short answer questions to kill a mockingbird

20 Detailed To Kill a Mockingbird Discussion Questions

Step into the enchanting realm of a tranquil Southern town, where childhood memories unfold against a backdrop of moral turmoil. This Harper Lee’s spellbinding masterpiece swiftly soared to the zenith of literary acclaim upon its 1960 release. 

With its Pulitzer Prize triumph in 1961 and subsequent cinematic triumph as an Oscar-winning film, it has etched an indelible mark on the cultural landscape.

And not to forget the lessons and themes that the book is all about.

To Kill a Mockingbird deals with a lot of profound ones such as racial injustice, prejudice, and the loss of innocence. 

Set in the 1930s in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama, the narrative revolves around Scout Finch, a young girl who narrates her experiences growing up alongside her brother Jem and their friend Dill. The story unfolds as Scout’s father, Atticus Finch, a compassionate and principled lawyer, defends an innocent black man, Tom Robinson, against certain false accusations that were enough to tarnish his image. 

Through Scout’s eyes, we witness the harsh realities of bigotry and discrimination, as well as the transformative power of empathy and understanding. 

What this list of book club discussion questions will do will help you learn more about the novel and its themes. 

This timeless tale will continue to resonate with you, challenge your societal norms and make you contemplate as to what the human nature is all about. 

And if you like this classic , don’t forget that a sequel Go Set a Watchman was released in 2015. We have a set of questions for that as well. 

To Kill a Mockingbird Discussion Questions

• In the novel, the character of Atticus Finch is often considered a symbol of moral integrity and justice. How does Lee depict Atticus as a role model for his children, Jem and Scout, and what impact does his unwavering belief in justice have on the larger community of Maycomb?
• One of the recurring themes in the novel is the exploration of racial prejudice and injustice. Discuss how Harper Lee portrays the racial tensions and discrimination prevalent in 1930s Alabama through various characters, incidents, and the trial of Tom Robinson. How does this depiction resonate with the readers in understanding the historical context and the broader implications of racism?
• The relationship between Scout, Jem, and their enigmatic neighbor Boo Radley undergoes a transformation throughout the book. Analyze the factors that contribute to their changing perceptions of Boo, from initial fear and curiosity to empathy and understanding. How does their interaction with Boo challenge their preconceived notions about outsiders and the nature of courage?
• Harper Lee skillfully employs the symbol of the mockingbird throughout the narrative. Discuss the significance of the mockingbird as a symbol of innocence and its thematic resonance in relation to various characters, including Tom Robinson, Boo Radley, and even Scout herself. How does this symbol shed light on the moral dilemmas faced by the characters and the broader themes of the novel?
• The character of Calpurnia occupies a unique position in Maycomb society as the Finch family’s African American housekeeper. Explore the complexities of Calpurnia’s role, considering her loyalty to the Finch family, her community ties, and her role as a bridge between the white and black communities. How does Calpurnia’s character contribute to the exploration of race and social dynamics in the novel?
• The trial of Tom Robinson is a pivotal event in the novel, bringing issues of racial inequality to the forefront. Discuss the strategies employed by Atticus during the trial to challenge the prosecution’s case and expose the flaws in the Maycomb justice system. How do these courtroom scenes highlight the power dynamics and prejudices that exist within the town?
• Maycomb’s social hierarchy is another important aspect explored in the book. Analyze the divisions within the community, such as the distinctions between the Finch family, the Cunninghams, and the Ewells. How do these class differences shape the characters’ attitudes, behaviors, and interactions? What commentary does Lee offer about the impact of social status on individual lives?
• Aunt Alexandra, Atticus’s sister, is a conservative and traditional Southern woman who strongly believes in the importance of family reputation. Examine Alexandra’s influence on Scout and Jem, considering how her presence affects their upbringing, their understanding of their place in society, and their views on race and class. How does Alexandra’s character contribute to the novel’s exploration of societal expectations and individual growth?
• Scout’s growth and coming-of-age journey is a central narrative thread in To Kill a Mockingbird. Analyze the events and relationships that contribute to Scout’s maturation process, from her interactions with Boo Radley and Calpurnia to her observations of the injustices and prejudices in Maycomb. How does Scout’s perspective on the world evolve throughout the novel, and what lessons does she learn about empathy, understanding, and the complexities of human nature?
• Throughout the book, Lee explores the concept of empathy and its role in combating prejudice and injustice. Discuss the instances in which characters display empathy or lack thereof, such as Atticus, Miss Maudie, and even the children themselves. How does Lee convey the importance of empathy in fostering positive change and challenging societal norms?
• Tom Robinson’s trial takes place during a time of intense racial tension in Maycomb. Investigate the responses of different characters to the trial and their motivations for taking a stance, whether supportive or discriminatory. How does Lee illustrate the consequences of standing up against injustice in a community that is resistant to change?
• The character of Bob Ewell embodies the worst aspects of Maycomb’s society. Analyze the motivations and actions of Bob Ewell, considering his racism, his abusive behavior, and his role in the trial of Tom Robinson. How does Ewell’s character contribute to the exploration of the novel’s themes of prejudice, power, and the destructive nature of ignorance?
• The Radley House serves as a haunting presence throughout the novel, capturing the imagination of Jem, Scout, and Dill. Discuss the symbolic significance of the Radley House, its role as a catalyst for curiosity and fear, and the eventual revelation of Boo Radley’s true nature. How does the Radley House contribute to the novel’s exploration of the power of rumors, gossip, and the fear of the unknown?
• Mayella Ewell, the accuser in Tom Robinson’s trial, is a complex and tragic character. Examine Mayella’s motivations for accusing Tom Robinson, considering her social and familial circumstances. How does Mayella’s character highlight the effects of poverty, racism, and patriarchal oppression on individuals who are marginalized and voiceless?
• Atticus’s famous quote, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… until you climb into his skin and walk around in it,” is a recurring theme in the book. Discuss the instances in which characters demonstrate the ability to see beyond their own perspectives and empathize with others. How does Atticus’s philosophy influence the overall narrative and the characters’ development?
• The town of Maycomb itself is almost a character in its own right, with its richly described streets, neighborhoods, and inhabitants. Analyze the significance of Maycomb as a microcosm of Southern society, considering its attitudes towards race, class, and tradition. How does the setting of the town contribute to the novel’s exploration of societal dynamics and the individual struggles faced by its residents?
• The relationship between Scout and her brother Jem is a central aspect of the story. Explore the complexities of their sibling bond, considering their similarities, differences, and the growth they experience together. How does their relationship reflect the larger themes of the novel, such as the loss of innocence, the exploration of moral courage, and the power of childhood friendships?
• Miss Maudie Atkinson, a neighbor and friend of the Finch family, serves as a moral compass for Scout and Jem. Examine Miss Maudie’s character and her role in the novel, considering her wisdom, resilience, and her progressive views on life and justice. How does Miss Maudie’s character contribute to the overall theme of morality and the fight against prejudice?
• Harper Lee uses various narrative techniques, including Scout’s first-person perspective and the use of flashback, to tell the story. Discuss the impact of these narrative choices on the reader’s understanding of the events, the development of the characters, and the exploration of the novel’s themes. How do these techniques enhance the overall reading experience and contribute to the novel’s enduring legacy?
• To Kill a Mockingbird is often praised for its exploration of the complexities of human nature and the duality of good and evil. Analyze the characters of Atticus, Scout, and Boo Radley as representations of these dualities, considering their struggles with moral choices, their capacity for kindness, and their encounters with injustice. How does the exploration of these dualities deepen our understanding of the human condition and the broader messages of the novel?

