To Kill a Mockingbird Response Chapters 1-2

Jordan Miller
Mr. Beattie
31 October 2012
English 1 Honors

The author uses specific details, phrases, images, and words to illustrate the story while telling it. For example, when Scout describes "The shutters and doors of the Radley house were closed on Sundays, another thing alien to Maycomb's ways: closed doors meant illness and cold weather only" (Lee 9) . This shows how the Radley family is on Sundays which was a very important day in Maycomb. They do practice the same religion as the church but they stay in their house most of them time, especially on Sundays. Furthermore, when Jem describes Boo "...about six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that's why his hands were bloodstained— if you ate an animal raw, you could never wash the blood off. There was a long jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten; his eyes popped, and he drooled most of the time" (Lee 13). This exemplifies how there are rumors made up about the Radleys and Jem could have been exaggerating some of Boo's features. If it is an accurate description, this shows how the author is using specific details to display this character. Using specific details, phrases, images, and words allows the author to help the reader visualize what they are reading.

The author could also be using these specific details, words, phrases, and images to allow the reader a look into her own life. For instance, when talking to Dill about his father Scout asks " ‘then if he's not dead you've got one, haven't you?’ Dill blushed and Jem told [her] to hush..." (Lee 8). This may mean that Dill's father ran out on his family and hasn't seen them in a very long time. Also, this could represent how Harper Lee's father may have done the same thing to her and her family. In addition, the author describes "Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired old town when I first knew it" (Lee 5). This could represent a town that Harper Lee once grew up or currently lives in. It could also just be representing how its a small town where everyone seems to be involved with everything. Using these specific details, words, phrases, and images could allow the author to symbolize events in her own life.