The book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee has won many awards. This is no surprise to those who have read the book, and many have. The book is popular for many reasons, one being that it is well written. Lee used different literary devices to bring the book together as a whole. Two of the most prominent devices used by Lee are symbol and round character. She also used a unique style when Scout was narrating which added greatly to the effect of the story.
Towards the end of the book, when everything starts to tie together the reader realizes that symbolism is one of the main parts of the book. The mockingbird symbol actually applies to more than one character in the book. Boo Radley is the main character that readers apply it to, as his was the saddest situation, but there is also Tom Robinson and Ms. Dubose to take into consideration. Boo Radley was kind of a mysterious character, as the townspeople didn't know much about him. In "People said he existed, but Jem and I had never seen him," (8) Lee shows this. This sparked the children's imaginations and there was mild persecution, although unknown to the children. Tom Robinson was also persecuted, but on the basis of race. Even thought everyone knew he was innocent, the jury found him guilty only because he was black.
In the beginning of the book, Scout Finch and her brother Jem were, although mature for their age, fairly childish, as expected of them to be. As the book progresses, though, and they gain new understanding of the way things are, they become less childish and more capable of understanding complicated situations. In "'Overnight, it seemed, Jem had acquired an alien set of values and was trying to impose them on me," (115) the author describes the way Jem changed after he turned twelve. Scout also changed slowly throughout the book. The reader is able to tell through her use of dialogue. Her narration in the book does not change, ...