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To Kill a Mockingbird

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Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird . Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.

To Kill a Mockingbird: Introduction

To kill a mockingbird: plot summary, to kill a mockingbird: detailed summary & analysis, to kill a mockingbird: themes, to kill a mockingbird: quotes, to kill a mockingbird: characters, to kill a mockingbird: symbols, to kill a mockingbird: theme wheel, brief biography of harper lee.

Historical Context of To Kill a Mockingbird

Other books related to to kill a mockingbird.

• Full Title: To Kill a Mockingbird
• When Written: 1950-1960
• Where Written: New York City and Monroeville, Alabama
• When Published: 1960
• Literary Period: Modernism
• Genre: Bildungsroman; Social Novel
• Setting: The fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression
• Climax: The trial of Tom Robinson; or when Bob Ewell attacks Scout and Jem
• Antagonist: Bob Ewell; more broadly, racism and mob mentality
• Point of View: First Person

Extra Credit for To Kill a Mockingbird

“Dill” Capote. The character of Dill is based on Harper Lee’s real-life childhood friend, Truman Capote, who went on to become a national literary star in his own right. He wrote the bestselling true crime book In Cold Blood .

Atticus in Real Life. Harper Lee became close friends with Gregory Peck, the actor who played Atticus in the Academy Award-winning film adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird . She remained close with his family after Peck died, and Peck’s grandson is even named Harper after her.

• To Kill a Mockingbird
• Literature Notes
• Essay Questions
• To Kill a Mockingbird at a Glance
• Book Summary
• Character List
• Summary and Analysis
• Part 1: Chapter 1
• Part 1: Chapters 2-3
• Part 1: Chapters 4-5
• Part 1: Chapters 6-7
• Part 1: Chapters 8-9
• Part 1: Chapters 10-11
• Part 2: Chapters 12-13
• Part 2: Chapters 14-16
• Part 2: Chapters 17-20
• Part 2: Chapters 21-23
• Part 2: Chapters 24-26
• Part 2: Chapters 27-28
• Part 2: Chapters 29-31
• Character Analysis
• Scout (Jean Louise) Finch
• Atticus Finch
• Dill Harris
• Boo Radley and Tom Robinson
• Aunt Alexandra and Miss Maudie Atkinson
• Bob and Mayella Ewell
• Character Map
• About To Kill a Mockingbird
• Harper Lee Biography
• Critical Essays
• Racial Relations in the Southern United States
• Comparing To Kill a Mockingbird to Its Movie Version
• Famous Quotes from To Kill a Mockingbird
• Film Versions of To Kill a Mockingbird
• Full Glossary for To Kill a Mockingbird
• Practice Projects
• Cite this Literature Note

Study Help Essay Questions

1.  Why does Atticus choose not to reveal to his children that Judge Taylor appointed him to Tom's case? How does his decision affect Scout's perception of her father?

2.  Do you think that the adult Jean Louise telling the story through Scout's eyes may have added any embellishments to the story? Think of an event from your own life that occurred at least five years ago. Do you see the event differently now? How do memory and education affect your perception of the event?

3.  Read  Snow Falling on Cedars  by David Guterson. How are the stories alike? How are they different? Compare Atticus Finch and Tom Robinson with Nels Gudmundsson and Kabuo Miyamoto. Compare Scout's and Hatsue's understanding of their place in their communities.

4. If Scout and Jem's mother were still alive, how might the following people be different: Atticus, Scout, Jem, Calpurnia, and Aunt Alexandra?

5. Would Heck Tate have filed charges against Tom Robinson so quickly if Tom were white? Why or why not? Would Sheriff Tate have been so unwilling to file charges against Boo Radley if Boo was black? Why or why not?

