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Irony
Definition of Metaphor
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other. The comparison in a metaphor can be stated explicitly, as... read full definition
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other. The comparison in a metaphor... read full definition
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other... read full definition
Key Examples in To Kill a Mockingbird
Chapter 3
Explanation and Analysis—The Ewells:
In Chapter 3, another conflict occurs in Scout’s school classroom. Her teacher, upon discovering that one of the Ewell boys has lice, attempts to send him home to get clean. Scout soon learns that the Ewells are only required to come to school on the first day, in large part because the school system is unable to control them. Still indignant over her previous issues with her teacher, Scout confronts Atticus, begging him to let her not go to school. Using metaphor, Atticus takes time to explain to Scout why the Ewells are an exception:
They were people, but they lived like animals. “They can go to school any time they want to, when they show the faintest symptom of wanting an education,” said Atticus. “There are ways of keeping them in school by force, but it’s silly to force people like the Ewells into a new environment—”
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Explanation and Analysis—Atticus's Diction:
Chapter 3 contains an interesting excerpt—the passage below—which further illuminates the relationship between Atticus and his children. Scout uses metaphor to describe her father’s manner of speaking:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Jem and I were accustomed to our father’s last-will-and-testament diction, and we were at all times free to interrupt Atticus for a translation when it was beyond our understanding. “Huh, sir?”
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Chapter 9
Explanation and Analysis—Sunbeam:
In Chapter 9, Scout details repeated conflicts with the more conservative members of her family, including Aunt Alexandra. The following excerpt outlines one such conflict, centered around a specific metaphor:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Aunt Alexandra’s vision of my deportment involved playing with small stoves, tea sets, and wearing the Add-A-Pearl necklace she gave me when I was born; furthermore, I should be a ray of sunshine in my father’s lonely life. I suggested that one could be a ray of sunshine in pants just as well, but Aunty said that one had to behave like a sunbeam, that I was born good but had grown progressively worse every year.
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Explanation and Analysis—Stray Dogs:
In the following piece of dialogue from Chapter 9, Francis argues with Scout, insulting Atticus for stepping up to defend Tom Robinson. Francis uses metaphor as a means of bringing Scout and Jem down, implying that they are on the same "low" level as certain people they keep company with:
Unlock with LitCharts A+If Uncle Atticus lets you run around with stray dogs, that’s his business, like Grandma says, so it ain’t your fault. I guess it ain’t your fault if Uncle Atticus is a nigger-lover besides, but I’m here to tell you it certainly does mortify the rest of the family—
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Explanation and Analysis—Maycomb's Disease:
Towards the end of Chapter 9, Scout eavesdrops on a conversation between her father and her uncle, Jack. The two men discuss Scout's behavior: at Aunt Alexandra's house, she got in trouble for assaulting her cousin over a series of insults leveled against Atticus. Hoping his daughter will overhear, Atticus deploys an important metaphor in his conversation with Jack.
Unlock with LitCharts A+You know what’s going to happen as well as I do, Jack, and I hope and pray I can get Jem and Scout through it without bitterness, and most of all, without catching Maycomb’s usual disease. Why reasonable people go stark raving mad when anything involving a Negro comes up, is something I don’t pretend to understand . . .
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Explanation and Analysis—The Bottom of the Ocean:
In the following excerpt from Chapter 9, Scout uses metaphor to describe the effect her cousin Francis has on conversation:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Talking to Francis gave me the sensation of settling slowly to the bottom of the ocean. He was the most boring child I ever met.
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Chapter 25
Explanation and Analysis—Secret Court:
In the following passage from the end of Chapter 25, Scout interprets the outcome of Tom Robinson's case and Atticus's role in the proceedings. She uses metaphor to do so, describing what she believes to be the reason that Robinson lost:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Then Mr. Underwood’s meaning became clear: Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men's hearts Atticus had no case. Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed.
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