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To Kill a Mockingbird

AUTHOR BIOFull Name: Nelle Harper Lee

Pen Name: Harper Lee

Date of Birth: 1926

Place of Birth: Monroeville, Alabama

Brief Life Story: The youngest of four children born to Amasa Lee and FrancesFinch Lee, Nelle Harper Lee earned a law degree from the University ofAlabama in 1949 and spent a year at Oxford in England, but in 1950 moved toNew York to focus on writing. In 1960 she published To Kill a Mockingbird,which became an immediate and immense success. Yet Lee never publishedanother novel, instead retreating from the spotlight to her hometown ofMonroeville.

KEY FACTSFull Title: To Kill a Mockingbird

Genre: Coming-of-age novel (bildungsroman); social novel

Setting: The fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama during the GreatDepression

Climax: The trial of Tom Robinson; or when Bob Ewell attacks Scout and Jem

Protagonist: Scout

Antagonist: Bob Ewell

Point of View: First person; Scout is looking back at the events of the novelfrom some unspecified future time.

HISTORICAL AND LITERARY CONTEXTWhen Written: 1950-1960

Where Written: New York City and Monroeville, Alabama

When Published: 1960

Literary Period: Modernism

Related Literary Works: To Kill a Mockingbird is set in the fictional town ofMaycomb, Alabama, and while it is the story of Scout's growing up it is also astory of the racially charged atmosphere of the town in the years of the GreatDepression. To Kill a Mockingbird therefore falls into that particular subset ofAmerican literature called Southern literature, since it deals both explicitly andimplicitly with themes and issues that were uniquely Southern. To Kill aMockingbird also shares many connections with what is perhaps the mostimportant book written by an American Southerner: Huckleberry Finn by MarkTwain. Both novels have a trouble-making child as their protagonist andnarrator, and both novels chart the growth of those narrators as theiradventurers force them to see the unfairness and brutality of their communityand society, particularly in regard to the treatment of blacks.

Related Historical Events: In 1931, nine black teenage boys were accused ofrape by two white girls. The trials of the boys lasted six years, with convictions,reversals, and numerous retrials. These trials were given the name TheScottsboro Trials, made national headlines, and drastically intensified thedebate about race and racism in America. Ultimately, after six years of trials inwhich the boys were kept in jail, and despite the fact that one of the girlsultimately changed her testimony and claimed that no rape had actuallyoccurred, five of the nine were convicted of rape.

EXTRA CREDITDescendant of General Lee. Harper Lee is actually a descendant of the famedConfederate general Robert E. Lee.

"Dill" Capote. The character of Dill in To Kill a Mockingbird is based on HarperLee's real-life childhood friend, Truman Capote, who went on to become anational literary star in his own right, and wrote the bestselling true-crimebook In Cold Blood.

In the town of Maycomb, Alabama, in the middle of the Great Depression, six-year-old Scout Finch lives with her older brother Jem, and her widowedfather, Atticus. Atticus is a lawyer, and makes enough to keep the familycomfortably out of poverty, but he works long days. He relies on the family'sblack cook, Calpurnia, to help raise the kids.

Scout and Jem spend much of their time creating and acting out fantasies. Oneyear a boy named Dill comes to spend the summer with his aunt, who is theFinches' neighbor. The three children become friends, and, pushed by Dill'swild imagination, soon become obsessed with a nearby house. A man namedNathan Radley owns the house, but it is his reclusive brother, Arthur (Boo)Radley, who interests and terrifies the children. On a dare, Jem actually runsup and touches the Radley house, and Scout is sure she sees someonewatching them from inside behind a curtain.

The summer ends, and Dill returns to his hometown. Scout starts school, andhates it. On the first day, her teacher actually criticizes her for alreadyknowing how to read. The highlights of the school year come when Scout andJem occasionally find presents stuffed into a knothole of a tree next to theRadley's fence. Summer arrives, and Dill returns. The children grow moredaring and sneak onto the Radley property. But Nathan Radley sees them andthinks they're thieves. They run, and Jem's pants get caught in the Radleyfence. He leaves them behind. When he goes back to get them later that night,the pants are mended and folded. Meanwhile, Scout and Jem continue to findgifts in the knothole until Nathan Radley cements it shut. A few months later,in the dead of winter, the Finch's neighbor Miss Maudie Atkinson's housecatches fire, and as Scout and Finch watch it burn someone Scout doesn't seeputs a blanket around her shoulders. Jem realizes that Boo Radley must havedone it.

That year, Atticus is appointed by the court to defend a black man, TomRobinson, who is accused of raping Mayella Ewell, the daughter of a poor,notoriously vicious white man named Bob Ewell. Racial tensions in Maycombflare. Scout and Jem become targets of abuse from schoolmates, neighbors,townspeople, and even some family members. In contrast, when Calpurniatakes the children to attend her black church, they are for the most partwarmly received.

Before the trial starts, Atticus' sister Alexandra comes to live with the Finch's.Dill also arrives, after sneaking away from his mother and her new husband.Alexandra's social views are more conservative than Atticus's. She treatsCalpurnia more like a servant than a family member and tries to make Scoutact more like a girl. The day before the trial, a mob surrounds the jail whereTom Robinson is being held. Scout, Jem, and Dill, who have snuck out of theirhouse, join Atticus, who anticipated the mob attack. Scout doesn't realizewhat's going on, but recognizes a man in the crowd and asks him about his son,who is Scout's classmate. The man, shamed, disperses the mob.

At the trial, Atticus presents a powerful defense of Tom and makes it clear thatEwell is lying. The children sneak into the trial and watch the proceedings fromthe balcony, where the black people are forced to sit. Jem is sure Atticus willwin the case, but the all-white jury still convicts Tom. Jem is particularly hardhit by the verdict, and his faith in justice is even further shaken when Tom triesto escape from prison and is shot and killed.

Even though Robinson was convicted, Ewell is furious that Atticus made himlook like a fool. One night, as Jem and Scout walk home alone from aHalloween pageant, Ewell attacks them. Jem's arm is broken, but someonerushes in to help. In the scuffle, Ewell is killed. The man who saved Jem and

BABACKCKGRGROUND INFOOUND INFO

PLPLOOT OT OVERVIEWVERVIEW

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Scout carries Jem home, and Scout realizes that the man is Boo Radley. HeckTate decides to keep Radley's involvement in Ewell's death quiet, and Scoutwalks Radley home. As Scout stands on the Radley porch, she sees the worldas Boo must see it. When she gets home, Scout falls asleep as Atticus reads toher at Jem's bedside.

Jean LJean Louise Finch (Scout)ouise Finch (Scout) – The narrator of To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout isAtticus's daughter, Jem's sister, Alexandra and Jack's niece, and friends withDill. In the three years the novel covers, she grows from six-years-old to nine.Scout is intelligent and loves to read, but is also headstrong, outspoken, and atomboy. As the novel opens, Scout is both innocent and intolerant of anythingnew or different. Scout's innocence falls away in part because she is growingup and in part from the trial of Tom Robinson: she discovers how cruel andviolent people can be. But she also learns, through Atticus's careful teaching,that the necessary response to intolerance is to try to understand its origins,to relate to people in terms of their dignity rather than their anger, and to usethat foundation as a way to try to slowly change their minds.

