To Kill A Mockingbird

A detailed Summary of To Kill A Mockingbird

"To Kill A Mockingbird" by Harper Lee is a novel, which I have studied and admired recently. My admiration for the novel comes through the way Harper Lee highlights an important theme in the development of the novel through two separate incidents. These incidents helped my understanding and enjoyment of the novel as a whole.

The novel itself takes place in a small county called Maycomb during the 1930's. The main characters include the narrator of the novel Jean-Louise Finch or as she is known throughout the novel Scout Finch. The Finch's play a big part in the novel with the family of three made up of Atticus, who is the father and Scout's brother Jem. The plot is mainly took up by a court case involving a black man called Tom Robinson who is accused of raping a young white girl called Mayella Ewell. Atticus is the brave man who protests Tom's innocence and defends him throughout the trial. Atticus seems a very private man and mainly keeps himself to himself so the reader is quite unaware of what he is actually like. This is when Harper Lee uses two separate incidents to show the reader Atticus' true character.

The first memorable incident in the novel concerns the shooting of a mad dog. Thi

The novel eventually ends when Atticus receives a threat from Bob Ewell, the father of the girl who accused Tom Robinson of rape. However Bob, doesn't go for Atticus, he targets his children. On the children's return from a Halloween outing they are attacked by Bob Ewell but luckily saved by an unknown man later identified as Boo Radley. Boo wrestled Bob Ewell off the children before stabbing a knife through his heart.

Atticus sends Jem to talk to Mrs Dubose and she asked Jem to read to her for a month on Saturdays and also after school. This was to help Mrs Dubose take her mind away from the pain of her body being cleared from the morphine. When the sessions end, Mrs Dubose condition deteriates heavily and isn't long after that Mrs Dubose dies. After Mrs Dubose's death, Atticus has a talk with Jem. Atticus says to Jem that Mrs Dubose "was a great lady", Jem is dumbfounded by his fathers remark as after all Mrs Dubose did nothing but criticise him. However despite this, Atticus is still very polite and fair-minded in his judgement of Mrs Dubose. Throughout the novel Atticus treats people equally and the way he would like to be treated and he tries to enforce this rule to his children. Atticus says "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his or her point if view-until you climb into his skin and walk around in it."

These incidents in the novel help us see the development of two of the main characters and let us see how they grow up and mature, as they get older. One incident in particular is when Jem is ordered to apologise to Mrs Dubose by Atticus. Even though Scout is scared stiff of Mrs Dubose she shows her true courage and warm heart as she accompanies her brother to see Mrs Dubose. This also shows Scouts loyalty to her family. This is when the reader begins to realise that both children are making gradual progress towards maturity. This is more noticeable in Jem when he learns self-discipline, while apologising to Mrs Dubose. Another incident which highlights Jem's kind will and maturity is when with his own birt

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Approximate Word count = 1401
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels