To Kill A
Mockingbird
About Author:
Nelle Harper Lee (April 28, 1926 – February 19, 2016) was an
American novelist best known for her 1960 novel To Kill a Mockingbird. It won
the 1961 Pulitzer Prize and has become a classic of modern American literature.
Lee only published two books, yet she was awarded the Presidential Medal of
Freedom in 2007 for her contribution to literature. She also received numerous
honorary degrees, though she declined to speak on those occasions. She assisted
her close friend Truman Capote in his research for the book In Cold Blood (1966).
Capote was the basis for the character Dill in To Kill a Mockingbird.
Summary of Book:
This is a story about a girl named Scout Finchwho lives in Maycomb, Alabama. She lives with her father, Atticus, older brother, Jem, and cook, Calpurnia. Scout plays in the neighborhood with Jem and their friend Dill, who lives in another town. Scout is smart for her age, as she can read pretty well. However, her teacher scolds her for having learned to read from her father. Scout lives near the Radley house, which is in famous in the community. Supposedly, a man named Boo Radley still lives there, but no one has seen him come out. The kids play near the house and try to get Boo to come out, but Atticus tells them to leave Boo alone.
One morning it begins to snow in Maycomb, which is extremely rare. Jem and Scout build a snowman with the light snow in their yard. However, their neighbor's house catches on fire and the entire town is out to help. During the commotion, Boo Radley puts a blanket around Scout’s shoulders, though she doesn’t realizes it until later. Because Atticus is a lawyer, he is assigned to represent Tom Robinson, a Black man, in a rape case. Word travels quickly and soon a boy at school teases Scout about it. Atticus warns Scout that she must not fight or get upset when people speak badly of him and that people will be speaking badly about him in the upcoming months because of the case. During Christmas, however, Scout’s cousin teases her and she fights him. One day, Jem and Scout pass by Mrs. Dubose’s house. She's an old, sick woman, who insults Atticus for defending Tom Robinson. This gets Jem mad and so he destroys all of Mrs. Dubose’s flowers. Atticus punishes Jem by making him read to Mrs. Dubose everyday for a month. Mrs. Dubose is barely awake during the time and dismisses them when the alarm clock sounds off. After a month of reading, Jem notices that the alarm clock goes off later and later. A month later, Mrs. Dubose dies. Atticus reveals that Mrs. Dubose was dying with an addition to morphine and that she slowly weaned herself off of it with the alarm clock, as Jem’s reading was a distraction.
Jem begins to grow up and separates himself from Scout. Then one day, Scout's aunt, Alexandra, arrives and lives with them. Her aunt wants Scout to act like a young lady, but Scout continues to fight and be tough. Dill also runs away from home to live in Maycomb. As the trial for Tom Robinson gets closer, the townspeople begin talking. A group of men even arrive at the house and tell Atticus that Tom is being held at the town jail. Atticus decides to protect the jail by sitting at the front door. Scout, Jem, and Dill run to the jail just as a group of men pull up in cars. The gang of men want Atticus to move out of the way, but he refuses. Scout runs in the middle of things and begins talking to one of the men she recognizes. She diffuses the situation and the angry men leave. The trial is the next day and so Scout, Jem and Dill go to the courthouse to watch. The courthouse is packed with people and the group finds their seats in the balcony as the court proceedings begin. In the case, Tom Robinson is accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a 19 year old girl. Mr. Tate, a man that arrived on the scene, is the first to be questioned on the stand. He says that he was called and found Mayella hurt. Atticus asks him to describe the wounds, which were choke marks around the neck and a bruised right eye. Mr. Ewell, Mayella’s father, is then questioned and recollects that he heard his daughter screaming and came to her rescue. Atticus questions him and it is revealed that Mr. Ewell is left-handed, which ties in with the bruised right eye of Mayella. Mayella is questioned and confirms her father’s story. However, when Atticus questions her, it is revealed that she is both uneducated and isolated by her father. And finally, Tom Robinson is questioned and he reveals that he did not rape her, but that Mayella actually came on to him and he refused and ran away.
In his closing argument, Atticus concludes that Mr. Ewell had beaten Mayella because he found out that she wanted to kiss Tom, a black man. The jury leaves to deliberate while the rest of the people wait. When the jury returns a few hours later, the verdict is read and Tom Robinson is found guilty and sentenced to death. Atticus is sad about the loss, but had expected it. The next day, dishes of food are given to Scout’s family for the work her father did. As the town soon forgets the trial, Mr. Ewell spits in Atticus’ face and swears to kill him. Atticus tries to act civilized and just walks away. Atticus tries to explain to Tom Robinson that there is still a chance that the ruling can be appealed. However, Tom Robinson tries to run away and is shot. Dill leaves town at the end of the summer and school begins. For Halloween, Scout dresses up as a ham for the school pageant and Jem walks with her to the auditorium. After the pageant, they walk home in the dark, but hear someone following them. They try to run, but are attacked by someone. Jem is hurt and Scout is on the ground. Someone pulls the attacker off of Scout and then the fighting stops. A man picks up Jem, who is unconscious, and they go home. Atticus calls the doctor and it’s assured that Jem and Scout will be okay. The sheriff discovers that Mr. Ewell is dead with a knife wound to his chest. Also, the man who carried Jem is Boo Radley, their mysterious neighbour. Atticus wants the attack to be public and suspects that Jem stabbed Mr. Ewell in self-defense, but the sheriff is adamant that Mr. Ewellstabbed himself after tripping. In the end, Jem wakes up the following day.
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