How does Harper Lee create suspense and mood through language in Chapter 10 of To Kill a Mockingbird?

In Chapter 10 of To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses repeated words, symbolic language, and words that foreshadow what is to come in order to create mood and suspense.

• Repetition and suspense

The statement of Scout that her father "didn't do anything" and her repeated use of the question "What can he do?" that Miss Maudie only answers with things that are unimpressive to Scout, suggests that Atticus is not a father about whom children would boast. When, for instance, Miss Maudie replies that Atticus can play a Jew's Harp, Scout rejects this response as of no worth because other children would not be as impressed as they are with the touchdown in a local charity football game that Cecil Jacobs's father makes. 

Also, the fact that Atticus is "old" and "nearly blind" is repeated in Scout's disappointed narration of Atticus's lack of accomplishments and adds to suspense later on in Chapter 10. In addition, the ironic phrases of "Ol' One-Shot" and Atticus's being the "deadest shot" in Maycomb County then give new meaning and significance to the repeated description of Atticus's age and visual ability. For, the children witness in awe their father's skillful use of a rifle as he shoots the rabid bird dog, Tim Johnson.

• Symbolic language and mood

When Atticus gives the air rifles to the children, he cautions them against shooting innocent mockingbirds that do nothing but sing all day. And, it is no coincidence that the pitiful Tim Johnson, who is shot, is a bird dog. Thus, there is symbolism in his victimization which foreshadows the shooting of another innocent mockingbird, Tom [like "Tim"] Robinson [not unlike "Johnson"]. This connection of the mockingbirds and Tim Johnson to Tom Robinson also sets a mood of foreboding that may come to the mind of a thoughtful reader in the later chapters. 

• Foreshadowing 

The shooting of Tim Johnson, who is a victim of rabies, does seem to suggest the cruel shooting of poor Tom Robinson. A victim of a racially rabid society, Tom is unjustly convicted and, in his desperation, he tries to escape from prison and is then "shot down like a dog." 

Of course, the references to Atticus's blindness foreshadow his conscientious efforts to act as a legal defender who practices blind justice. Then, too, the mention of blindness also foreshadows the blind bigotry of the jury.

How does Harper Lee create atmosphere in Chapter 12 of To Kill A Mockingbird using language?

In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 12 is the beginning of Part Two of the book.  As such, Lee treated it as a transitional chapter to illustrate the growth and maturation of Jem and Scout and the slow pace of change with respect to the looming trial of Tom Robinson.  Lee establishes the atmosphere for what follows by opening this section of her novel with Scout’s reminiscences regarding Jem’s changes from child and friend of Scout’s to growing, maturing young man.  Through Scout’s narration, Lee provides incremental bits of information that both reflect the changes to Jem:

“This change in Jem had come about in a matter of weeks. Mrs. Dubose was not cold in her grave—Jem had seemed grateful enough for my company when he went to read to her. Overnight, it seemed, Jem had acquired an alien set of values and was trying to impose them on me . . .”

and, that illuminate the changes gripping the Deep South during the Great Depression:

“As if that were not enough, the state legislature was called into emergency session and Atticus left us for two weeks. The Governor was eager to scrape a few barnacles off the ship of state; there were sit-down strikes in Birmingham; bread lines in the cities grew longer, people in the country grew poorer. But these were events remote from the world of Jem and me.”

We know it is summer, as part of the transition the characters are experiencing involves activities that would normally occur during that season, especially the annual arrival of Dill, who Scout informs us cannot make his usual trip because he has to remain in Meridian.  Scout identifies Dill with the onset of summer, and his absence represents just another example of how the times are changing. 

Chapter 12 is also the part of the novel when Jem and Scout become aware of the crime to which Tom Robinson has been accused: rape of a white girl.  More significantly, it is the phase of the novel when the Finch children began to understand the distinctions between races as established by a history of prejudicial treatment of African-Americans.  Much of this chapter involves Jem and Scout’s attendance at a black church, where they observe Calpurnia adopting an African-American ghetto diction when addressing Lula.  The maturing of Atticus’s children includes their growing awareness of the disparate cultures in which they are increasingly immersed.

Lee uses Chapter 12 to set the stage for the climactic developments yet to come.  She established the atmosphere through Scout’s reminiscences regarding Jem’s maturation, Dill’s inability to visit, and Cal’s decision to take the children to the all-black church.

How does Harper Lee create atmosphere in chapter 15 of To Kill A Mockingbird using language?

