READ & LEARN

“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.”

– Harper Lee Harper Lee’s Pulitzer winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird, first published in 1960 explores the topic of prejudice from different angles, set in the 1930s. An interesting and thought provoking novel, it looks into how you treat people who are different from you.

SYNOPSIS

a. ThestoryistoldbytheintelligentJeanLouiseFinch(nicknamedScout) who ages from six to nine years old during the course of the novel. b. Scout lives with elder brother Jeremy (Jem), and her widowed father, Atticus Finch, a prominent lawyer.

c. Atticus agrees to defend Tom Robinson, a poor AfricanAmerican field attendant who is accused and put on trial for the rape of a white woman named Mayella Ewell.

d. Despite Atticus’ credible evidence that Mayella was attacked by her father (Bob Ewell), the jury convicts Tom.

e. Tom is later killed while trying to escape custody.

f. Bob Ewell later attacks Scout and her brother as they walk home at night. Arthur Radley (Boo), their reclusive neighbour comes to the rescue and a fight erupts where Bob is killed. g. The town sheriff, Heck Tate covers up the incident by stating it as accidental whereby Ewell fell on his own knife. This spares Boo from arrest.

h. In the end, Scout notes that to arrest and convict Boo would be “sort of like shootin’ a mockingbird.”

MAJOR CHARACTERS

∙ Jean Louise Finch (Scout): the narrator and protagonist of the

novel.

∙ Jeremy Finch (Jem): Scout’s older brother who appears as a

protective figure.

∙ Atticus Finch: Scout’s well respected father who is a lawyer. ∙ Tom Robinson: The accused but seemingly innocent rapist. ∙ Arthur “Boo” Radley: The neighbour who is clouded and hidden in mystery.

SETTING

a. The novel is set in Maycomb, Alabama in America during the

1930s. b. Maycomb is a tired and old town back then. The pace of life is

very slow and most people love strolling across the town square.

THEMES

a. Judgment is a major theme in To Kill a Mockingbird The two notable instances where judgment is evident are: ∙ Scout’sattitudetowards“Boo”untilshediscovershiskindness

and bravery.

∙ The assumption of the town’s citizens that Tom Robinson was guilty

of raping Mayella, contrary to the evidence during the trial. b. Other themes are racial prejudice, social prejudice, tolerance

and empathy.

MORAL VALUES

∙ The prominence given to life and the need to safeguard it. ∙ The value of equality where man needs the society he lives in.

All men are equal and it is pointless to make distinctions. ∙ Tolerance and patience are other morals evident in this novel.