To+Kill+a+Mockingbird

Plot Events: 1. Scout and Jem Finch live in Maycomb in Alabama with their father, Atticus who is a well-off lawyer in the town. One summer Scout and Jem meet Dill, who lives in the neighborhood for the summer and begin to hang out with him during the entire summer. 2. Scout starts school that fall and hates it because of the way lesser children are treated and the way the teacher treats her in class. 3. The next summer Dill returns and the children often make adventures down to the Radley house to try and figure out what Boo Radley's story is since he has never left the house. At the end of the summer, the kids try to sneak into the house and end up getting shot at by Nathan Radley. In the process, Jem loses his pants but later finds them mended hanging over a fence. 4. Tom Robinson becomes accused of raping a lower-class white girl and Atticus agrees to defend him in court. Soon Jem and Scout become victims of other children and their teasing because of Atticus' willingness to help Tom. 5. As Tom Robinson's trial begins, Dill runs away from his father to Maycomb and Atticus' sister, Alexandra, comes to live with the Finches. Tom is placed in a local jail where a group of men mob the jail in an attempt to lynch Tom. 6. During the trial, Scout and Jem sit in the colored section of the courthouse as they watch their father defend Tom, saying Mayella Ewell and Bob are obviously lying because the bruises on Mayella's face are on the side in which her father would strike her after finding her with Tom. However, even though Atticus makes an excellent argument, the all-white jury convicts him. After trying to escape, Tom Robinson is shot to death outside of of the prison. 7. Bob Ewell becomes upset with Atticus because he believes that Atticus has ruined his reputation, so he messes with Tom's widow and later attacks Atticus and Jem as they are walking home from a Halloween party at the school. Boo Radley saves Jem and Scout by stabbing fatally stabbing Bob and Boo then carries Jem back to the Finch's household. Jem is saved from being convicted of murder when the sheriff says Bob tripped on a tree root and fell onto Boo's knife, killing him.

Characters
 * 1) Scout Finch-- The narrator. She is around 7 or 8 years old, but she often seems much older. She is smart and acts like a tomboy most of the time.
 * 2) Atticus Finch-- Scout and Jem's father. He is the main lawyer in the town and is the epitome of morality and wisdom. He supports equality, and he defends a black man during a rape trial.
 * 3) Jem Finch-- Scout's brother. He plays with Scout mostly when they are younger, but as he grows up, he slowly distances himself from her. He likes playing football and tries to protect Scout throughout their childhood.
 * 4) Boo Radley-- The recluse that lives near the Finch's. He is a mysterious character for most of the novel, and Scout and Jem create many stories and games about him. He later rescues Scout and Jem from a dangerous situation and reveals himself as a kind and generous person.
 * 5) Tom Robinson-- A black man that is accused of rape. Atticus defends him, but his trial sparks outrage and controversy within the community.
 * 6) Bob Ewell-- A very poor white man who goads his daughter into pressing rape charges against Tom Robinson. He is mean, uneducated, and rude. He attempts to kill Jem and Scout, but he is stopped by Boo Radley.
 * 7) Dill Harris-- Scout and Jem's childhood friend. He is very small but very self-confident.
 * 8) Mayella Ewell-- The lonely daughter of Bob Ewell. She was bullied into testifying against Tom by her father, and she goes along with the trial to satisfy him.

Setting: The fictional small town of Maycomb, Alabama from 1933 – 1935. Small town life becomes a very important aspect of the novel due to the setting.

Key Symbols: § The mockingbird from the title and throughout the novel symbolizes innocence. The mockingbird can be used to refer to Jem, Dill, Tom Robinson, and many of the other characters who faced harm after doing nothing to deserve it. - The Radley place represents superstition and mystery. - Tim Johnson (the mad dog) symbolizes racism. In this case, the gun represents the legal process and the bullets represent the jury. Either the dog (racism) must be killed, or it will destroy the entire community. To Kill a Mocking Bird is not just a court room novel, just as much so it is a tale about childhood and children’s maturation. The children’s interaction with Boo symbolizes their “growing up” throughout the course of the novel. At the beginning of the story, Boo is talked about in silent and apprehensive tones; he is treated as somewhat of a neighborhood legend. As the story progresses the children interact more with Boo until he eventually saves Scout from harm at the hands of Bob Ewell. Boo also symbolizes that there is good in everybody
 * Boo Radley **

Key Images:


 * Knothole- There is a knothole in the tree in front of the Radley place. Boo Radley leaves small treasures for Jem and Scout until Nathan Radley fills the knothole with cement, thus closing their line of communication. Jem and Scout are crushed when this happens.
 * Blanket- While watching Miss Maudie's house burn during a freezing cold night, Boo Radley covered Scout with a brown blanket. She was so absorbed in the fire that she didn't notice until Atticus pointed it out.
 * Jem's pants- When Jem, Scout, and Dill were trespassing on the Radley's property and trying to spy through the windows, someone came out on the back porch and scared them off. Jem's pants got caught in the fence while escaping so he just left them hanging there. When he went back for them later that night, they were hanging neatly on the fence and had been mended by Boo Radley.

Key Themes: 1. Social Inequality- Community of Maycomb is very defined by social status, espescially when it comes to issue of race. Inequalities of the town are confusing and complicated to Scout; Harper Lee using the children such as Scout to make commentary about the prejudices among the classes and the inequality of society. 2. Good vs. Evil- The argument between whether people are inherently good or inherently evil, characterized through the children. For example, Scout keeps her faith in human nature believing that everyone is good, while Jem becomes disillusioned and loses faith in humanity during Tom Robinson's trial. Their father, Atticus Finch, is the driving force of good in their life, teaching them what is morally right and wrong but at the same time understanding that everyone has good and bad qualities. 3. Justice – By listening to Scout’s neighbors talk, the reader understands the pessimism with which many of the people of Maycomb view the case. However, hope does exist, as the town judge chooses Atticus Finch, the best lawyer in the town, instead of a junior lawyer to defend Tom Robinson in the case. Harper Lee makes clear commentary about truth and hatred in a prejudiced world, and which side will ultimately prevail, if only for the sake of justice. 4. Fairness – Scout has difficulty coming to terms with the evident racism in Maycomb, especially after she and her brother are treated poorly by their classmates for the actions of their father. To keep them in line and to keep priorities straight, Atticus brings his sister into their home to live with them.

Key Structural Elements: The story is told through the perspective of Scout Finch, who many critics believe is far too sophisticated to be plausible for her age. Through this choice of narrator the audience perceives the town and its conflict through the simple, uncomplicated viewpoint of an adolescent girl. The novel is divided into two parts; the first sets the stage of Maycomb while the second deals primarily with the trial. Atticus Finch truly shines in the second part of the novel, representing a beacon of hope and epitomizing the role of defender of the wrongfully accused.