Literary techniques in TKAM Figurative Language Metaphor Simile Personification Idiom Allusions Dialogue Southern colloquialisms and dialect

Figurative language: language that uses words or expressions with a meaning that is different from the literal interpretation. Metaphor: a word or phrase used to compare two unlike objects, ideas, thoughts or feelings to provide a clearer description  a visual image is created by comparing something indirectly with something else Simile: a figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid (e.g. as brave as a lion ).  a visual image is created by comparing something directly with something else, using ‘as’ or ‘like’ Personification: the attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something non-human, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form.  an inanimate object is given a human or animate quality or emotion Idiom: an expression whose meaning is not predictable from the usual meanings of its constituent elements Source:

Allusions: an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference Dialogue: a conversation between two or more people as a feature of a book, play, or film Colloquialism: a word or phrase that is not formal or literary and is used in ordinary or familiar conversation. Dialect: a particular form of a language which is peculiar to a specific region or social group Source:

Figurative Language The following quotations are examples of metaphor, personification and simile: Ladies bathed before noon, after their three-o’clock naps, and by nightfall were like soft teacakes with frostings of sweat and sweet talcum.(5) The Radley place fascinated Dill. In spite of our warnings it drew him as the moon draws water. (9) The house was the same, droopy and sick, but as we stared down the street we thought we saw an inside shutter move. Flick. A tiny, almost invisible movement and the house was still (16) [Auntie said] 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. (90) Mr.Gilmer waited for Mayella to collect herself: she had twisted her handkerchief into a sweaty rope (199) Consider how the use of such figurative language creates a visual image for readers, thereby emphasising the significance of the subject matter in relation to themes and ideas in the narrative. The various connotations thus provide scope for differing interpretations.

Allusions nothing to fear but fear itself (6): an allusion to President Franklin D. Roosevelt's first Inaugural Address Thus we came to know Dill as a pocket Merlin (8) : King Arthur's adviser, prophet and magician stump hole whiskey (10) : illegally made and sold whiskey that would be hidden in the holes of tree stumps bread lines in the cities grew longer (128): during the Great Depression, thousands of people relied on charitable organizations for meals and would line up for simple meals often of bread and soup Mrs Roosevelt-just plain lost her mind coming down to Birmingham and tryin’ to sit with ‘em (258): in 1939, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt attended a meeting for the Southern Conference for Human Welfare in Birmingham, Alabama where she defied state authorities by sitting in the centre aisle, between whites and blacks, after police told her she was violating segregation laws by sitting with black people.

Idioms as sure as eggs : Something that is bound to happen; just as chickens are sure to lay eggs set my teeth permanently on edge: to annoy someone or make them feel nervous the way in which Aunt Alexandra tends to annoy Scout travelled in state: To travel in state is to do so in the position of a person of great wealth and rank he had seen the light : In this case to have seen the light means to have become religious blind spots: a prejudice or area of ignorance that someone has but is unaware of. Mr Cunningham's blind spot is his prejudice against Tom Robinson guests of the county : on public assistance or welfare into the limelight: in theatre, the limelight is an intense light thrown on stage in order to highlight an actor, etc. To be in the limelight is to be put in prominent position before the public

Structure A long episodic novel can easily lose its way, but Harper Lee has a very organic sense of a single story with a unifying or central theme (the mockingbird theme) which is illustrated by the examples of Arthur Radley and Tom Robinson. How many readers recall, by the end of the novel, the first sentence (“When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow”)? This statement is soon forgotten, amidst a mass of narrative detail, but this incident, which Scout does not see and Jem cannot recall, is the defining moment or climax of the entire story. The first part of the novel is an account of Scout’s early years, taking her first days at school as a starting point. Most of this section is about the search for Arthur “Boo” Radley. The second part shows Scout becoming more able to understand the adult world, which is mirrored by the more serious events that occur at this point in her life. In the conclusion, however, Harper Lee brings the two narratives together – the stories are not separate. While Scout and Jem have been thinking more about the trial and less about Boo Radley, Arthur has not forgotten them. His appearance in the final chapters is almost miraculous – it is plausible (believable in its context) because it is so understated. There is no direct account of Arthur Radley’s attack on Bob Ewell. It is inferred from the sounds Scout hears and what Heck Tate discovers at the scene.

Language Standard and non-standard forms To Kill a Mockingbird is a conventional literary novel. This means, among other things that it: is written in a form of standard English which has a wide-ranging lexicon (vocabulary), includes references to art and culture which the author expects the reader to know (or find out) relates principal events mostly in the past tense The narrative contains some distinctively American lexis (vocabulary) so, to take one chapter (11) as a random example, we find “sassiest”, “mutts” and “playing hooky”. In some cases you will find a form which is standard in both UK and US English, but with a different meaning. So when Jem leaves his “pants” (trousers) on the Radley fence, this is not as alarming as it might seem to English readers. On the other hand, when he stands “in his shorts (underpants or boxer shorts) before God and everybody”, this is perhaps more alarming. In the account of the visit to First Purchase, Scout records the distinctive speech of the coloured people noting with particular interest the way Calpurnia switches into this non- standard variety.

Depicting racism through dialogue The novel is set in the 1930s but was written in the late 1950s. The dialogue is marked by frequent use of the word "nigger". This is a convenient way to indicate to the reader the racist attitudes of various characters. When she wishes to refer to African-Americans, Harper Lee uses the term "coloured". It is not only racist whites who say use the term "nigger", however - at First Purchase church, Calpurnia addresses Lula as "nigger". Since the novel was published, attitudes have changed about what is acceptable to speak and write. In the trial of O.J. Simpson, the word "nigger" was considered too offensive to repeat in court, and was described as the "N- word".

Southern colloquialisms and dialect The USA is a vast country, and Harper Lee makes use of many regional expressions, local to the southern (former Confederate) states or to Alabama more specifically, like “cootie”, “haint”, “scuppernongs” and “whistled bob-white”.