JeremJeremy Atticus Finch (Jem)y Atticus Finch (Jem) – Scout's older brother and Atticus's son. Jem isfour years older than Scout, and therefore understands many of the events inMaycomb in a way that the younger Scout can't. Intelligent and adventurousas a child, Jem never loses these qualities but also grows into a young manwho is strong, serious, idealistic, and sensitive. While both Scout and Jem loveAtticus, Jem also reveres the justice and moral character that Atticus standsfor, and which he wants to one day stand for himself.

Atticus FinchAtticus Finch – Scout and Jem's widowed father, and Alexandra and Jack'sbrother. He employs Calpurnia, but thinks of her as family. A distinguishedlawyer in Maycomb, Atticus believes in moral integrity, and stands up againstthe racism of Maycomb to defend a black man, Tom Robinson, falsely accusedof rape by a white man, Bob Ewell. Yet as much as Atticus believes in actingmorally, he does not believe in righteously condemning those who don'talways act morally. Instead, Atticus teaches his children to search out andrespect the dignity of every human being, to try to see the world from theirindividual point of view. Atticus Finch has become one of the great fatherfigures in American literature.

Arthur RadleArthur Radley (Booy (Boo)) – A recluse who never sets foot outside his house, Arthuris an object of fascination for many Maycomb residents. Many rumorsdescribe Arthur as a kind of monster who stabbed his father as a boy, eats cats,and haunts the neighborhood at night. He turns out to be innocent, gentle,kind, protective of children, intensely shy, and one of the mockingbirds towhich the title of To Kill a Mockingbird refers.

CalpurniaCalpurnia – The Finches' black cook, she essentially raised Scout and Jem.Atticus considers her family. Calpurnia is strict but loving. As a child, Scoutresents Calpurnia's rules and restrictions, but as she grows she comes torecognize and respect Calpurnia for her strength, intelligence, and kindness.

Charles BakCharles Baker Harris (Dill)er Harris (Dill) - Jem and Scout's friend, who visits Maycomb eachsummer from his home in Meridian, Alabama. Miss Rachel Haverford is hisaunt. Dill is an intensely imaginative and sensitive boy who uses hisimagination to hide loneliness and pain: though his mother is divorced, heconstantly makes up stories about the greatness of the father he barelyknows. Dill is obsessed with Boo Radley.

Miss Maudie AtkinsonMiss Maudie Atkinson – A widowed neighbor of the Finches' and a childhoodfriend of Atticus, Alexandra, and Jack. Miss Maudie Atkinson is a friend andconfidante to the Finch children. Her moral outlook is similar to Atticus's. Sheloves flowers and nature.

Aunt AleAunt Alexandrxandraa – Atticus and Jack's sister, and Scout and Jem's aunt.Alexandra is stern and often haughty, and she believes in the importance ofsocial class and gender roles.

TTom Robinsonom Robinson – A black man accused of rape by Bob Ewell, and defended byAtticus. Tom is a family man, father, and churchgoer. He does not have the useof his left arm.

Bob EwellBob Ewell – Mayella's father and the patriarch of the poor, vicious Ewell clanwho live in an old cabin near the town dump. Ewell is thoroughly awful, a manwho buys alcohol while letting his children go hungry.

MaMayyella Ewellella Ewell – Bob Ewell's daughter and oldest child. Lonely, friendless, andthe only woman in her family, Mayella accuses Tom Robinson of raping her.

Uncle JackUncle Jack – Atticus and Alexandra's younger brother. Scout and Jem's uncle.

Mrs. Henry LafaMrs. Henry Lafayyette Duboseette Dubose – An old woman and neighbor of the Finch's.She is an old and bitter woman, and a racist through and through, though Jemand Scout discover she has her own dignity and courage deserving of respect.

Nathan RadleNathan Radleyy – Boo Radley's older brother. A cold and very religious man, heruns the Radley household.

Heck THeck Tateate – The sheriff of Maycomb.

Link DeasLink Deas – Tom Robinson's employer.

MrMr. Underwood. Underwood – The writer, editor, and publisher of Maycomb's newspaper.

MrMr. Dolphus Ra. Dolphus Raymondymond – A wealthy white man who lives outside town with hisblack mistress and interracial children.

MrMr. Cunningham. Cunningham – One of the poor Cunningham farmers and the father ofWalter Cunningham.

WWalter Cunninghamalter Cunningham – Mr. Cunningham's son and Scout's classmate.

Miss Rachel HaMiss Rachel Havverforderford – Dill's aunt and one of the Finch's neighbors.

Mrs. GrMrs. Grace Merriweatherace Merriweather – A member of Aunt Alexandra's social circle inMaycomb.

Miss Stephanie CrMiss Stephanie Craawfordwford – A neighbor of the Finch's and a big gossip.

MrMr. A. Avveryery – Another of the Finch's neighbors.

Cecil JacobsCecil Jacobs – One of Scout's classmates.

Judge TJudge Taaylorylor – The judge at the trial of Tom Robinson.

MrMr. Gilmer. Gilmer – The prosecutor at the trial of Tom Robinson.

Miss CarolineMiss Caroline – Scout's first grade teacher.

Miss GatesMiss Gates – Scout's third grade teacher.

ReRevverend Sykerend Sykeses – The reverend at Calpurnia's church.

LulaLula – A member of the congregation at Calpurnia's Church.

Burris EwellBurris Ewell – A son of Bob Ewell.

Simon FinchSimon Finch – The first member of the Finch family to come to America.

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GOODGOOD, EVIL, EVIL, AND HUMAN DIGNITY, AND HUMAN DIGNITYTo Kill a Mockingbird is largely remembered of in terms of the trial of TomRobinson and its racist outcome. For this reason, people often think that thebook's theme is simple, a straightforward criticism of racism and evil. But ToKill a Mockingbird is actually more complicated (and interesting). Except in thecase of Bob Ewell, the novel avoids simple portrayals and criticisms of "evil."Instead, it shows through Scout and Jem's experiences that Maycomb and itscitizens are a complicated mixture of good and bad, full of people withstrengths and weaknesses.

There are two characters of almost complete good in To Kill a Mockingbird:Atticus and Boo Radley. But they are good in different ways. Boo maintainshis goodness by hiding from the world, while Atticus engages with it. Atticusacknowledges the evil in people and the world and fights against that evil, buthe also appreciates what is good in the very same people who through fault orweakness might be supporting an evil cause. Atticus believes that everyonehas a basic human dignity, and that he therefore owes each person not onlyrespect, but the effort to try to understand their point of view. Atticus tries toinstill this worldview in Scout when he tells her that instead of condemning

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people for doing things that she thinks are cruel, or unfair, or just plain weird,she should first try "standing in their skin."

PREJUDICEPREJUDICEAtticus's belief in treating and respecting everyone as an individual iscontrasted in To Kill a Mockingbird with a number of other worldviews. Theseother visions are all quite different from each other—they are religious, racist,classist—but they all share one thing in common: they treat people as groups,demand conformity, and give no respect or credit to individuals. In otherwords, they are all forms of prejudice, which is a preconceived notion about aperson based on the groups to which that person belongs. Over and overagain, To Kill a Mockingbird reveals prejudice not just as closed-minded anddangerous, but also as ridiculous.

The most obvious form of prejudice in the novel is racism, which causesotherwise upstanding white citizens of Maycomb to accept the testimony ofan obviously corrupt white man over the evidence supporting the testimonyfrom a black man. Yet prejudice is also visible in the racially condescendingMrs. Grace Merriweather; in Aunt Alexandra's and many other character'sbelief in the importance of social class; in the gender stereotypes that peopletry to force on Scout; and even in the way the town views Boo Radley as amonster because he acts differently from everyone else.

GRGROWING UPOWING UPIn the three years covered by To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout and Jem grow up. Atthe start of the book they are innocents, with an uncomplicated sense ofwhat's good (Atticus, the people of Maycomb) and what's evil (Boo Radley).By the end of the book, the children have lost their innocence and gained amore complex understanding of the world, in which bad and good are presentand visible in almost everyone. As the children grow into the adult world,though, they don't just accept what they see. They question what doesn't makesense to them—prejudice, hatred, and violence. So while To Kill a Mockingbirdshows three children as they lose their innocence, it also uses their innocenceto look freshly at the world of Maycomb and criticize its flaws.

Like every kid growing up, Scout attends school for the first time. But ratherthan contribute to her education, Scout's school is depicted as rigid to thepoint of idiocy, with teachers who criticize students who got on early start onreading and hate the Nazis but can't see the racism present in their own town.To Kill a Mockingbird does not so much explore standardized school educationas condemn it, showing how it emphasizes rote facts and policies designed tocreate conformist children rather than promote creative critical thinking,sympathy, and mutual understanding across racial and socioeconomicboundaries.

COURACOURAGEGEMany people, including Jem and Scout when they're young, mix up couragewith strength. They think that courage is the ability and willingness to usestrength to get your way. But Atticus defines courage as "when you knowyou're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and see it through nomatter what." Courage, in To Kill a Mockingbird, is not about winning or losing.It's about thinking long and hard about what's right instead of relying onpersonal prejudice or gut reaction, and then doing what's right whether youwin or lose. To Kill a Mockingbird is filled with examples of courage, from Mrs.Dubose's fight against her morphine addiction, to Atticus's determination toface down the racism of the town, to Mr. Underwood's willingness to facedown his own racist feelings and support what he knows, in the end, is right.

SMALL TSMALL TOWN SOUTHERN LIFEOWN SOUTHERN LIFEMaycomb is a small town, with all of the characteristics implicit in small townlife: everyone knows everyone else's business, which can lead to endless andmostly harmless gossip, but more importantly makes the communityextremely intimate and close-knit. The first part of To Kill a Mockingbird focuseson this close-knit community, because when they're young Scout and Jembelieve that's what Maycomb is.

To an extent, the young Scout and Jem are right: Maycomb is a small, safe,peaceful, intimate community. Yet as Scout and Jem grow up, they come to seeanother side to their small town. They discover that the town has a fiercely

maintained and largely illogical social hierarchy based on wealth, history, andrace; ensures its safety through a communal insistence on conformity thatsubjects anyone who does not conform to dislike and mistrust; and gains itspeace by resisting change and ignoring injustice. This is not to say that To Kill aMockingbird is a condemnation of small town life in the South. Rather, the novelsees the town in much the same terms it sees individuals: as containingwisdom and blindness, good and evil, and for all of that possessing its ownspecial dignity.

Symbols appear in red text throughout the Summary & Analysis sections ofthis LitChart.

THE MOCKINGBIRDAtticus tells Jem and Scout that it's a sin to kill a mockingbird becausemockingbirds cause no harm to anyone; they just sing. Because of these traits,mockingbirds in To Kill a Mockingbird symbolize innocence and beauty. Andkilling a mockingbird is therefore an act of senseless cruelty. There are anumber of characters who can be seen as mockingbirds in the text, mostparticularly Tom Robinson and Boo Radley.

The color-coded boxes under each quote below make it easy to track thethemes related to each quote. Each color corresponds to one of the themesexplained in the Themes section of this LitChart.

CHAPTER 1 QUOTESMaycomb was an old town, but it was a tired old town when I first knew it. . . .There was no hurry, for there was nowhere to go, nothing to buy and nomoney to buy it with, nothing to see outside the boundaries of MaycombCounty. But it was a time of vague optimism for some of the people: MaycombCounty had recently been told that it had nothing to fear but fear itself.

CHAPTER 3 QUOTESYou never really understand a person until you consider things from his pointof view—until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.

CHAPTER 10 QUOTES"Remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird." That was the only time I ever heardAtticus say it was a sin to do something, and I asked Miss Maudie about it."Your father's right," she said. "Mockingbirds don't do one thing but makemusic for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest incorncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's whyit's a sin to kill a mockingbird."

CHAPTER 11 QUOTESIt was times like these when I thought my father, who hated guns and hadnever been to any wars, was the bravest man who ever lived.

The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience.

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It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway andyou see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do.

CHAPTER 22 QUOTESThey've done it before and they did it tonight and they'll do it again and whenthey do it—seems that only children weep.

CHAPTER 25 QUOTESAtticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but inthe secret courts of men's hearts Atticus had no case. Tom was a dead man theminute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed.

CHAPTER 31 QUOTESA boy trudged down the sidewalk dragging a fishing pole behind him. A manstood waiting with his hands on his hips. Summertime, and his children playedin the front yard with their friend, enacting a strange little drama of their owninvention. It was fall, and his children fought on the sidewalk in front of Mrs.Dubose's. . . . Fall, and his children trotted to and fro around the corner, theday's woes and triumphs on their faces. They stopped at an oak tree, delighted,puzzled, apprehensive. Winter, and his children shivered at the front gate,silhouetted against a blazing house. Winter, and a man walked into the street,dropped his glasses, and shot a dog. Summer, and he watched his children'sheart break. Autumn again, and Boo's children needed him. Atticus was right.One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes andwalk around in them. Just standing on the Radley porch was enough.

When they finally saw him, why he hadn't done any of those things . . . Atticus,he was real nice. . . ." His hands were under my chin, pulling up the cover,tucking it around me. "Most people are, Scout, when you finally see them." Heturned out the light and went into Jem's room. He would be there all night, andhe would be there when Jem waked up in the morning.

