. At the beginning of the novel, Jem is said to be scared of Boo Radley because of the rumors about him. Once playing with a car tire, Scout unintentionally rolled into the Radley’s yard and without thinking, Scout just ran out, forgetting the tire. Scout dares Jem to go get the tire and once in a while, tell him to touch the house. After doing all of this, Jem wasn’t really afraid of Boo Radley now since nothing bad has happened to him. Due to Jem not being scared of Boo Radley, he decides they do a play about Boo Radley since they have been bored, not having anything to do. “I know what we are going to play… something new, something different… Boo Radley” (51). After playing the play more, they begin to add details. One day, they were so busy, Atticus saw them and asked, “What are you all playing” (53). Going more into the book, “Jem’s evasion told me our game was a secret, I kept quiet” Scout thought (53). This proves that if Jem was built differently, they wouldn’t keep a secret like this to Atticus. In Atticus' opinion, doing a play like this was unpleasant. Like again, if Jem didn’t get used to touching the Radley’s house walls, they would never do a play like this. 

For these reasons, the theme, secrets, is important throughout the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird. Secrets really show that lying would eventually be found out and overall, not a good thing to do. Lee also wanted to show this because sometimes you can’t trust people. Lying won’t get people to a better place, but far worse. Harper Lee got this message shown by using mood, imagery, and characterization throughout the novel. All the time, characters won’t tell the truth because they think unfortunate things will happen to them. Things like this happen all the time presently, so this novel not only shows why this lesson is important but more theme as well.

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