To Kill a Mockingbird is a story about race, equality contrast inequality, and morality. It is also about growing up and seeing cruelty and hypocrisy in an adult community. The novel takes place in a town called Maycomb in Alabama during the Great Depression. The novel is told by the main character Scout Finch. Scout lives with her father, her older brother, and her family’s chef. Her brother's, name is Jem and he is three years older than Scout. Her father's, name is Atticus, and he is a lawyer. Scout is around six years old at the beginning of the story and at the end of the story she is nine years old. Throughout the story, we get to follow Scout's sights and thoughts about school, people, and almost everything in general.
One summer, a young boy named Dill moves in next door to the Finch family, and Scout, Jem, and Dill become very close friends. Throughout the first chapter Scout, Jem, and Dill play games involving the Radley house. The family that lives in the Radley house is very antisocial and Arthur Radley is the son who has not been seen outside his house in many years. Scout, Jem, and Dill call Arthur Boo Radley instead of his real name because they refer to him as a ghost. They have this frightful picture of what he is like, but the true story is that he got in trouble with the law when he was a teenager and his father thereafter never let him out of the house. After his father passed away Boo started living with his older brother Nathan and he is still a complete recluse. Scout, Jem, and Dill play games like daring each other to touch the house and then run back. One day they notice presents like pennies and gums hidden in a hole in a tree and after a long time, they realize that it was Boo Radley who was leaving the gifts for them. They then come up with a plan to get Boo Radley out of the house to get a look at him. One night all three of them sneak at the back of the Radley house to get a look at him through the window and they get shot at by Nathan. Jem gets his pants stuck in a fence as they were running away and when they went back to get his pants Boo had fixed them and left them out for Jem. Over the year, they realize that Boo is nice. Scout learns that you can never truly understand someone until you put yourself in their shoes.
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Another lesson Scout learns throughout the novel is that you keep fighting when you know you can not win. She learns this when her father agrees to defend Tom Robinson. Tom has been accused of raping Mayella Ewell, the daughter of Bob Ewell. Atticus is set to do a good job at it, even though he knows he is going to lose because of racism. The case reveals to the children how racist Maycomb is. Scout and Jem end up getting teased because their father is defending a black man. When Scout and Jem are watching the trial they are positive Atticus is going to win. Mayella Ewell and her father Bob Ewell are obnoxious and do not seem very trustworthy. The physical evidence is against them because her bruises are on the right side of her face and Tom can not use his left arm. However, Bob Ewell is left-handed. Then Tom tells a convincing story, that Mayella had kissed him and that her father had caught her and beat her up. Despite Atticus's brilliant defense, the jury convicts Tom a guilty verdict.
The third lesson she learns is that the world is very unfair. Scout and Jem are crushed by Tom's conviction. They learn about the evil side of their whole community and the fact that the justice system is tainted by unfairness. Bob Ewell threatens Atticus for making a fool of him. A few weeks later, on Halloween when Scout and Jem are walking home, they notice that a man is stalking them. The man is Bob Ewell and he attacks Jem and tries to kill them, but Boo Radley hears them and comes out of his house and rescues them after a fight Bob Ewell lies dead and Boo carries unconscious Jem toward the Finch house. When the sheriff arrives he and Atticus discuss the details of the incident and what to do about Bob Ewell's death. The sheriff and Atticus decide not to reveal that it was Boo who killed Bob. In the resolution, Scout walks Boo home and never sees him again.
A very interesting fact I noticed was the literary style that Lee uses to describe the characters. For example, Bob Ewel, is a character who uses foul words which reflects his poor social skills and educational background. On the other hand, Atticus Finch is formal in his use of words. Also, Tom Robinson uses colloquial English such as saying “suh” instead of ”sir” and “chillun” instead of “children”.
Jean Louise Finch (Scout): Scout is the main character of the story. She is very eager, observant, and inquisitive. Scout is very intelligent and by the standards, of that time she is described as a tomboy.
Jeremy Atticus Finch (Jem): Jem is Scout’s older brother and also one of her best friends. Throughout the story, Jem deals with many difficult issues.
Arthur Radley (Boo Radley): Arthur Radley is a man who lives next door to Jem and Scout.
They have never seen him so they come up with a plan trying to get him outside the house so they can see him.
Atticus Finch: Atticus Finch Scout and Jem’s father. He is a lawyer and he supports racial equality. Atticus is the moral center of the novel, he is a very honest person and tries to help everyone.
Tom Robinson: Tom is a man who is accused of raping a nineteen-year-old woman named Mayella Ewell.
The title of To Kill a Mockingbird is a very significant symbol in the book. The word mockingbird appears several times but it first appears in chapter 10 on page 119, when Atticus is talking to Jem about how to use his shotgun. He said:
“I’d rather you shot at tin cans in the backyard, but I know you’ll go after birds. Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”
When Scout asks Miss Maudie what her father meant, she explains:
“Your father’s right. Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people's gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”
The mockingbird symbolizes vulnerability and innocence. Several characters in the novel like Boo Radley and Tom Robinson lose their innocence. Tom and Boo are described as some of the novel’s “mockingbirds”, a significant symbol of innocence destroyed by evil.
I think To Kill a Mockingbird is a great book and has a good message. I did enjoy reading the book I love that it is written from Scout’s point of view. However, I have many negative opinions and feelings about this book. First of all, I do not like the beginning of the book because it focuses so much on Boo Radley that I thought it would be explained better later in the story. I also do not like the first part of the book and to be honest I thought the book was a bit overrated. One of my favorite parts in the book is after the trial when Jem claims that he understands why Boo Radley never comes out of his house. I do not why but that was the biggest hit to me.
I think the message this novel conveys is that you should not hurt the innocent and those who do what is right. You never realize how messed up society is when you are stuck in the cocoon of childhood. Even though the book was written in 1960 there are still factors that are relevant today. For example, when it comes to Boo Radley we learn that we ought not to prematurely judge people, something I think we experience more and more in adulthood. Furthermore, the issues of racial inequality that can be seen today in how black people are still more likely to be wrongfully convicted, and also the police brutality we oftentimes hear about. I think that is why Harper Lee wrote the novel.
Some of the symbols I could find are mockingbirds, Boo Radley, the knothole, and Bob Ewell.
The mockingbird is the most obvious symbol I could think of, mainly because it is in the title. The mockingbird symbolizes many characters in To Kill a Mockingbird. It symbolizes Scout and Jem due to their innocence that they lose through the story.
Boo Radley is also a symbol and shows Scout and Jem’s growing maturity. Throughout the novel, they discover that Boo might not be what everyone believes he is. This is an important symbol of the maturity that both Scout and Jem go through in the novel.
The knothole symbolizes Jem, Scout, and Boo’s communication and their friendship. I also think it symbolizes reaching out to others.
Bob Ewell symbolizes the racism of Maycomb. He is evil and a complete jerk, and throughout the whole story, he is nothing but rude.
Anyway, I would probably recommend this book!
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