The color-coded boxes under "Analysis & Themes" below make it easy to trackthe themes throughout the work. Each color corresponds to one of thethemes explained in the Themes section of this LitChart.

CHAPTER 1The narrator, Jean Louise Finch, whogoes by the nickname Scout, begins totell the story of how her brother Jembroke his arm. She starts with herfamily history: Simon Finch fledEngland to escape religiouspersecution. In America, he boughtsome slaves and built a plantationcalled Finch's Landing on the banks ofthe Alabama River. Finch's Landingpassed from son to son until thepresent generation, when Scout'sfather, Atticus, became a lawyer inMaycomb, Alabama. Her Uncle Jack isa doctor in Boston, while her AuntAlexandra runs Finch's Landing.

Through the story of Simon Finch, theopening of Mockingbird touches on thehypocrisy, racial prejudice, and the evilmen do to each other that in general andin Maycomb. Finch's religion made him apersecuted man in England, but ratherthan shun persecution in all its forms, assoon as he came to America he boughtslaves in order to make himself rich.

Maycomb is a small Southern townsuffering through the GreatDepression. The Finch's aren't rich,but they are comfortable enough. Ablack woman named Calpurnia cooksand helps Atticus with the childrenduring the day. Atticus's wife diedwhen Scout was two.

Description of the main characters of thestory and their place in Maycomb. Alsonote how young Jem and Scout are: PartOne of Mockingbird is about youth andgrowing up.

One year when Scout is six and Jem isnine, a small and imaginative seven-year-old named Charles "Dill" BakerHarris comes to spend the summerwith Miss Rachel Haverford, his auntand the Finch's neighbor. The childrenbecome friends.

With his small stature and intenseimagination Dill is both a character anda symbol for childhood.

Soon, Dill becomes fascinated withthe nearby Radley house, and moreparticularly with the legendary BooRadley who lives inside. As Maycomblegend tells it, Boo got into troublewith the law as a youth and was shutup in his house by his father. Fifteenyears later Boo stabbed his father inthe leg with a pair of scissors, but hisfather refused to send Boo to anasylum. No one had seen Boo since,but he supposedly comes out at nightand eats cats and things like that.After Boo's father died, his brother,Nathan Radley, came to run thehouse.

Because they're kids, Scout, Jem, and Dillaccept town legends as truth and have asimple (and simplistic) idea of good andevil: Boo is evil; their other neighbors aregood. The town legend about Boo alsoshows a glimpse of Maycomb life, whereeveryone knows each other's businessand history and gossips about it asentertainment. It also shows howMaycomb treats those who are different.

Dill tries to think of ways to get Booto come out, but settles on a dare: he'llgive Jem a Gray Ghost comic booktouches the Radley house. Jem doesit. Scout thinks she sees someonewatching them from behind a curtaininside the house.

Scout's sighting of movement in theRadley house is her first connection toBoo. Also, note the comic book. It willmake a second appearance inMockingbird, providing a link back to thisinnocent time.

CHAPTER 2When summer ends, Dill returns toMississippi. Scout starts her first yearof school. She hates it from the firstday. Her teacher, a newcomer to thetown named Miss Caroline, actuallycriticizes Scout for knowing how toread.

Mockingbird depicts standardizededucation as rigid to the point ofabsurdity. Miss Caroline's criticism ofScout's reading ability is a case in point.

Just before lunch, Miss Carolinediscovers that one boy, WalterCunningham, has brought no foodand does not go home to eat. MissCaroline offers to lend Walter aquarter, but he refuses. Scout tries toexplain that the Cunningham's are sopoor they couldn't pay Miss Carolineback, and that Miss Caroline is"shaming" Walter by trying to forcethe quarter on him. Miss Caroline getsannoyed and "whips" Scout by tappingher palm with a ruler.

This episode establishes that there areeconomic differences between families inMaycomb. At this point, Scout simplyaccepts such differences as the waythings are; she feels neither sympathynor prejudice toward Walter. MissCaroline's "whipping" of Scout forexplaining about Walter shows how outof touch Miss Caroline is.

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CHAPTER 3Outside, Scout beats Walter upbecause helping him got her intotrouble. Jem stops her, and invitesWalter to come eat at their house.

As an older child, Jem is less inclinedthan Scout to settle things with his fists.

During lunch, Walter talks withAtticus about farm work like a grownup. He says he can't pass first gradebecause he has to help his father inthe fields.

Scout's prejudice that poor people aredumb is shown to be wrong. Poor peopleare just poor.

As he eats, Walter pours molasses allover his food. Scout is disgusted andsays so. Calpurnia pulls her from thetable and scolds her, saying Scoutshould never comment on someone's"ways like you was so high andmighty."

Scout is quick to judge anything differentfrom her way of doing things. Calpurnia,though, insists that Walter, and byextension all people who are different,deserve respect.

Back at school, Miss Caroline screamswhen she sees a louse in the hair of afilthy boy named Burris Ewell. Shetries to send him home to wash hishair, but Burris says he's "done histime for the year." A kid in the classexplains that all the Ewell's come toschool one day a year to keep thetruant officer off their backs, thennever come back.

The nasty, brutish, and dirty Burris Ewellserves as the introduction to the Ewellclan, who will play a much bigger role inthe second half of Mockingbird.

That night, when Scout says that MissCaroline wants her to stop reading athome, Atticus counsels that instead ofgetting angry, Scout should trystanding in Miss Caroline's skin to seethings from her point of view. He alsosays he'll keep reading with Scout ifshe keeps quiet about it.

Scout's first exposure to Atticus's belief intrying to understand and respect otherpeoples' point of view. Atticus'swillingness to keep reading with her,though, shows he doesn't just bow downto authority.

CHAPTER 4One day, while running past theRadley house on her way home fromschool, Scout notices some gum in theknothole of a tree overhanging theRadley's fence. And on the last day ofschool, Scout and Jem find two oldpennies in the same knothole. Jemstares at the Radley place, deep inthought.

The three-year age difference makes Jemmore perceptive than Scout. Scoutdoesn't know who's leaving the presents,while Jem's long look at the RadleyHouse indicates he senses Boo is tryingto connect with them.

Dill arrives for the summer. After anaccident rolling a tire that leavesScout lying on the pavement rightnext to the Radley's house, Jem comesup with a new game: they're going toact out Boo Radley's story. Atticuscatches them playing. Jem lies andsays they weren't impersonating theRadley's.

In the children's' blissful world, BooRadley continues to be their obsession.Jem's lie to Atticus shows that though hethinks of himself as an adult, he is stillselfish and irresponsible like a child.

CHAPTER 5Jem and Dill start excluding Scout,who begins to spend more time withMiss Maudie Atkinson, a neighborwho grew up with Atticus. Oneevening, Scout asks Miss Maudie whyBoo Radley never comes out. MissMaudie says it's because Boo doesn'twant to. She says Boo was alwayspolite as a boy, and that Boo's fatherwas a Baptist so religious he thoughtall pleasure was a sin.