6. Read the play To Kill a Mockingbird , by Christopher Sergel. What elements in the story are different? What limitations does the book have that the stage doesn't? What limitations does the stage have that the book doesn't? Does Sergel tell the same story that Harper Lee does? What events does Sergel highlight as important? Why do you think he made those choices? Do you agree with his choices?

7. Compare and contrast the relationship between Jem and Scout with the relationship between Atticus and Aunt Alexandra.

8. Based on what you know about Scout, describe the adult Jean Louise Finch.

9. Suppose that Mayella had admitted that she was lying when she testified against Tom. What would have happened to her? What would've happened to Tom? How would Scout, Jem, and Dill perceive the situation differently? Would the town have been willing to accept Tom's innocence? Why or why not?

10. What significance do the items that Boo leaves for the children have? What do they tell you about Boo? Why does his brother object so strongly to his leaving items for the children?

11. Read Truman Capote's Other Voices, Other Rooms. Capote based the character of Idabel on Harper Lee, his childhood friend, just as she based the character of Dill on him. Compare Idabel and Scout. Do the two characterizations give you any insight to Harper Lee? How are the characters different from each other? Compare Joel and Idabel's relationship to Dill and Scout's. What role does friendship play in each of these stories? Compare and contrast the setting in the two stories.

12. Harper Lee uses language and grammar that mirrors how the characters actually speak. Is this technique helpful in understanding the characters? Is it distracting? Could Lee have told the same story with the same impact if she'd used proper grammar throughout?

13. Read Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn. Compare the lessons Scout learns with those that Huck learns. How is Jim like or unlike Tom Robinson? To Kill a Mockingbird and Huckleberry Finn are both novels that have undergone many censorship attempts, especially in schools and public libraries. Why do you think people would want to censor these stories? Is censorship ever appropriate? Why or why not?

14. Compare the way Miss Caroline treats Scout on her first day of school with the way the town treats Mayella Ewell.

15. What, if any, prejudices do African Americans face in today's world? Have the issues that Lee discusses in To Kill a Mockingbird been resolved or are they ongoing? What forms of prejudice can you identify in your own community? Have you ever been the victim of prejudice? Did the situation end justly? Explain.

16. Why does Boo Radley stay inside all the time?

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To Kill a Mockingbird Questions and Answers

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To Kill a Mockingbird

Where can i find the literary devices used in each chapter a book, to kill a mockingbird questions (please answer all my questions thanks), to kill a mockingbird, what was "round the back steps" when calpurnia came in on monday morning, why do the children struggle with what to do with the pennies they found, what news does dill reveal about his father, "atticus, pointing to the sky. 'mr. tate was right.' atticus lowered his hand. 'it's empty.'" what chapter is this from tkam, in chapter 15 what makes the mob racist what changes their mind to hang tom, what is the author’s purpose for using hyperbole in jem’s explanation that “it was not until one reached the sixth grade that one learned anything of value”, mr. underwood's support at the jail shocks atticus because mr. underwood;, who was responsible for the death of bob ewell, how is miss caroline hurtful in chapter 3, identify the following characters. who is he or she, and what is his or her relationship to other characters what is his or her role in the plot, what was the "sickening comic aspect" of atticus' exchange with the small mob of men, what is maudie and scout’s discussion about different kinds of baptists, what does atticus mean, why did bob ewell attack scout and jem why does atticus misread so badly the signs, what sorts of things did atticus worried about, by reintroducing the boo radley sub-plot in this chapter, what connection does harper lee wish the reader to make, prejudice is illustrated in a different manner throughout chapter 12. explain this new depiction., both the mockingbird and the mad dog are symbols based on what you have read so far, what or who do each represent in the book, read the passage from chapter 10 which begins at the opening of the chapter and ends "plank might hit you" (pages 89-91)..

To Kill a Mockingbird

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1. In what town and state do Scout and Jem live?

Answer: Maycomb, Alabama

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2. What is the name of Jem and Scout’s father?

Answer: Atticus Finch

3. What is Jem and Scout’s father’s occupation?

Answer: Lawyer

4. What is the name of the Finch’s cook/housekeeper?

Answer: Calpurnia

5. What is the name of Miss Rachel’s nephew who comes to visit each summer?

Answer: Dill (full name: Charles Baker Harris)

6. What is Scout’s full name?

Answer: Jean Louise Finch

1. What happened to Jem and Scout’s mother?

A) She died giving birth to Scout.

B) She died of a sudden heart attack.

C) She and Atticus are divorced.

D) She died in a car accident.

2. What is curious about the Radley house?

A) it’s abandoned

B) it’s haunted

C) The Radley’s son died there.

D) The Radley’s son lives there, but he never comes out.

3. What pretend game do Scout, Jem, and Dill play all summer?

A) They pretend to be circus animals.

B) They pretend to be Miss Maudie, tending her garden.

C) They pretend to be lawyers at a trial.

D) They pretend to be Boo Radley and his parents.

Discussion Suggestion: Use the above question to discuss the Radleys’ reputation. How does Atticus’s view of the Radley family seem to differ from the majority of the town’s, and why doesn’t he approve of the children’s pretend game?

4. Put Scout, Jem, and Dill in order of age, from oldest to youngest.

5. When Miss Caroline tries to lend Walter Cunningham a quarter to buy lunch, what does Scout explain about the Cunninghams’ reputation?

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• To Kill a Mockingbird

Read below our complete notes on the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee. Our notes cover To Kill a Mockingbird summary, themes, characters, and analysis.

Introduction

To Kill a Mockingbird is written by Harper Lee.  It got published in 1960. It has sold more than 30 million copies across the world. It has been translated into 40 languages of the world. This novel won a Pulitzer Prize award in 1961.  This novel is appreciated all over the world by critics for its delicate dealing of children’s education in the society of prejudice and racism to make them aware that humans are equal and there should be justice. The novel presents the life and events of South America. Harper Lee released his second novel Go Set a Watchman in 2015. This novel also features Scout but she is a grown-up woman in this novel and she lives in New York City. She then returns to Alabama to have a visit to the house of her father.

