Plot Overview

Scout, the narrator of the story, is a young girl living

in Maycomb county with her brother Jem, her father
Atticus, and their African- American cook Calpurnia.
Every summer, Dill, comes to town and Scout and
Jem basically spend all day with him. They all
become fascinated with this house on the corner,
the Radley house. They believe there is a boy
named Boo Radley living in the house; an
inhumane person who never sets foot outside the
Radley property. One night a house in the
neighborhood burns on fire and Scout goes outside
to see the commotion. Someone secretly slips a
blanket over Scout's shoulders since she is cold.
Since then, they believe it was this mysterious Boo
Radley who did that and was involved in a couple
other strange incidents. Time comes and Atticus
then agrees to defend Tom Robinson, an African
American man accused of raping a white woman.
Because of his decision, Scout and Jem face
problems with the other children around town and
at school. They tease them about their father
defending an African American man. Because of
this, the children get in a lot of trouble. When the
trial comes, Atticus has the perfect evidence to
prove that Tom Robinson is not guilty, but due to
the time around where people were most racist, of
course Tom Robinson ended up being guilty. The
father of the girl who says was raped by Tom
Robinson seeks revenge on Atticus since he knows
the actual truth about the whole conflict they faced.
On the night of Halloween, he attacks Jem and
Scout. Suddenly, what seems to be Boo Radley
comes, stabs Bob to fatality, and takes wounded
Jem inside the house for safety.

Character Analysis

About the Author

Lee grew up as a tomboy in a small town, being the
youngest of four children. Her father was a lawyer,
and her mother is said to have had a mental illness.
In high school, Lee developed an interest in English
literature. She then went to an all female college,
but unlike the other girls, she was not interested in
fashion or makeup. Instead she focuses her
attention on writing. One of her other works has
been In Cold Blood.

Novel Notes
To Kill A Mockingbird
Harper Lee
Yasmeen Casillas
1/7/16

Historical Context
Around the time the novel was published, African
Americans were still denied most of their basic
rights. Tom Robinson was an innocent man, but
because of the white jury making the decision, he
was still found guilty. The book was also written
around the time of the Great Depression. Small
farmers, like some mention throughout the book,
had little or no money in order to plant crops.

Essential Quotes
You never really understand a person until you
consider things from his point of view until you
climb into his skin and walk around it (Lee 3).
Remember its a sin to kill a mockingbird (10).

SparkNotes. SparkNotes, n.d. Web. 10 Jan. 2016.

Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 10 Jan.
2016.

Themes

Motifs and Symbols

Jean Louise (Scout) Finch: The narrator and

protagonist of the story. She lives in Maycomb
County with her brother Jem, her dad Atticus,
and their cook Calpurnia. She is a bright child,
and in some ways, because of the descriptions
in the book, is a tomboy. Throughout the novel
her faith is being tested as the Tom Robinson
trial comes closer.
Jeremy Atticus (Jem) Finch: The brother of
Scout, and son of Atticus. At their young ages,
Scout and Jem were the best of friends. They
were 4 years apart. As Jem gets older, he
distances himself from Scout, but he still acts
as her companion and protector.
Atticus Finch: Father of Scout and Jem Finch.
He is a lawyer in Maycomb county. Hes a
widow, and raises the children basically on his
own, with the help of Calpurnia of course. He is
wise, intelligent, and has a good sense of
humor. He is one of the few people to believe
in the equality of races. Because of his trial with
Tom Robinson, Scout and Jem face problems
with others due to assumptions and rumors.
Calpurnia: The housemaid and cook of Atticus,
Scout, and Jem. She teaches Scout and Jem
the difference between the white and black
communities.
Arthur (Boo) Radley: Scout, Jem, and their
friend, Dill, imagine him to be some sort of
inhumane person living inside the Radley
house; never setting foot beyond the property.
A bright child traumatized by his cruel father.

If people are essentially good or evil: The book

shows this when Scout and Jem have an
innocent childhood, to when they come to an
adult perspective when it comes to the trial of
Tom Robinson.
Not everyone is perfect, people can be good,
but bad at the same time: The most important
thing is to appreciate the good qualities of
people and look at the bad qualities as
understanding. Tom Robinson was a good
man, but he was not perfect either. Although he
did not commit the rape, the jury, as well as the
others, could have been understandable
instead of acting immediately racist.

Living in a small town: The author explains in

detail how it feel to live in the slow, small town
of maycomb in order to portray the ideas of
being good and being evil.
Mockingbirds: The title has very little to do with
the plot of the story. Throughout the story,
innocence is destroyed by evil. The
mockingbird comes to show innocence. So
when the title says To Kill A Mockingbird, it
means to eradicate innocence.