Miss Maudie, like Atticus, helps teach thechildren to question prejudice and treatpeople with respect. Here she providesdetails that start to transform Boo froma one-dimensional monster to a humanbeing damaged by his father'sintolerance and lack of love and joy.

The next day, Dill and Jem get Scoutto help them try to slip a note througha window of the Radley house with afishing rod. Atticus catches them andtells them to stop bothering BooRadley just because he seemspeculiar.

Atticus warns the children not tomistreat people because they'redifferent. Instead, he implies, respectthem.

CHAPTER 6On Dill's last night in Maycomb, heand Jem decide to peek into theRadley house. Scout, terrified, tagsalong. They sneak behind the Radleyhouse, but see the shape of a man onthe back porch and run. A shotgunfires behind them. As they duck underthe Radley fence, Jem's pants getcaught. He leaves his pants behind.

Despite all these lessons, the kidscontinue to be kids.

The shotgun blast—Nathan Radleyhad shot into the air—wakes theneighborhood. Jem's missing pantscause suspicion, but the kids says Jemlost them playing strip poker withmatches. Late that night, Jem sneaksout and retrieves his pants, andreturns home unharmed.

Once again, the kids lie to protectthemselves from punishment. Note,though, that even though their lie isfeeble, Atticus takes them at their word.Atticus practices what he preaches:respect.

CHAPTER 7Scout starts second grade, which is asbad as first grade. One day as theywalk home from school, Jem tellsScout that when he went back to gethis pants, they had been mended andfolded.

The folded and mended pants teach Jemthat Boo is not some monster. Jem neveragain torments Boo.

Scout and Jem continue to find thingsin the knothole of the tree: twine, soapcarved to look like them, gum, and abroken watch on a chain. Jemproposes they write a letter and leaveit in the knothole.

Jem understands Boo is communicatingthrough the gifts and wants tocommunicate back, to give thanks.

But the next day Nathan Radleycements the knothole. He says thetree was dying, but Atticus tells Jem itwasn't. Jem stares at the Radleyhouse for a long time. Scout thinks hemight be crying, but can't understandwhy.

Jem is starting to grow up: heunderstands the tragedy of Boo's effortsat communication being blocked. Scout,though, still doesn't realize who's leavingthem gifts.









CHAPTER 8That winter it snows in Maycomb forthe first time since 1885. Scout andJem use dirt covered with snow tomake a snowman that looksremarkably like Mr. Avery, anunfriendly neighbor. Atticus isimpressed, but then sees theresemblance and kindly asks them todisguise the snowman a little bitbetter.

This is another instance of Atticusprotecting the dignity of another person.

The snow makes it cold, and everyonekeeps their fires blazing. That nightMiss Maudie's house catches fire.Everyone in the neighborhood pitchesin to save what they can, but thehouse burns to the ground. MissMaudie says the house was too biganyway.

Here's Maycomb at its best: neighborshelping each other. But the fire alsomarks the end of innocence. The rest ofMockingbird is dominated by the trial ofTom Robinson.

Scout and Jem watch the fire from infront of the Radley house down thestreet. When they come inside, Scoutdiscovers that someone has draped ablanket over her shoulders. Jem saysit must have been Boo Radley whogave her the blanket.

Jem has grown out of seeing Boo as amonster; he can imagine Boo being kind.Boo's protection of Scout foreshadowsfuture protective action.

CHAPTER 9Students at school start saying thatAtticus "defends niggers." WhenScout asks why, Atticus says he'sdefending a black man named TomRobinson. Atticus says he won't winthe case, but has to take it in order tokeep his integrity. He cautions Scoutthat people, even their friends, mightsay dirty things to her, and tells her tokeep her head up and avoid fighting.Scout does. It's the first time she'sever walked away from a fight.

Scout and Jem begin to see the prejudicethat is as much a part of Maycomb asthe kindness they've long known. Atticusteaches both tolerance and courage: henever stops thinking of those whodisagree with him as friends, but alsorefuses to let them stop him from fightingfor what's right.

Every Christmas, Uncle Jack comesdown to Maycomb from Boston andall the Finch's gather at Finch'slanding to spend the holidays withScout's dreaded Aunt Alexandra andher awful grandson Francis. At Finch'slanding, Francis calls Atticus a"nigger-lover." Scout punches him, andFrancis claims she hit him for noreason and also cursed at him. UncleJack spanks her.

The prejudice against blacks in Maycombis so strong that even family membersblame Atticus for defending Tom.

Back in Maycomb, Scout tells UncleJack why she hit Francis, but makeshim promise not to say anythingbecause Atticus said she shouldn'tfight anyone over the Tom Robinsoncase. Later that night, Scout overhearsJack telling Atticus he doesn'tunderstand children. Atticus says youhave to be honest with them.

Jack learns the same lessons abouthuman dignity and respect that Scout islearning. Jack punished Scout withoutfirst "stepping into her skin," so he didn'tknow she'd acted for good reason.

Then Atticus says the trial will be bad,since "reasonable people go madwhen anything involving" a blackperson comes up. He says the trial willbe particularly tough on Jem andScout.

Atticus understands how prejudice canwarp people.

CHAPTER 10Atticus is older than other kids'parents, and Scout and Jem aresometimes embarrassed by theirfather's bookishness. When he gaveJem and Scout the air rifles theywanted for Christmas he didn't teachthem how to shoot, instead onlytelling them not to shoot atmockingbirds, since it's a sin to kill amockingbird. Miss Atkinson explains:all mockingbirds do is sing and createbeauty and pleasure, so it's a sin tohurt them.

In a complicated world of good and evil,mockingbirds are one of the few thingsthat are entirely good. The mockingbird,which gives the novel its title, is thereforea symbol of innocence and purity.Anyone in the novel who is purelyinnocent is a kind of mockingbird.

One day a rabid dog appears on theFinch's street. It's still far off, andHeck Tate, the sheriff of Maycomb,says only Atticus is marksmen enoughto hit the dog from such a distance.Atticus kills the dog in one shot. Scoutand Jem, astonished, learn that whenAtticus was young he was the bestshot in the county. Scout wants tobrag at school, but Jem says not to: ifAtticus was proud of it he would havetold them.

Jem is growing up much more quicklynow than Scout. He understands thathonor and courage are about humilityand service, not pride. Scout, meanwhile,just wants to brag.

CHAPTER 11One day, Mrs. Dubose, an old womanwho harasses Scout and Jemwhenever they walk past her house,condemns Atticus for defending TomRobinson. Jem, enraged, rips theflowers off her camellia bushes.

Though Jem is growing up, he isn't anadult yet: he can't control his emotions.