The action in this novel is narrated from the perspective of six-year-old Scout Finch, as she observes the changes that occur in her little Alabama town during a disputable case of rape in which her father consents to safeguard a dark man who is unjustifiably blamed for assaulting a white lady.

The story’s voice is that of a developed lady, thinking back on these occasions from the point of view of adulthood. Her story delineates the progressive good arousing of the two kids who value their father`s mental fortitude and trustworthiness in opposing the weights of racism and injustice in Maycomb. They come to understand that things are not generally what they appear and that the individual should at times be eager to guard disagreeable perspectives on the off chance that an individual accepts that he is making the right decision.

Setting of the Novel

The action of this novel takes place in Maycomb, Alabama during 1933–1935. This puts the course of action of this novel inside two significant times of American history. The first one is the Great Depression while the second one the Jim Crow period.

Historical Context

The period of The Great Depression is mirrored in poverty that influences the whole population of Maycomb.  The years delineated in the novel fall inside the timeframe that is regularly allude to as the Jim Crow period. This term portrays the time from the late nineteenth century to the mid-1960s when dark individuals in the United States could not be made slaves. But the laws restricted the political, social and monetary opportunities of the black people. The era in which the novel is written is 1950s and during this time the Great Depression is finished. But in this era the laws of Jim Crow laws remained prevalent in the lives and society of South American blacks.

About the Authorship of this Novel

Charles Baker Dill Harris is one of the characters of this novel who spends quality time of enjoyment and fun in Maycomb with Jem and Scout in summers. This character is a reference to Truman Capote who remained a childhood friend of Harper Lee. He was a neighbor of Harper Lee in Monroeville in Alabama. Some of the critics opined that this novel is written by Truman Capote and he is the actual author of the works of Harper Lee.  But this idea got dusted when a letter was found in 2006 which was written by Capote to his aunt in 1959. The letter states that Truman Capote read the draft of To Kill a Mockingbird and he liked it a lot. But there is nothing written about the fact the Capote has written any part of this novel.

To Kill a Mockingbird Summary

To kill a MockingBird is narrated by Jean Louise whose nickname is Scout and she is six-year old when the novel starts. The action of the novel takes place in Maycomb which is a small town in the State of Alabama. Scout’s mother is dead and she has been raised solely by her father Atticus. She has a very good sort of understanding with her brother Jem. Dill is their neighbor and has come to spend a summer in Maycomb. The first part of the novel details the childhood fun of Scout and Dill in the neighborhood. They enjoy the summer and have fun. They have an adventurous summer.

They are familiar with a number of childhood stories and they enjoy the stories by playing various roles of the story and enacting it in a form of play. They have another neighbor who is more like a ghost. These children enjoy talking and discussing the phantom like neighbor, Boo Radley. It is believed in the neighborhood that Radley is crazy. The children once bet in which Jem is to run to the house of Radley, touch it and run back to the place where they are standing. Jem is afraid to do the task but he hesitantly does it but he is very much afraid when he touches the house of Radley. When Radley touches the house, at the same time Scouts notice someone in the window of the house and she is sure that someone watched Jem.

Afterwards, there is a detail description about the schooling year of Scout. She thinks that she is going to have a start of her school and she is very much excited for her school because it is the first time she is about to go to school. But she is disappointed soon because of her teacher, Miss Caroline. She reprimands Scout for the point the Scout already knows many of the things that she is trying to teach to her and Scout tries to talk about the dynamics of community to her teacher. The teacher is also very much upset with another boy Burris Ewell because he speaks very rudely to her and she as a young teacher is not able to get along the students in a good way.

Scout tells the readers that every day she has to pass in front of the house of Radley to reach her school. On her way she has to cross a tree in a yard and there is always something in the knothole of the tree. One day, she finds two gum pieces and then another day she finds Indian pennies. Scout and Jem decide to keep the pennies and the gum as well.

The summer comes and Dill returns again to the neighborhood in the summer. The children play the acting roles again as they played last summer. Soon they get bored with this routine. They decide to play Boo Radley`s story. for this they need to communicate with him so they leave a note from him inviting him to come for an ice-cream with them. Scout’s father Atticus gets to know about this and he asks the children not to intervene with Radley. They children stay silent for some days but then they make another plan for the story of Radley. They decide to sneak into Radley’s house and see what happens inside there at night. They go to the house of Radley in the night and when they start to see the happenings inside, someone shoots at them with fire.

They children get afraid and run away to their house but in this the pants of Jem get caught in the fence and he has to leave the pants in the fence in order to save himself. They reach home but in the street a large number of adults have gathered on the call of Radley because he has informed all of them that someone tried to enter his house. Jem lies about his missing pants to his parents. A few days later, Jem goes again to take his pants and to his surprise he sees that the pants are completely mended and Jem believes that this is done by Radley.

After the summer, the children enter into the next year of the school. Scout and Jem continue to find interesting things in the knothole of the tree. But one day, they find that the knothole is filled with cement by Radley. Both the children are upset with this and when the night falls they cry in their beds.

There is an unexpected snowfall in Maycomb.Jem and Scout enjoy the snowfall because they play and have fun in the snow but one of their neighbors` house catches fire. Miss Maudie`s children are taken out from the fire by Atticus. She waits for her father and then he comes back with a blanket and Scout realizes that it might be given by Radley which shocks her.

