To Kill A Mockingbird
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD One of the major masterpieces of American literature, To Kill A Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee originally as a love story, was published in 1960 and won a Pulitzer Prize in 1961. It also won an Academy Award when it was later made into a film starring Gregory Peck. The story is set in imaginary Maycomb County in southern Alabama. The time frame for the story is the early 1930's during the great depression. Poverty was common and times were extremely tough. This book is loaded with interesting characters. Here is an outline and description of some of the most important characters. The story revolves around the Finch family, led by Atticus Finch, a lawyer. Atticus has two children: Jem, short for Jeremy, his eldest son and Scout, nickname for Jean Louise, his younger and only daughter. Scout is a bit of a tomboy and enjoys hanging out with her brother and their friend Dill. Dill is a young boy who comes to stay in Maycomb every summer with his aunt, Mis!s Rachel. Aunt Alexandra is Atticus' sister and the family has a maid named Calpurnia. The children spend a great deal of time at the house of Arthur "Boo" Radley. Bob Ewell who lives with his daughter Mayella Ewell is the man who accuses Tom Robinson, a b
and Scout walk home. Scout is still in her cumbersome costume. Bob Ewell who has not forgotten his vow of revenge sees the children and follows them down a dark street. Bob attacks the children and tries to kill them. Boo having seen everything from his window, runs to save Jem and Scout. He kills Mr. Ewell by stabbing him repeatedly then carries Jem who has been badly injured to his home. To keep Boo from receiving massive amounts of publicity and public ridicule the sheriff files a report stating that Bob fell on the knife and died. Boo and Scout's paths never cross again but she now had no doubt that Boo is a kind man. Scout is shown justice and understanding through the sheriff's actions, a lesson that she will never forget. The book's title is important in some parts of the novel. In chapter 10 the children each receive an air rifle for Christmas. Their father tells the children that killing a mockingbird is a sin. Later in the novel their neighbor Miss Maudie elaborates! them off. One night during the following winter one of the Finch's neighbor Miss Maudie's house burns to the ground. As Scout was standing and watching the efforts of the town in fighting the fire, someone placed a blanket over her shoulders. Jem later realizes that it must have been Boo who tried to warm Scout with the blanket because everyone else in town was fighting Miss Maudie's fire. The children now see Boo in a new light and realize that he must be a nice person. Their interest in the Radl
Some common words found in the essay are:
Jem Scout, Miss Maudie's, Tom Robinson, Bob Ewell, Mayella Ewell, Boo Scout, Maycomb County, Scout Scout, Ewells Tom, Tom Robinson's, jem scout, bob ewell, tom robinson, friend dill, stay maycomb, miss maudie's, neighbor miss, boo radley, summer aunt, kill mockingbird,
Approximate Word count = 998
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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