Flexi Educational Consult
Flexi Educational Consult
To Kill a Mockingbird is a coming-of-age novel by Harper Lee, published in 1960. Set in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama, during the Great Depression, it is narrated by Jean Louise 'Scout' Finch as she looks back on important events from her childhood. Through Scout's experiences, the novel examines racism, social injustice, class prejudice, moral courage, empathy, childhood innocence and the loss of innocence. The story is particularly concerned with the unjust trial of Tom Robinson, a Black man falsely accused of assaulting Mayella Ewell. It also follows the children's changing understanding of their mysterious neighbour, Arthur 'Boo' Radley. The title comes from Atticus Finch's lesson that it is a sin to harm innocent people who do no wrong.
Scout Finch lives with her older brother Jem and their widowed father, Atticus Finch, a lawyer in Maycomb. Their cook, Calpurnia, helps raise them, while their friend Dill Harris visits during the summer. The children become fascinated by the Radley family, especially Boo Radley, a reclusive man whom Maycomb has turned into a frightening legend. As the children grow older, they gradually discover that Boo is kind and protective rather than monstrous. The main conflict begins when Atticus is appointed to defend Tom Robinson, a Black man accused of assaulting Mayella Ewell, the daughter of the poor and abusive Bob Ewell. Although the evidence shows that Tom could not have committed the crime and that Mayella was probably attacked by her father, the all-white jury finds Tom guilty because of racial prejudice. Tom is later killed while attempting to escape prison. The trial exposes Maycomb's racism and deeply affects Jem and Scout. Bob Ewell blames Atticus for humiliating him in court and later attacks Jem and Scout on their way home from a school pageant. Boo Radley rescues the children and kills or fatally wounds Bob while defending them. Sheriff Heck Tate decides to report Bob's death as an accident because exposing Boo would subject him to unwanted public attention. Scout finally understands Atticus's lesson about empathy: one cannot truly understand another person until one considers life from that person's point of view.