After the snowfall, the children return to school. One day, Scout is insulted by her classmate, Cecil Jacob, due to Scout’s father. She gets angry and is about to beat her but then she stops herself. Scout tells this to her father. Atticus tells her that it is because he being a lawyer is representing a case of Tom Robinson who has been accused with a rape of white woman. He tells Scout that he is trying to do the right thing and taking out the truth of the case regardless of the win or loss of the case.

In the following Christmas, Scout and Jem are visited by their uncle for a visit. Their uncle presents them with air rifles to enjoy the celebrations of Christmas. Atticus warns them that they should enjoy the air rifles but they must be careful as not to target the mocking birds because the mockingbirds are very innocent creatures and they do not harm people. The Finch family visits Aunt Alexandria. Scouts very much hate Aunt Alexandra because the Aunts want Scout to be like a woman and avoid roaming like boys because Scout has no interest in being ladylike.

Scout notices one thing that her father is growing old and he has become weak because he is unable to hunt or fish like all the other fathers. She considers him a very boring lawyer. But her view changes soon when one day a rabid dog tries to attack, Atticus shoots him down with a single shot. Miss Maudie tells them that Atticus is not good at hunting or shooting because he lacks this ability. Whatever the case is, Scouts is proud of her father and she thinks he is the best father.

The following few chapters talk about the trouble of Jem because he destroys some of the flowers of Mrs. Bubose because she insults Atticus and Jem takes a sort of revenge by destroying her flowers. The punishment is given to Jem in which he is to visit her house every day and read to her. Scout accompanies Jem as well and they notice that Mrs. Dubose feels some strange fits every day. After a few days, Atticus tells the children that the lady is dead. He also reveals that she remained an addict of Morphine and this reading habit was to recover her and break the addiction of Morphine. He also tells the children that this is very courageous because she knew that she was consumed yet she tried to recover herself from the addiction in order to live a life.

One day, the cook of the Finch family, Calpurnia, is going to Church and she takes Jem and Scout as well. The children see a number of black people in the Church and they treat them with love and kindness. The black community is poor in the region but still they try to work for the betterment and living of Helen Robinson who is the wife of Tom Robinson. Scout also gets to about the lady who has accused Tom Robinson of rape is Mayella Ewel. She also gets to know that Ewells are dishonest people and they lie frequently. She is confused about how people believe Mayella`s allegation. Scout is young and she is unable to comprehend that Ewells is believed because she is a white and Tom Robinson belongs to a black community.

After some time, Aunt Alexandra visits them and she stays with them. Scout is not happy on her arrival. But Alexandra gets adjusted to the life of Maycomb. The important thing that she makes clear to people is that she does not support Atticus for advocating for Tom Robinson who has raped Mayell Ewells.

The next few chapters detail the trial of Tom Robinson. Everyone in Maycomb comes to the court for trial and to see the proceedings of the case. Jem, Scout and Dill also go to the court and they sit on the balcony in the company of Reverend Sykes.

Heck Tate is the first person who comes to give his account. He tells that he is called into the house of Ewell by Bob Ewell and it is claimed that Robinson has raped his daughter Mayella. After Heck, Bob Ewelll is called to give his account of the event. When he comes to the front, Atticus gives him a page so that he can write his name on the paper and Atticus notes that Bob is a left hander. The next witness of the rape is called to the front and she Mayella who is the victim herself. 

She tells the court that she one day invites Tom to help her in her work and Tom rapes her by taking advantage of the situation. Atticus in the cross questions asks her that Tom is unable to beat her because his left hand is useless and he cannot control her with one hand. After listening to this, Mayella says that she does not want to tell anything more about the incident because it depresses her.

Finally, the accused Tom Robinson is called for the account of the event. People notice his useless left hand. Atticus claims that the rape is not done by Tom because he is unable to beat Mayells and the face of Mayells shows that she has bruises of the right side of her face. He also claims that this all is done by Bob Ewell and he is falsely putting an allegation of Tom Robinson. 

Tom Robinson tells that one day he is invited by Mayella to help her in her world and when he helps her, she tries to seduce him. He also tells her that she seduced him because she is alone in the house. Tom adds that he pushes Mayella away for the act and in the meanwhile both of them see Bob Ewell who is standing at the window.  Toms says that he runs off from the scene because he believes that this is going to put him in trouble regardless of the fact whether he has done something wrong or not.

The trial is coming to its end but Dill starts to cry so he along with Scout runs to a local person Mr. Raymond. He is a good character but is somewhat unusual. Although he is a white man yet he has married a black woman and lives in black community. He lives in the black community because his own community is narrow minded towards his marrying a black community and he is made to live outside the white community.

They move back to the courtroom and they are lucky to reach in time because when they reach Atticus is making his closing remarks. He requests the jury not to look at Tom as guilty because he is black but the case can be seen as a false allegation over Tom. He closes his remarks but suddenly Calpurnia shouts in the courtroom that Scout and Jem are missing.

The Jury waits for several waits to make the decision because they think long over the decision. In the meanwhile, Scout and Jem return. The Jury returns and announces that Tom is guilty for the rape. Atticus leaves in disappointment and all the members of the black community pays him respect and stand for him. The same night Jem cries a lot because of the unfair decision of the jury because the case is clear that Tom is not guilty of the rape.

The following day, Scout and Jem visit Miss Maudie and tell them about the unfair verdict of the Jury. The children are upset with the way Maycomb is moving forward. Miss Maudie tells them that despite the bad people there a lot of good people in the town. In the street, the children get to know that their father is attacked by Bob Ewell because Atticus tried to prove him guilty in the court. He took this shame to heart and attacked Atticus.

After the trial, things slowly settle down in the town. One day, Alexandra invites some women for tea. The invited women belong to the missionary circle and they preach Christianity. Scout also joins them and shows the zeal she wears proper dress for the occasion. But Scout gets disappointed with the women because she thinks that they women do not talk seriously rather they are engrossed in gossip and useless talks.