As punishment, Atticus makes Jem goand read to Mrs. Dubose eachafternoon. Scout goes with him. Atfirst, each reading session is cut shortby Mrs. Dubose's strange fits, but overthe month the sessions get longer andthe fits slowly disappear. Soon afterthe reading sessions end, Mrs.Dubose dies. She leaves Jem a singlewhite camellia flower. Jem is horrified,but Atticus explains that Mrs. Dubosewas addicted to morphine and thereading sessions helped her kick thehabit before she died. Even thoughMrs. Dubose ridiculed Atticus fordefending Tom Robinson, he calls herthe most courageous person he everknew, a person who knew she wasbeaten and still fought no matterwhat.

Mrs. Dubose and her battle with hermorphine addiction allow Atticus toteach Jem and Scout a lesson about bothcourage and human dignity. Yes, Atticusadmits, Mrs. Dubose is prejudiced. Butshe is also courageous; fighting a battleagainst morphine she knows is both rightand probably a lost cause. Atticus wantshis kids to realize that courage isn'tstrength or skill with a gun, it's standingup for what's right no matter what.








CHAPTER 12Summer finally comes, but Scout iscrushed when Dill doesn't arrivebecause his mother got remarried. Tomakes matters worse, Atticus has toleave for two weeks to serve in thestate legislature.

By keeping Dill, a symbol of childhoodinnocence, away from Maycomb,Mockingbird signals that innocence isending.

Calpurnia, who's in charge whenAtticus is away, invites Scout and Jemto attend her church that Sunday. Theall-black congregation gladlywelcomes the Finch kids, except forone woman Lula, who gets angry thatCalpurnia brought white kids to theirchurch.

Though most of the black congregationwelcomes Jem and Scout, Lula showsthat racism and prejudice cut both ways.

During the service, the congregationgathers money to support Helen, TomRobinson's wife. Scout realizes TomRobinson is the man Atticus isdefending, and asks what he did.Calpurnia tells her: Tom has beenaccused by Bob Ewell of raping hisdaughter. Scout doesn't know what"rape" means, but can't believe anyonewould trust the Ewells.

As a child and Atticus's daughter, Scout'sview of the world hasn't been warped byracism. Her shock that anyone couldtrust the Ewells indicts the white peoplewho trust Bob Ewell over Tom simplybecause Ewell is white.

CHAPTER 13Scout, Jem, and Calpurnia returnfrom church to discover that AuntAlexandra has moved into the Finch'shouse to provide "feminine influence"for Scout.

Alexandra has decided Scout is notenough of a girl, a kind of genderprejudice.

Alexandra is proud of the Finchfamily's social status in Maycomb, andimmediately begins to socialize inMaycomb. Scout thinks good peopleare defined by doing the best they canwith what they have, but Alexandraseems to believe that the older afamily's history, the better the familyis. Alexandra even forces Atticus toteach Scout and Jem about theirfamily history. But this strange changein Atticus makes Scout cry, and withrelief he gives up.

Scout's inability to understand the logicbehind Alexandra's insistence on thevalue of social class reveals that thereactually isn't any logic. Instead, thisworldview is just another form ofprejudice, this time economic and social..

CHAPTER 14As the summer progresses, Scout andJem notice grownups in Maycombtalking about them. Scout hears theword "rape" again, and asks Atticuswhat it is. He tells her.

Most adults would duck Scout'squestion. But Atticus is true to his beliefs:he's honest with children.

Scout's question leads to the story ofgoing to Calpurnia's church. AuntAlexandra is horrified. She andAtticus have an argument aboutCalpurnia. Alexandria thinksCalpurnia is no longer necessary.Atticus says she's part of the family.

Another instance of Alexandra's socialand racial prejudice.

That night, Jem tells Scout not toantagonize Aunt Alexandra, but Scoutobjects to him telling her what to do.They fight. Atticus sends them both tobed. Scout steps on something whileclimbing into bed, and, with Jem,discovers Dill hiding under her bed.Though Dill wants to keep hispresence secret, Jem tells Atticus.

Jem's decision to tell Atticus that Dill ishiding under Scout's bed marks a breakwith childhood. Jem used to lie to hidehis and the other kid's antics fromAtticus. No longer.

Atticus tells Miss Rachel Haverfordwhere Dill is, but lets Dill spend thenight. Dill sleeps in Scout's room, andtells her he ran away from homebecause his recently married parentsaren't much interested in him andwanted him to do things on his own.

In other words, Dill's parents want him togrow up. Dill has run away from home toavoid growing up.

CHAPTER 15A week later, Heck Tate comes to theFinch's front lawn with a group of mento talk to Atticus. Tom Robinson is tobe moved to the Maycomb jail andHeck says there might be trouble.

As the trial comes closer, prejudiceincreases until it threatens to becomeviolence.

Jem gets scared someone might try tohurt Atticus. When Atticus drives intotown the next night, Jem, Scout, andDill sneak out after him. They finallyspot Atticus sitting alone, reading,outside the jail. Just then, four carsdrive up and a group of mensurrounds Atticus. Scout, unsurewhat's happening, runs over toAtticus, followed by Jem and Dill. Themen tell Atticus he has fifteen secondsto send his kids away. Jem refuses tobudge. Scout spots Mr. Cunninghamand asks him to say hi to Walter forher. Mr. Cunningham stares at her fora second, then bends down. He sayshe'll say hi to Walter, then tells themen to clear out.

In her childish misunderstanding ofwhat's going on, Scout reminds Mr.Cunningham of his own human dignityby asking him questions about his son,Walter. To put it another way, Scout getslucky. Jem, on the other hand, has noillusions about what's going on: herefuses Atticus's command to leavebecause he wants to help protect bothAtticus and Tom. Jem's action is thecourageous action of an adult facing aconflict.

Once the men have left, TomRobinson asks from his cell if the menare gone. Mr. Underwood, thepublisher and writer of the Maycombnewspaper, leans out his officewindow holding a double-barreledshotgun and calls out that he hadAtticus covered.

Mr. Underwood shows that in Maycombthere are people in addition to Atticuswho can see past racism.

CHAPTER 16At breakfast the next morning, the dayof the trial, Atticus says that Mr.Underwood never liked black people,which makes his behavior of theprevious night seem odd to Scout.

Underwood did what's right eventthough he's racist. Like Mrs. Dubose,Underwood fought against himself andwon.

Jem declares Mr Cunningham wouldhave killed Atticus the previous night.But Atticus says Mr. Cunningham justhas his blind spots like everyone else,and is still a friend.

Atticus respects the dignity of peoplewho meant to harm him.









People from all over Maycomb headfor the courthouse, including someBaptists who quote the biblecondemning Miss Maudie Atkinsonfor keeping a garden. She quotes abible verse right back at them whichproves her garden is actually beautifulin God's eyes.

The baptists condemn Miss Maudie justfor enjoying flowers! Intolerance is madeto look ridiculous.

Though Atticus tells Jem, Scout, andDill that they shouldn't attend thetrial, they sneak in. They arrive late,and can only find seats in the balconywhere the black people have to sit.Judge Taylor is presiding, and HeckTate is already on the stand.

