Symbolism In To Kill A Mockingbird

All great pieces of literature stand the test of time because they speak to us in some form or another - whether it is to the individual or the whole society . But a question arises - what is great literature ? And who defines what is a great piece of literature ? Whilst broad questions I will briefly attempt to define great literature as writing that represents not only a ''radical change or time in history and puts into perspective the viewpoints of that time ''. It also has a lasting imprint on the culture of mankind....it endures times , politics and popular opinion. This implies that a well written book will stay with us long after the reader has left this world.
As time progresses we as people change - our tastes, needs and knowledge
Starting with the title of the book - to kill a mockingbird. It symbolizes the destruction of innocence. Mockingbirds symbolically represent innocence with none of the taint of experience/evil that surrounds us. Many of the characters that emerge in the book are like these birds and upon contact with evil are either destroyed or impacted negatively. The evil here is both represented by the town and individual characters It seems that Lee purposefully uses the children's perspective to tell the story and through them we go from innocence to experience a bit like William Blake's poetry Songs of Innocence and Experience. The innocence comes from the fact that the children don't have any knowledge of evil and as this changes these children become aware of the realities of life and the evil of man, they change accordingly . Both Scout and Jem make their journeys from innocence to experience with different results and the events that take place in the book shakes both their beliefs in the goodness of people and only Scout regains her beliefs whilst Jem is left
But the sub themes also emerge from the main theme. These allow the reader to really understand the human traits within the context of this battle of good vs evil. Not only we get a glimpse into the era in which the characters lived but also our own present situation is better understood - that is how we got to where we are and why! Themes like social inequality, racism, bravery, intolerance are universal themes seen in characters and around us . We see them in everyday life in Pakistan . The rich vs the poor, racism within our religious and socio economic order, bravery by our army in the face of terrorism, intolerance in the practice of religion . So whilst the book was written in the 1950's and takes place in the US it speaks to us whether we are in Pakistan, Switzerland or Ouagadougou. We experience this all as humans first and then as individual