Literary Devices in Chapter 7

Juicy Bits, Humour and Theme:
"He went through a brief Egyptian Period that baffled me --he tried to walk flat a great deal, sticking one arm in front of him and one in back of him, putting one foot behind the other.  He declared Egyptians walked that way" 

• On page 79, Scout says that Jem danced like an Egyptian (was learning about Ancient Egypt in school). This humour shows that even though Scout expresses about how much she dislikes school, Jem is rational by trying to encourage her by telling her that it gets better as an adult would do.  Moreover, it reminds the audience of the theme of child-like behaviour, which further contributes to the humour. 

Pathetic Fallacy: 

“There…summer drifts into autumn, and autumn is sometimes never followed by winter…again” (page 79). 

• This idea of no defined seasons, is comparable to the town on Maycomb. The weather having no new beginnings and major changes reflects the fact that the town of Maycomb is slow-paced, uninteresting and the fact that you don’t get new beginning (such as the Radley’s) because of the fact that everyone is so familiar with everyone.

Imagery:

“He held them down to me. They were almost perfect miniatures of two children. The boy had on shorts, and a shock of soapy hair fell to his eyebrows. I looked up at Jem. A point of straight brown hair…before” (page 80). 

• This quote is from chapter seven and paints the reader a vivid picture of the soap figures, making us picture them as very artistic and detailed. This quote is effective because it gives us insight in the sense that Boo Radley is not monstrous as the civilians of Maycomb see him as; indirectly, this is character development as well. I think Harper Lee used this imagery/quote to help us as well as the characters begin to change thoughts about Boo.