The atmosphere of a book is called the mood, or the emotional landscape of the story.  Authors carefully choose their words in order to create the mood they want to convey in the section.  The author’s tone, or attitude, helps create the mood and atmosphere.

The mood begins to turn in Part II from the triumphs and hardships of childhood to the life and death seriousness of the trial.  The mood of Chapter 15 is foreshadowed by references to Dill as the “defendant” in the beginning paragraph and Scout wondering who had died when the men conversed in the yard, as they only did for “death and politics.”

The atmosphere is reinforced by the fact that it is dark, and the men are collected in the front yard to discuss the situation.  Although Scout does not know what is going on, she is aware that something unusual is happening.

There was a murmur among the group of men, made more ominous when Atticus moved back to the bottom front step and the men drew nearer to him. (Ch. 15)

Words like “murmur” and “ominous” create an atmosphere of secrecy and dread as the men talk about the potential of violence toward Tom Robinson.  There is suspicion that someone might try to go after him and put justice into their own hands.  In Maycomb’s mind, Robinson is already guilty.

The heavy mood is broken when Jem yells that the telephone is ringing and Atticus yells at him to answer it.  It breaks the tension, and re-inserts the childish innocence.  This also foreshadows Scout’s diffusion of a very tense situation later when she tries to have a friendly conversation with Mr. Cunningham, not completely aware that she is in the presence of a lynch mob.

The description of the scene leading up to this incident helps create the atmosphere of tension.  It’s dark, and Atticus sits outside the jail, which is described as “venerable and hideous.”  A light shines on Atticus.

In the light from its bare bulb, Atticus was sitting propped against the front door. He was sitting in one of his office chairs, and he was reading, oblivious of the nightbugs dancing over his head. (Ch. 15)

This is a serene scene, contrasted with the danger to come.  Scout soon realizes what is wrong.  The men are “strangers,” and their intentions are not good.  When one of them men threatens Jem, she kicks him.  It is not childish silliness that motivates this—it is genuine concern.  When Scout sees someone she does know, Mr. Cunningham, she is relieved.  Talking to him makes him realize the true gravity of what he is doing, and the mob breaks up.

The atmosphere of Chapter 15 is very important, because it serves as a transition from the innocent adventures of the first part of the book to the serious nature of the trial.  Just as the events usher the reader into a new phase of Scout’s life, the careful word choice lets us know that things are taking a turn.

How does Harper Lee use language to create atmosphere in Chapter 15 of To Kill A Mockingbird?

The change in atmosphere is almost immediately discernible between chapters fourteen and fifteen of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. It is not that we didn't feel the change coming, but we were not certain when it would happen. Chapter fifteen is when the trial for which the Finch family has been taking so much grief finally becomes a reality. 

The basic plot of this chapter includes a rather odd meting on the Finch lawn, Tom Robinson moving to the Maycomb County jail the next day, Atticus going out unexpectedly at night, the three kids following him, and ending with the (what turned out to be) peaceful confrontation outside the jail. All of these events lead to the trial which begins in the next chapter. We can see chapter fifteen as a kind of transition, chapter, then. Because of that, it demonstrates some of the same atmosphere (most notably of innocence) as the first part of the novel, but it also introduces some new elements, such as fear and suspicion.

In an essay about the language in this chapter of the novel, all of those elements should be addressed: childlike innocence, fear, and suspicion. One organizational strategy for an essay, then, is to give examples of the language Lee uses to create these elements in the atmosphere. For example, Scout "burst[s] into the circle of light" at the jail, and we feel her innocence. The men "murmur," indicating something suspicious, and the prison is ominously described as "venerable and hideous," adding to an atmosphere of fear.

In a broader sense, language could include dialogue, and of course there are all kinds of examples of these three emotions in the dialogue in this chapter. For example, Scout's innocent question

“Hey, Mr. Cunningham. How’s your entailment gettin‘ along?”

reminds us both of her naivete and a more innocent time in the story. In the same scene, fear is palpable when Atticus realizes the danger his children are in. His terse and repeated order to Jem to "Go home" is like nothing we have heard from the reasonable father, a sure sign of his fear. Aunt Alexandra's overheard comments and the whispers of conversation on Atticus's front lawn are also clear indicators of fear. We recognize suspicion when Jem asks Atticus about the men on the lawn:

“It wasn’t a—a gang?”

The suspicion comes mostly from the kids because there is so much going on that they do not understand.

