Fix body language

Transitions And Conncetions Help with body paragraph for essay!!! Need help using proper transition words?

There are many great novels today that use symbolism to enhance the plot. Symbolism is the use of something to make us connect meaning to the characters and plot in the novels. Our world contains many symbols. A dove symbolizes peace. A light bulb represents an idea. An owl symbolizes wisdom. We may not realize the author is using symbolism, but it does assist in understanding the novel. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, she uses a great deal of symbolism. Lee uses symbols to represent something much more than the actual fact. In her book, the most significant symbol is the mockingbird. A mockingbird is a type of bird that does not want to harm others, only wanting to sing its heart out brining peace and joy. It is generally known that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird. This ties in with the symbolism of some of the characters in the novel because it is a sin to punish someone without any knowledge on whom they are. The mockingbird represents a warm, kind-hearted feeling which we can see in a few of the characters in To Kill a Mockingbird. Lee makes moderate use of symbols to portray the prejudices of the 1930's. To Kill a Mockingbird is a passionate novel with a strong meaning. By looking at Tom Robinson, Boo Radley, and Dolphus Raymond, we see how they fall victim to the unjust acts committed against them which prevents them from proving their innocence. Imagine if you were a black male living in the U.S.A. in the 1930s, large build, and was accused of raping a white woman but you knew were innocent. Tom Robinson, a Maycomb resident, experienced this exact scenario, and he did not feel like he was given a fair chance. Tom Robinson was the type that did not care what others thought of him. He minded his own business, yet he still helped those who asked him for a hand. Mayella Ewell, the daughter of Bob Ewell saw Tom walking past her house, one afternoon and asked him if he could fix her chifforobe: “I said come here, nigger, and bust up this chiffarobe for me, I gotta nickel for you” (Lee180). Mayella, explaining her case to the court, tells Mr. Gilmer that when she asked Tom to come into her house to fix her chiffarobe, he ran behind her and grabbed her by the neck. This proves that Tom is susceptible to danger. Tom is a prime target for prejudice from others. Just because Tom is black, Mayella believes that she has an advantage over Tom in the court of law. In the quote above, Mayella initially disrespected Tom. Mayella used the term “nigger” to describe Tom. The term she used is a form of derogatory language. The people in Maycomb use this unpleasant term to refer to black people. Mayella knew that she couldn’t fix her chiffarobe herself, so she decided to get a black male, whom she is not the best of acquaintances with, to fix it for her. Mayella calls Tom a nigger to make herself feel more superior towards him. While in the courtroom, Mayella constantly seems uneasy around Tom. Atticus, Jem, Scout, and Calpurnia truly believe that Tom is innocent. Tom knows he is innocent, but the jury will not listen to him. One major breakthrough that helped Tom prove his innocence was the bruise on Mayella. Atticus claims that Mr. Ewell beat his daughter after seeing the bruise. Atticus can support this because he asked Mr.Ewell to write his name: “Would you write your name for us? Clearly now, so the jury can see you do it” (177). The significance from this quote is the fact that Bob is left handed. The person who committed the crime had to be left handed. Atticus then pointed out that Tom Robinson’s left hand is crippled, therefore, it is difficult for him to do anything with it, much less, abuse someone. Atticus proved to the judge that Bob is left handed, and the beating on Mayella’s right eye had to be done by a left handed person. Mayella is still positive that it was Tom who raped her. Atticus states that he is at an unfair advantage in this case. The final outcome will be determined form what the jury has heard from both Tom and Bob. Tom knows that the jury will believe a white man’s word rather than a black man’s. If the jury took the word of a black male, they would be drifting away from their rightful system, the system of segregation. Although Atticus establishes his innocence, Tom is determined to be guilty and is later shot. The symbol of the mockingbird is shown mostly throughout Tom’s role in the book. Tom was a genuinely nice man, though some viewed Tom as an imposter to society. When people saw him, they were frightened. People would rather turn around and run the other way. Racism plays a big role in the novel. The jury was extremely racist towards Tom. Tom was just helping someone out with the kindness in his heart. However, he still ends up receiving the guilt. What would you do if you were locked up, kept inside, and hardly saw the outside world? Boo Radley was a harmless creature who fell victim to this kind of cruelty. Boo Radley was just a boy when he was accused of killing Bob Ewell. He was regarded as an evil force to society and was used as the scapegoat for everything negative towards Maycomb. He was constantly locked up inside due to his parents. Boo wanted to meet new friends and experience life, but he was completely shut off. All of these events built up inside of Boo and caused Boo to become depressed. Because he was unhappy, he decided to let his anger out on one person he knew: Bob Ewell. Boo secretly took a pair of scissors and stabbed Bob in the leg, which made Boo a bigger target towards society and the law. One main cause for Boo’s constant state of distress was the knothole. There was a knothole in a tree in front of his house which he used to communicate with Jem and Scout. The knothole was the only way Boo could communicate with the outside world. One day when Jem and Scout walked up to the knothole to see what Boo had left for them, they noticed the knothole was cemented up: “Someone has filled our knot-hole up with cement. Don’t you cry, now, Scout…don’t cry now, don’t you worry” (62). Jem and Scout were distraught when they discovered this and Jem cries because je realizes Boo had his only form of communication taken away from him. Jem knew Mr. Nathan Radley cemented the knothole, and decided to confront him about his actions. When Jem asked Mr. Radley why he had cemented the knothole up, he replied: “Tree’s dying. You plug ‘em with cement when they’re sick. You ought to know that, Jem” (62). Jem and Scout both knew that Mr. Radley was making up an excuse to help keep the real reason a secret. Jem knew that Mr. Radley took Boo’s privilege away from him and was afraid of what would happen to Boo. Boo Radley was just a boy wanting to escape from his confinement. Boo Radley was a nice boy who had no intention of hurting anyone, and this caused the sheriff to decide that Boo should not be arrested, but would present the death as an accident. Boo is one of the novel’s main mockingbirds, which we can see throughout all of the events that affect Boo in a negative way.

Public Comments

1. In the sentence "Although Atticus establishes his innocence, Tom is determined to be guilty." the use of the word determined seems to me to apply to Tom, as in he is determined to be guilty, in the sense that guilt was a state of being Tom chose. I suggest changing this to "Tom is found guilty" to avoid confusion. In the sentence "Tom was a genuinely nice man, though some viewed Tom as an imposter to society" seems a little awkward, perhaps .."though white society viewed Tom as an imposter". Your essay begins very nicely with the focus on the mockingbird metaphor, perhaps the early part of the paragraph that follows should bring this metaphor in as well. In the context of strengthening your essay, your conclusion will bring all your separate parts together. If this theme is the mockingbird metaphor, all the different parts will come together. Having different material in your different paragraphs just follows along with your outline. I like your second paragraph, and I think it may stand on its own. If I was to make any transitional change, I might choose something like "Imagine you were in a cage, unable to see the sun shining on the windows, trapped in your all too familiar confines." or something like that, but I tend to write more lyrically than many people. Otherwise, I'd say its coming along just fine. "Jem and Scout were distraught when they discovered this and Jem cries because je realizes Boo had his only form of communication taken away from him" I think you meant to use the word "he" between because and realizes.