Atticus arrives home with news that Tom Robinson is killed. He reveals that Tom tries to escape from the jail and in the struggle he is shot down by the guards. Atticus goes to take Calpurnia so that the news could be delivered to Helen Robinson. Scout along with Alexandra goes to the party of women.

Time flies and a new school year gets started for the children. Jem and Scout grow bigger and this time their fear is gone which changes many things for them. They do not get frightened when they pass in front of the house of Radley. Scout noticed one more thing that most of his teachers and classmates have the same attitudes of racists towards the black people who live in the small town of Maycomb.

The novel takes another shift and this time Bob Ewell stalks the wife of Tom Robinson and the wife of Judge Taylor. He tries moving around to seduce them. Although Atticus writes that Bob Ewell is somehow harmless but Alexandra is not happy with this she seems concerned about the way of Bob  Ewell.

The school of Jem and Scout arranges a party for Halloween. For the party, Scout takes up the role of ham and she dresses up for this role. To perform her role, she goes to school with Jem but on the way Cecil Jacobs frightens them. They reach school and Scout gets asleep in the costume and she is lucky to wake up at the right moment so that she could perform her role on the stage. People laugh at her and she is very much embarrassed. She then asks Jem to stay backstage so that he accompanies her when they leave for home.

After they party they move towards home and notice that someone is following them on their way back. They think it is Cecil Jacobs who is following them but Jem notices that it is not Cecil so he asks Scout to run fast. They run fast towards homes and a person is following them but they do not know him because it is dark. They hear a fumbling crack and there is a loud cry of Jem. She is held by someone but she gets released. She runs towards home and when she reaches home she sees backward and realizes that the man is carrying Jem on his shoulder.

She reaches home and informs Atticus about the incident. The doctor is called to treat Scout and Atticus goes towards Heck Tate. Scout rushes to the room of Jem and finds that the dark man who followed them is standing in Jem’s room. When she reaches near the person she finds out that the man is Boo Radley. Heck arrives in the meanwhile and announces that the attacker is Bob Well and he is now dead. He is stabbed in his ribs with a knife.

Scout then sits with Radley and she also hears that Heck and Atticus are discussing the proceedings. Atticus is concerned that there is some wrong of the part of Jem as well. Heck tells him that they might consider it an accident and must not make Jem accused for murder.

Scout then accompanies Boo to his home. She also remembers that she did not see Radley after the incident. She sees the things from the perspective of Radley. She reaches home and falls asleep in the lap of his father Atticus. The novel ends at this juncture.

Themes in To Kill a Mockingbird

The journey of good and evil is parallel.

One of the major themes of this novel is the investigation of the ethical idea of individuals regardless of whether individuals are basically acceptable or basically malicious. The novel moves toward this inquiry by sensationalizing Scout and Jem’s progress from a viewpoint of the innocence of youth.

In this viewpoint they accept that individuals are acceptable on the grounds that they have never observed malevolence, to an increasingly grown-up point of view, because in this they have faced abhorrence. This view also urges them to join it into their comprehension of the world. Because of this depiction of the progress from honesty to encounter, one of the book’s significant sub themes includes the risk of contempt, bias, and ignorant posture to the guiltless.

Individuals like Tom Robinson and Boo Radley are not able to cope with the evil and hence they get destroyed. Jem is deceived to a degree by his revelation of the shrewdness of bigotry during and after the case of Tom Robinson. After the case, Scout channels her faith in justice in due course of time but Jem`s trust in equality and justice is badly hampered.

The ethical voice of the novel is typified by Atticus Finch, who he has encountered and comprehended evil and hypocrisy without losing his confidence in the human limit with respect to goodness. Atticus knows that many people have both great and terrible characteristics. The significant thing is to value the great characteristics and comprehend the terrible characteristics by treating others with compassion and attempting to see life from their point of view.

He attempts to show this extreme good exercise to Jem and Scout to give them that it is conceivable to live with soul without losing trust or getting critical. He respects the courage of Mrs. Dubose but he hates her attitude of racism. Scout’s advancement as a character in the novel is characterized by her slow improvement toward understanding Atticus’ exercises, which culminates in the way that Scout finally observes Boo Radley as an individual human being. Her freshly discovered capacity to see the world from his point of view guarantees that she has become tainted at the cost of losing her innocence.

The Importance of Moral Education

Since investigation of the moral inquiries of this novel happens inside the point of view of kids. The moral education of kids is essentially engaged with the development of all the themes of this novel. It might be said, the plot of the story outlines Scout’s moral and ethical training, and the themes of educating the children repeats all through the novel. For example toward the end of the novel, Scout has learned everything with the exception of variable based math.

This theme is investigated most intensely through the connection of Atticus to his kids, as he focuses to impart a conscience full of societal awareness in Scout and Jem. The scenes at school give an immediate antithesis to Atticus’ viable education to Scout and Jem. Scout is every now and then come against instructors who are either frustratingly unsympathetic to the moral needs of children.

The important teaching of this novel is to give the children the understanding of people and sympathy towards people. This must be inculcated into the mind of the children a thoughtful methodology is the most ideal approach to show these exercises. Atticus`s capacity to imagine the perspective of his children makes him a superb educator. Miss Caroline’s inflexible promise to the instructive systems that she learned in school makes her incapable and even hazardous.

Racism is another dominant theme of this novel. During the period of Great Depression, black people remained in slavery and they were subjugated by the white communities. Blacks were not allowed to intermix with whites in open settings. Additionally, things like intermarriage were practically unbelievable.

