To Kill A Mockingbird Literary Classic

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To Kill a Mockingbird, a Literary Essay

Many people, when they think of a classic piece of literature, they think of famous works from people like Shakespeare or Arthur Conan Doyle, works that almost everyone knows about or has read. A more recent example of a well-known writer that has written a classic would be Harper Lee. She has in fact written one of the most famous books of the 20th century, To Kill A Mockingbird, which is now a staple in many English classrooms around the world. Its rise to success is because of how it gave perspective to one of the most turbulent times in American history, and highlighted controversial issues such as racism that were prevalent during the time period. To Kill a Mockingbird is a literary classic because …show more content…
What this means is that a work of literary merit would include vivid descriptions and make you feel like you are a part of the story, like you were side by side with the characters themselves. When Mrs. Dubose died, Jem had actually found out she used to be a slave and asked Atticus how she died: “Did she die free?’ asked Jem. ‘As the mountain air.’ said Atticus.” (Lee 198). What this means is that Mrs. Dubose, instead of having to die a slave, was able to die a free woman. And it is the way that Atticus uses imagery when he tells Jem how she died that really makes it a powerful statement, making that part of the story memorable and vivid, even though it is not necessarily one of the highlights of the plot. While powerful statements are, well, powerful, imagery can be just as hard hitting if used properly. For example, when Scout was sneaking into Boo Radley’s yard, her life is thrown into jeopardy when she trips and Nathan Radley brings out his shotgun: “... as I tripped the roar of a shotgun shattered the neighborhood.” (71). This part of the story is so sudden it gives you quite a shock. Up until then the story had been pretty mellow, with the worst thing to happen to them so far was getting yelled at by an adult. But this time, our protagonists could be quite possibly killed. And the way it is described, how it roars and how it shatters the neighborhood, really drives home the point that this is something that you need to pay attention to. With interesting wording and a captivating story, Harper Lee creates an interesting and believable world that makes us want to learn more, which most importantly means we want to keep
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