Another component of language is the use of details to create these this transitional atmosphere. For example, Jem's "foolproof plan to make Boo Radley come out" is to leave a trail of lemon drops creates a childlike atmosphere. The whispers of the men on the front lawn create suspicion, and the ominous image of Atticus sitting under the dim light of the jailhouse when four dusty cars appear and the men inside them get out creates a sense of fear.

One clear organizational strategy for this essay, then, might be to discuss these three key emotions (or any others you might want to include) which are used to create atmosphere and how they are portrayed through language. Depending on how you have been instructed to define "language," you might also include three language strategies (such as description, dialogue, and details) to explain how Lee creates the atmosphere in this chapter. Perhaps you are not allowed to do this, but it might be interesting to examine how Lee's use of language in this chapter differs from how she uses it in other chapters (primarily the addition of fear and suspicion).

How does Harper Lee use language for characterization in To Kill a Mockingbird?

Without the immigration of foreign-language speakers and new arrivals from Europe in the South, the English that many of the Southerners spoke in the 1930s retained traces of archaic forms whose usage was not as frowned upon as in the North where the evolution of English was more in place.  One example is the use of the archaic, and now substandard word ain't as well as the dropping of the g with words ending in -ing.  While Atticus Finch has been formally educated, he does not disapprove of his daughter's using the word ain't because in Maycomb it is merely colloquial and not considered substandard as in other areas.  Thus, Scout and Jem are allowed to use this word by Atticus because he wants them to fit in with the other children, whereas in other parts of the United States, parents would insist that the children not use such "bad English."

Fitting in with one's social group is extremely important with both blacks and whites.  This is why Calpurnia speaks standard English around the Finches, but reverts to a Negro dialect when she is among her contemporaries; she does not wish to become alienated from either group.

Certainly, social class is indicated by the level of language that one employs.  Interestingly, when Mr. Raymond Dolphus speaks to Jem, Dill, and Scout, and it is not just the "only English riding boots I had ever seen" that Mr. Dolphus Raymond wears, but his well phrased--abeit colloquial at times--Englsh that distinguishes him from others in Maycomb.  In his keen perception, Mr. Raymond recognizes that Dill will not cry in a few years.  When Scout asks him "Cry about what, Mr. Raymond," he replies with beautiful parallelism,

Cry about the simple hell people give other people--without even thinking.  Cry about the hell white people give colored folks, without even stopping to think that they are people, too.

Both Miss Maudie and Mrs. DuBose speak with few grammatical errors--if any--in their language, a fact that connotes their having been well raised by people of social position, as well.

Of course, the gutteral,  substandard language that the Ewells speak denotes their lack of education and upbringing.  Even some of the vocabulary is incomprehensible to others such as Atticus and the members of the jury, such as saying that Tom had his fingers around Mayella's gullet.  Of course, he uses archaic words such as fetch, ain't and crude similes, such as "screamin' like a stuck hog inside the house" and "screamin' fit to beat Jesus," and "that black ---yonder ruttin' on my Mayella," he drops many of the final cosonants of words.

How does Harper Lee use language for characterization in To Kill a Mockingbird?

Harper Lee absolutely uses language to enhance characterization in To Kill a Mockingbird. By "language" I assume you mean the way people speak (their dialogue) in this novel.  This story takes place in the South, so of course we would expect some southern dialect.  We get it from many characters, but others have an entirely different way of speaking.  Those whose language stands out include Calpurnia, Atticus, Miss Maudie, Bob Ewell, and Scout.

Calpurnia is a puzzle, because she speaks in two separate dialects.  For the most part, we hear Cal speak much like Atticus.  Later, we discover that's because they were educated in a similar way and from similar sources--the Bible and law books.  When she gets to church, though, we hear an entirely different Calpurnia, one who speaks in the Negro dialect.  She makes that change, she explains to Scout, because she doesn't want them to think she's "puttin' on airs."  Both ways of speaking suit the two parts of Calpurnia's life.

Atticus speaks in a rather formal langauge, generally much more formal than those around him.  That comes from his early training in reading but also from his work in the law.  This way of speaking suits him because it sets him apart, somehow, as being an upright and educated man--one who would do what is right no matter the cost.

Miss Maudie is a southern lady, but she speaks her mind.  She's not one to gossip, but she's not afraid to raise her voice when the "foot-washin' Baptists come glowering through with their condemning scriptures.  A good contrast to Miss Maudie is Miss Stephanie, who is much less formal and mature in her dialogue as well as her subject matter. 

Bob Ewell is the least educated and respectful character in this group, and his dialogue reflects that.  He's not only rude and rather cocky, but he's also woefully undereducated--as when he mistakes appendicitis for ambidextrous in the courtroom.  His dialogue is a perfect reflection of his character.