All through the novel, Scout investigates the contrasts between white people and dark individuals. Jem and Scout go to chapel with Calpurnia and Scout appreciates the experience. A while later, she inquires as to whether she may have the option to visit her home at some point since she has never observed it. Calpurnia concurs, however the visit is rarely made, due to Aunt Alexandra as she does not permit it.

The three children sit with the dark residents of the town in the gallery to watch the trail of Tom Robinson. Moreover, Dill and Scout have an extensive discussion with Mr. Raymond, a white man who wedded a dark lady and has blended kids. Mr. Raymond uncovers that he is a heavy drinker as to let the town pardon his decision to wed a dark lady.

Tom Robinson is indicted on the grounds that he is a dark man and the lady is white. The proof is in support of him, that race is obviously the single characterizing factor in the decision made by Jury. Atticus battles against racism and a few people of the town are his allies, including Judge Taylor and Miss Maudie. Scout and Jem have faith in equality of races.

At the point when Atticus loses the case, he attempts to cause his kids to understand the fact that he fought for the cause. This is shown that he is on the right side because the jury takes a very long time to make a decision. Normally, such a case is decided in due course of time.

Social Inequality

Alongside battling with ideas of good and malevolence, Jem and Scout, Scout attempts to comprehend what characterizes and makes social strata. Scout in general accept that people are simply people, while Jem is persuaded that standing in the society is identified with to what extent individuals’ family members and progenitors have had the option to compose the lineage of the family.

Scout explains the social strata of the town as she goes to school on the first day when Walter Cunningham doesn’t have the money for lunch. Her colleagues ask her to disclose to the teacher for what reason Walter won’t take a credited quarter to purchase lunch. She addresses the instructor on Cunningham’s budgetary circumstance and how they exchange products for services. Scout and different kids are aware of the social disparities in their town, yet consider these to be natural and changeless.

The Finch family falls somewhat high up in the social progressive system, while the Ewell family falls at the base. However, this progressive system just incorporates white individuals. The black people in Maycomb fall under every single white family in Maycomb, including the Ewells, whom Atticus marks as trash.

Scout comprehends this social structure, yet doesn’t comprehend the reason for it. She accepts that everybody ought to be dealt with the equivalent attitude, regardless of what family they belong to. For example, when she wants to have time with Walter Cunningham, Aunt Alexandra objects saying no Finch young lady ought to ever partner with Cunningham. Scout is disappointed by this, as she needs to have the option to pick her own companions depending on her meaning of what makes a decent individual: profound quality.

Morality holds a focal spot in To Kill a Mockingbird and can be connected to racial issues and disparity. How good or moral people are, identifies with how supremacist they are. A significant part of the tension in this novel comes when the ethical compass and moral measures of Jem and Scout come in clash with the society of Maycomb. Atticus appears to have confidence in an inborn goodness in individuals—one that would permit them to pick the best way, treat individuals with poise, and show regard for other people, regardless of what station in life they possess.

However, for Scout and Jem life uncovers a brutal and horrendous world. Their idea of ethical quality as being intrinsic is broken during the case when Tom is sentenced, regardless of the feeble proof introduced against him.

Harper Lee’s investigation of class frequently has to do with wealth and force. In the novel, Alexandra is faithful to Maycomb’s current class qualifications. Individuals are aware of their place, and to keep the status of individuals is a monotonous however fundamental activity. She clarifies that Scout can’t welcome poor Walter Cunningham to their home. Aunt Alexandra would believe the Ewell family to be in a lower social class than the Finches.

All through the novel, particularly after Aunt Alexandra arrives Scout and Jem get concerned about class division and status. They frequently talk about it as Background. However what they are attempting to make sense of, is the manner by which to explore the precarious waters of Maycomb’s different social classes while staying consistent with their convictions.

To Kill a Mockingbird Characters Analysis

Scout finch.

Scout Finch is the narrator of this story. Her full name is Jean Louise Finch but she is called by her nickname Scout.  She lives with her brother, Jem, her father, Atticus in a small town of Maycomb in Alabama. In her house, there is black woman Calpurnia who does the cooking work for the family. She is an intelligent girl but she lives like boys and likes to be a tomboy. She believes in the goodness of people who live in her community. She is a young who is not aware about racial differences and discrimination in her society but as the novel progress and she steps into her maturity, she learns the way of the society.

While reading this novel, one can easily grasp that Scout is the kind of person who moves in the same manner in which Atticus has raised her. He has nourished her understanding of things, soul, and distinction without stalling her in hypocrisy, deceptions and ideas of legitimacy. The girls in her age learn to wear dresses and other manners. She wears overalls and figures out how to climb trees with Jem and Dill. She doesn’t generally get a handle on social comforts, and human conduct regularly bewilders her.  However Atticus’ safeguarding Scout from affectation and the pressure of the society has made her open, straightforward, and good natured.

Toward the start of the novel, Scout is a blameless, decent five-year-old youngster who has no involvement in the disasters of the world. As the novel advances, Scout encounters racial prejudice. The development process of her character is represented by the topic of whether she will rise up out of this with conscience and optimism or she will be wounded like Boo Radley and Tom Robinson. 

On account of Atticus’ knowledge, Scout discovers that however humankind has an incredible limit with regards to evil; it likewise has an extraordinary capacity for goodness.  She also learns that humans can defeat evil with good understanding and sympathy. Scout’s advancement into an individual equipped for accepting that viewpoint denotes the summit of the novel and demonstrates that, whatever insidious she experiences, she will hold her inner voice without getting critical or bored.