The black people welcome Jem, Scout,and Dill, though the white people are notwelcoming of blacks and segregate themin the balcony.

CHAPTER 17Mr. Gilmer, the prosecutor, questionsTate, who recalls Bob Ewell sayingthat Tom Robinson had raped MayellaEwell. Atticus cross-examines: Tatesays the right side of Mayella's facewas heavily bruised. Next, Bob Ewell iscalled to the stand. He is arrogant andunpleasant, and gets reprimanded byJudge Taylor. Chastened, he tells Mr.Gilmer about finding Tom Robinsonraping his daughter. Atticus cross-examines: he tricks Ewell into writinghis name, which reveals that Ewell isleft-handed. Ewell is furious. Jem says:"We got 'em," because a left-handedman is more likely to bruise the rightside of someone's face.

Though Jem is growing up, he still haschildish beliefs. For instance, he thinksthat mere evidence will be enough toexonerate Tom. Of course, in a perfectworld Jem's innocent belief would beaccurate: evidence would be enough tosave Tom. Jem's childish innocencetherefore functions as a condemnation ofthe racist adult society of Maycomb.

CHAPTER 18Mayella Ewell is called to the stand.She testifies that she asked TomRobinson to chop up a dresser inreturn for a quarter, and that whenshe turned around Tom attacked andraped her. In cross-examination,Atticus shows that Mayella is terriblylonely. When Atticus asks Mayella toidentify Tom, and Tom stands up, itbecomes clear that Tom's left arm isuseless: it was destroyed in anaccident. If Tom can't use his left arm,then how could he have beaten andraped Mayella? Atticus asks Mayellawasn't Bob Ewell the person who beather? Mayella refuses to answer.

Now the evidence is definitive: with justone arm, and that arm his right arm, it isphysically impossible for Tom to havebattered the left side of Mayella's face. Ifthe jury convicts Tom now, the onlypossible explanation is that racism eitherconsciously or unconsciously affectedthe views of the jury-members.

CHAPTER 19Atticus calls Tom Robinson to thestand. Tom says he often helpedMayella with chores. On this occasion,he says, Mayella threw herself at him.He tried to leave, but was scared topush her out of the way. Suddenly,Bob Ewell showed up and yelled atMayella, "You goddamn whore, I'll killya." Tom ran.

In Tom's portrayal of her, Mayella comesto seem less like a cruel criminal andmore like another victim. Tom relates toher as another human, and on thosegrounds feels sorry for her.

Link Deas, stands up in the crowd andsays that Tom is a good man. JudgeTaylor expels Deas from thecourthouse.

Link Deas is also unaffected by racism,perhaps because he knows Tompersonally.

Mr. Gilmer cross-examines. He callsTom "boy" in a nasty tone, and tricksTom into saying he felt sorry forMayella, which causes a murmur ofanger and disgust in the courtroom.Mr. Gilmer asks why Tom ran if he wasinnocent. Tom says that a black manhas to run in any bad situation.

The evidence is in Tom's favor, so Gilmerbases his entire case on racism. He twistsTom's words to make it seem that Tomfeels superior to Mayella, somethingracists can't abide.

Dill starts to cry and Scout takes himoutside. Dill says he can't stand theway Gilmer was talking to Tom.

As a child, Dill can't accept andcondemns the way adults treat eachother without dignity.

CHAPTER 20Outside the courthouse, Mr. DolphusRaymond sympathizes with Dill aboutthe way white people treat blackpeople without even stopping to thinkthat blacks are people too. Raymond isan eccentric rich white man. He getslittle respect from the white people inthe town because he's always drunkand lives with a black woman and hasfathered interracial children. But Dilland Scout learn that Raymond isn'tactually a drunk: he only drinks Coca-cola. Mr. Raymond explains that hefakes being a drunk so people won'tbother him for living the way hewants.

Mr. Raymond is another man who seesthe evil of racism. But rather thanconfront it, like Atticus, he hides from theconfrontation behind lies.

Atticus is making his closing remarkswhen Dill and Scout get back to theirseats. Atticus notes the prosecution'slack of evidence, then says thecourtroom is the one place in Americawhere every man is equal, and asksthe jury to "do its duty."

Atticus, in effect, is saying that courts arethe only place where a person is grantedhis dignity and prejudice can becombatted.

CHAPTER 21Calpurnia enters the courtroom. Shetells Atticus that Jem, Scout, and Dillare missing. Mr. Underwood saysthey're sitting in the balcony. Atticustells them to go home and eat lunch,but relents and says they can comeback for the verdict if it hasn't alreadybeen delivered.

Atticus wanted to protect Jem and Scoutfrom the anger and racism of the trial.But now sees they can't be protected andso let's them return.

An hour later, Scout, Jem, and Dill getback to the silent, tense courtroom.The jury is still deliberating. Jem isconfident of victory because all theevidence is in Tom's favor.

Jem continues to naively believe in theimpartiality of the court.

Heck Tate calls the court to order. Thejury comes back and does not look atTom. Scout knows this means theverdict is guilty. It is.

Racism triumphs over evidence.









CHAPTER 22Jem cries. He can't understand howthe jury could convict Tom. Atticussays they've done it before and they'lldo it again and only the children willweep.

Weeping innocent children is acondemnation of the wickedness andweakness of adults.

The next morning, the Finches waketo discover that the black communityof Maycomb has brought thembaskets of food in thanks for Atticus'sdefense of Tom.

Though Atticus lost the case, the blackcommunity understands the risk he tookstanding up to racism.

That afternoon, Jem tells MissMaudie he used to think the people ofMaycomb were the best people in theworld, but no longer does. MissMaudie says the trial was a step in theright direction, and that there aregood people in Maycomb. Forinstance, it's no coincidence JudgeTaylor appointed Atticus to takeTom's case.

It's not just people who deserve theirdignity. Maycomb does as well. Most ofMaycomb's citizens prefer safety toconfronting moral inequality, but somefight the good fight, and the town isslowly changing. It's good and bad.

Suddenly Miss Stephanie Crawfordruns up with gossip: Bob Ewell justthreatened Atticus and spit in his face.

Everyday small-town gossip returns,though with a dark edge.

CHAPTER 23Jem and Scout are terrified Ewell willattack Atticus. Atticus, thinks Ewellhas already gotten the need forrevenge out of his system, thoughAunt Alexandra isn't so sure.

Atticus grants even Ewell the respect oftrying to understand his position.

Meanwhile, Tom Robinson is inprison. Atticus thinks he has a goodshot of winning on appeal. If he loses,though, Tom will be executed. WhenJem expresses disdain for the jurythat convicted Tom, Atticus says thatone man on the jury, a Cunningham,almost voted for acquittal. This newsinspires Scout to declare she's goingto invite Walter Cunningham todinner, but Aunt Alexandra forbids it.She says the Finches are too good forthe Cunninghams.

