Symbolism and Allegory in To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee uses symbolism extensively in To Kill a Mockingbird and much of it relates to the problems of racism in the South at beginning of the 20th century. Harper Lee's effective use of racial symbolism and allegory can be seen by studying various examples from the book, namely the actions of the children, racist whites, and Atticus Finch. One of the most effective allegories in the novel is Jem and Scout's building of a snowman. There wasn't enough snow to create a snowman made entirely of snow, so Jem created a foundation with dirt and then covered it with whatever snow they had. If the snowman were made entirely of snow, Jem's action would not be as significant. Scout is very surprised when she sees the brown snowman and exclaims, "Jem, I never heard of a nigger snowman." (72), and to this Jem replies, "He won't stay black long." (72). The scout's words indicate the strange nature of the snowman who is half black and half white. Jem, however, did not find this strange and "gathered up some snow and began to plaster it." Gradually Mr. Avery turned white? (73). The snowman symbol, like any other symbol in literature, can have various interpretations depending on the individual's reading. In this specific case the snowman can be seen in two ways. First, this alteration from black to white can be regarded as a merging of the two races into one, with no difference between them to separate them, an equality between whites and blacks. The color change (from black to white) suggests the superficiality of skin color, which should not be a criterion for judging people and dividing them into categories. The... paper center of Atticus... the two victims of human malice suggest the power Harper Lee sees in symbolism, which conveys the message better than words. On this point he seems to agree with JBS Haldane, a British scientist, who stated: "Indeed, words are well suited to describing and arousing emotions, but for many types of precise thinking other symbols are much better" (Tripp) . Perhaps this is why Harper Lee chooses to declare her rejection of prejudice and racism through the use of symbols; because they are more effective than words. Works Cited Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. 1960. New York: Warner Books, 1982. Tripp, Rhoda Thomas. The international citation thesaurus. New York: Harper and Row, 1990. “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Sparknote LLC. 2003. Barnes & Noble Learning Network. November 2. 2003 .