Scout is another whose language matches her character.  She's sometimes irreverent and sometimes a hothead, and her language reflects that--"Cecil Jacobs is a big wet he-en!"  When she's more contemplative and serious, her language reflects that, as well, though she is still young and sometimes gets it all wrong (as in the scene outside the jailhouse).

If one were to select some passages of dialogue for each of these characters, a reader could pretty quickly and correctly ascertain what kind of person each one of them is, it seems to me.  This novel is an excellent example of dialogue used to create and enhance character.

In To Kill a Mockingbird, how does Harper Lee's use of language affect and influence the reader?   

Harper Lee's use of language in the novel is varied in style and masterful in achieving her various literary purposes. Descriptive passages are rich in imagery and sensory language; narrative passages are direct in relating events. Moreover, dialog is frequently written in vernacular style to reflect the characters' identities--listening to Atticus speak is far different from listening to Bob Ewell's voice, not only in content but in diction. The language Atticus uses reflects his intelligence and education; Bob Ewell's language reveals his ignorance. Also, the voice of Alabama is heard in many Southern expressions and colloquialisms.  In using language so skillfully, Harper Lee tells a gripping story, creates individual characters, and captures life in Maycomb. The language of the novel serves to develop many of the local color elements in it.

Through the primary voice in the novel, Scout's, Harper Lee creates the dramatic irony that drives the novel. Through Scout's eyes, and in her own language, events unfold for readers to understand and interpret from their adult perspectives. Frequently, this creates humor in the novel; often it creates drama. Harper Lee's ideas of social equality and justice are expressed through Atticus's integrity and through his children's growing awareness and ultimate understanding of decency and moral behavior. From her perspective, the South at this time was a place of racism and cruel injustice, weighed down by generations of tradition and social class. However, she also shows it to be a place where courage and individual conscience live and where change will occur as parents like Atticus teach their values to their children.

How does Harper Lee show Atticus' character through the language she uses in To Kill a Mockingbird?

Harper Lee shows the character of Atticus through the language she chooses for him, by differentiating him completely from the townsfolk of Macomb. If you notice, Atticus is not only a well- educated man, but one who picks his words carefully in order not to belittle, nor offend, anyone.

When he is upset, as he is during the trial of Tom Robinson, he reflects the mentality of the people by repeating the common mistaken ideas that people have about their black neighbors. He appeals to the emotions of the people by clearly declaring how he, himself, accepts everybody as an equal and is willing to defend anybody whom he considers to be innocent. This, he does with words that appeal directly to the senses, as well as to the common sense of his audience.

He is measured, paused, eloquent, and not overly-complicated when he talks, despite of being one of the most intelligent men in Macomb. He is able to talk to just anybody regardless of social or educational level and change his mode to adapt to theirs.

In all, one can almost feel that Atticus is a being altogether alien to Macomb. His eloquence, his in-depth thinking, and the simplicity and sensible ability for speech make him someone who exudes tolerance, compassion, peace, and love, towards all.

How does Harper Lee show Atticus' character through the language she uses in To Kill a Mockingbird?

Although Atticus Finch is possibly the most intellectual man in all of Maycomb, he is also presented as equally down to earth and a man of the people. He is an attorney and state legislator who runs unopposed each term, yet he is self-educated and accepts trade from his customers in lieu of cash. Through the eyes of his daughter, Lee describes the depth of her adoration as well as her frustration with Atticus' complex character. He offers words of home-spun wisdom--"It's a sin to kill a mockingbird" and "Climb into his skin and walk around in it"--that guide his children along a straight path, but he allows Scout to wear overalls instead of skirts, hoping that she will eventually see the light and take her first steps toward being a lady.

He is at heart a country boy who loves small town life and the people who go with it. His needs are simple: He walks to work, he plays the Jew's harp, and he grins when he glimpses his gift of pickled pigs' knuckles after the trial. Miss Maudie tells us that

"Atticus Finch is the same in his house as he is on the public streets."

Dolphus Raymond assures Scout that

"... your pa's not a run-of-the-mill man, it'll take a few years for that to sink in..."

He is not infallible: His client is found guilty and sentenced to death; he makes the near-fatal mistake of failing to escort his children to the pageant on Halloween; and he fails to see that it was Boo and not Jem who killed Bob Ewell. In Atticus, Harper Lee creates an everyman, a mortal who strives to live his life according to his conscience and to the high moral standards he sets for his children.