Though Miss Maudie's point thatMaycomb is changing is persuasive, thatchange is slow. Even after the obviouslessons the trial taught about the idiocyand danger of racist prejudice, AuntAlexandra continues to hold onto herprejudices about class difference.

Later that night, Scout and Jem try tofigure out why people are prejudiced.They come up with all sorts of reasonsbut none seems sufficient. Jemrealizes Boo Radley stays in his housebecause he wants to.

Again, the kids' inability to understandprejudice proves prejudice makes nosense. The adult world is corrupt andsenseless, and that's why Boo wantsnothing to do with it.

CHAPTER 24One Saturday, Aunt Alexandra invitescompany, and tells Scout to helpCalpurnia serve. At the event, Mrs.Grace Merriweather talks abouthelping the poor oppressed people ofAfrica, then turns around and blames"some people" for her maid's"sulkiness" since the Tom Robinsontrial. Miss Maudie shames the womanfor talking badly about Atticus whileenjoying his hospitality.

Mrs. Merriweather exemplifies thehypocrisy of Maycomb. She talks about"helping" the people of Africa, but she'dnever treat them as equals, as indicatedby her condescending attitude towardthe black people of Maycomb.

Just then, Atticus comes home andtells Calpurnia, Aunt Alexandra, MissMaudie, and Scout that Tom tried toescape from prison and was killed.Calpurnia leaves with him. AuntAlexandra, Miss Maudie, and Scoutreturn to the party and act as ifnothing has happened.

Scout had thought courage was only apart of male life. But there is somethingcourageous in denying Mrs.Merriweather the pleasure of hearingwhat's happened to Tom.

CHAPTER 25A few nights later, Scout spots a roly-poly bug. Jem won't let her squash itbecause it didn't do anything to her.Scout remembers that Jem waspresent when Atticus told HelenRobinson that Tom had died, andHelen collapsed in grief.

The events of the trial have forced Jem togrow up. He no longer tolerates casualcruelty and respects all life, even insects.

That Thursday, Mr. Underwoodpublishes an editorial in hisnewspaper comparing Tom's death tothe "senseless slaughter of songbirds."

Tom is implicitly compared to amockingbird.

When he hears Tom has died, BobEwell is overheard saying "one downand about two more to go." The rest ofthe white people in Maycomb thinksit's just like a black man to try andescape even though he has an appealpending, and soon moves on to otherthings.

Maycomb still hides behind racism. Tomran because he'd lost hope in the justicesystem, and for good reason. But thepeople of Maycomb just think of him as ablack man who has no sense.

CHAPTER 26School starts. As a third grader, Scoutis no longer frightened of Boo Radley.She is confused, however, when thetown, which was so set against Atticusdefending Tom, reelects him to thestate legislature that year.

Even though Maycomb reviled Atticusfor defending Tom, it seems to recognizethat he's necessary. He's the town'scourage and conscience.

In school, Scout's class discusses NaziGermany. Scout asks Jem why herteacher, Miss Gates, would saypersecuting the Jews is awful whenshe seemed so happy after TomRobinson got convicted. Jem shoutsat Scout never to talk about the trialagain.

Maycomb's blindness is once again madevisible. The people criticize the Nazismurderous prejudice, but don't evenrecognize their own.









CHAPTER 27Over the next few weeks: Bob Ewellgets a job and gets fired for lazinesswithin days; Judge Taylor hears ascratching at his back door and sees ashadow running off; Ewell follows andcurses at Helen Robinson until LinkDeas threatens him to stop or else.

The novel builds suspense as Ewellbecomes consumed by hate. He's lost hisdignity…

Aunt Alexandra thinks Ewell has agrudge against everyone involved inthe trial. But Atticus says Ewell willcalm down when the weather cools.For Halloween that year, there's apageant at Scout's school. Scout is tobe a giant ham—her costume is madeof wire and cloth. Atticus and AuntAlexandra are too tired to attend thepageant, though, so Jem takes her.

…but Atticus doesn't realize it andcontinues to trust that Ewell will actrationally. This is the one time in all ofMockingbird when Atticus is wrong.

CHAPTER 28The night is dark. On the way to thepageant Cecil Jacobs jumps frombehind a bush and scares Scout andJem. Then Scout falls asleep andmisses her cue to go onstage and is soembarrassed she doesn't want toleave when people are around.

Cecil's joking attack foreshadows Ewell'slater attack. What a child knows to doonly as a joke, an adult does seriously.

As Jem and Scout walk home alone(Scout still in her costume) they hear anoise, and then are attacked. Jemfights back, but is thrown andscreams. The assailant squeezesScout, but then suddenly she'ssomehow free. Scout feels for Jem,but touches a strange unshaven facethat smells like whiskey. In thedistance, she can see a man shedoesn't recognize carrying Jemtoward her house, and Atticusrunning out to meet him. Atticus callsfor Dr. Reynolds and Heck Tate. Dr.Reynold's examines Jem and says hehas a broken arm but will be okay.Heck Tate arrives with news that BobEwell is dead.

Bob Ewell attacks Scout and Jem to getback at Atticus. Hate and prejudiceconsumed him entirely until heattempted perhaps the most heinousand cowardly act known to man:murdering a child.

CHAPTER 29Scout tells Heck Tate everything thathappened, and as she does realizesthat the pale man standing in thecorner of the room is the person whosaved her. Then she realizes that he'sBoo Radley, and says "Hey, Boo."

Scout is growing up. Her casual greetingof Boo shows that this man she oncethought was a monster she now acceptsas a person.

CHAPTER 30Atticus is sure Jem killed Bob Ewelland doesn't want it covered up. ButTate says that Jem didn't kill Ewell.Boo Radley did. As sheriff, Tatedecides that Boo was saving otherpeople's lives and doesn't need moreattention. Atticus asks Scout if sheunderstands. Scout says she does:bringing attention to Boo would belike shooting a mockingbird.

Scout realizes that Boo stays in his housebecause he's an innocent, unable to dealwith the messiness and sadness of theoutside world. Like the mockingbird, heleft this house only to help others, andtherefore deserves no pain or torment.

CHAPTER 31A little later, Scout escorts Boo backto the Radley House. After Boo hasgone inside, she looks out at the streetfrom his porch, and sees the street asBoo must have been watching it for somany years.

For an instant, Scout literally stands inBoo's skin and feels his dignity. She haslearned Atticus's lesson.

When she gets back, Atticus isreading in Jem's room. Scout asksAtticus to read to her and rests herhead against his knee. He picks up atrandom one of Jem's comic books, theGray Ghost, the book Dill gave Jemyears earlier. Atticus reads until shefalls sleep, knowing full well thatAtticus will sit there until Jem wakesup the next morning.

The novel ends as it began, in innocence.But this innocence is earned. Scout andJem now understand the world's goodand evil, and so, for a moment, they canretreat into the love of their family beforefacing the world again tomorrow.









to kill a mockingbird litchart

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