Atticus Finch

He is the father of Jem and Scout. He is a lawyer by profession. He is a man of principles and has educated his children to stand for morality and justice. He believes in racial equality among all the people of his community. He takes a huge risk when he takes up the case of Tom Robinson because Tom is a black man and is accused of a rape of a white lady. By taking the case, Atticus not only endangers himself but his family as well. Atticus is the moral backbone of this novel and has great qualities of empathy and wisdom.

Atticus is one of the important residents in Maycomb during the times of the Great Depression. Atticus is moderately wealthy in times of widespread poverty. As a result of his insight, intelligence, and model conduct, Atticus is regarded by everybody, including poor people. He works as the ethical spine of Maycomb, an individual to whom others turn in a difficult situation. However, the inner voice that makes him so honorable at last causes his dropping out with the individuals of Maycomb. Unfit to withstand the town’s agreeable imbued racial bias, he consents to safeguard Tom Robinson, a dark man. Atticus’ activity makes him the object of disdain in Maycomb, yet he is basically too amazing a figure to be despised for long. After the case, he appears to be bound to be held in a similar high view as in the past.

Atticus rehearses the ethic of compassion and understanding that he lectures Scout and Jem and never holds resentment against the individuals of Maycomb. In spite of their hard apathy to racial imbalance, Atticus sees a lot to appreciate in them. He perceives that individuals have both great and awful characteristics, and he is resolved to respect the great while understanding and excusing the terrible. Atticus gives this extraordinary good exercise to Scout—this point of view shields the honest from being decimated by contact with malicious.

Unexpectedly Atticus is a brave figure and venerated person in Maycomb, neither Jem nor Scout deliberately venerates him toward the start of the novel. Both are humiliated that he is older than different fathers and that he is not capable of fishing and hunting. In any case, Atticus rearing up the children in a wise way wins the respect of both Scout and Jem in the end of the novel. Jem us highly dedicated to Atticus at the end of the novel. Atticus stands inflexibly dedicated to equality and justice. He wants to see matters from the points of view of others.  He is the ethical guide and voice of the inner voice.

He is the brother of Scout Finch. He is a playmate and trustworthy friend of Scout. He is a typical boy of America. He takes fun in daring and fantasizing. He is four-year older than Scout. Though he separates himself from the games of Scout in course of time but remains a good and protective person towards her. He believes in goodness of people but all his ideals of morality and goodness are broken down to splinters when Tom Robinson is punished for the false allegation of rape by the Jury.

Arthur Boo Radley

He is a person who remains secluded and is happy in his seclusion. He does not come out of his home. He remains a symbol of fear for Scout, Jem and Dill in their childhood. He is a kind and powerful character. He is full of goodness and leaves small gifts for the children when they go to school. He is the one who comes to rescue and save Scout and Jem from the evil Bob Ewell. He portrays the mockingbird because he is a harmless person but he is injured by humanity.

He is a drunkard. He belongs to a poor family in Maycomb. He is unemployed and does not like to do any job. He portrays the evil side of America South. He falsely accuses Tom with the rape. He stands as person to racial discrimination and believes that black people are all evil.

Charles Baker Dill Harris

He is a fast friend of Scout and Jem. He visits Maycomb in summers and enjoys his summer in the company of these two siblings. He is an active boy. He has a strong sense of imagination. He remains curious to know about the activities of Radley. He represents the innocence of childhood.

Miss Maudie Atkinson

She is the neighbor of the Finch family. She is a lady with a sharp tongue. She is an old friend of the Finch family. She is a good nature lady and has a passion for justice. She remains a very good friend of many of the children of Maycomb.

She is the cook of Finch family. She acts as a bridge between the children of the Finch family as white family and the black community that she belongs to. She is a strict lady of disciplines.

The black characters in the novel appear to fill in as props for the white characters that encompass them. Calpurnia is flexible, long suffering, and appreciative to the great white individuals around her who are not bigots of racism. While Calpurnia fills in as a positive impact on Scout, showing her significant exercises sympathy. 

Calpurnia is likewise a massively streamlined character, especially with respect to her race and the impacts of preference on her life. Although she lives in a good family yet she does not talk about the issue of racial discrimination that tells the readers that she is very much aware of the implications of talking about the issue. In any case, in a novel so intrigued by the issue of prejudice, the treatment of Calpurnia is deserving of basic investigation.

Aunt Alexandra

She is the sister of Atticus. She is a woman of fierce nature but has a very committed devotion towards the family. She is a typical lady of the South. She has clashed with Scout because she is a lady of traditions.

Mayella Ewell

She is the lonely and unhappy daughter of Bob Ewell. The course of the novel suggests that she is abused by her father. She is not treated well by her father and this becomes the reason that she seduces Tom Robinson.

Tom Robinson

Tom Robinson is the character who is accused for the alleged rape of Mayella Ewell. He belongs to a black community and becomes a victim of the white community. He is also a mockingbird whose innocence and goodness is destroyed by the evil of the society.

To Kill a Mocking Bird Analysis

Significance of the title.

The title of this novel has almost no association with the plot of the novel.  However, it conveys a lot of lessons in the book. This novel deals with people who are innocent but are destroyed by evil people. Thus, the “mockingbird” symbolizes innocence and innocent people.  In this way, to execute a mockingbird is to demolish guiltlessness and innocence. Throughout the book, various characters can be distinguished as mockingbirds like Tom Robinson, Jem and Radley because these innocent people are harmed or demolished through contact with malicious people. 

This association between the novel’s title and its fundamental theme is expressed a number of times in this novel. For example, after Tom gets killed while escaping from the jail, Mr. Underwood looks at his death as the slaughter of birds senselessly and Scout imagines that stinging Boo Radley would resemble a mockingbird.

Miss Maudie tells Scout that mockingbirds always sing for humans and they do not harm humans therefore, killing a mockingbird is a sin. The surname Finch of Scout and Jem is another name of a small bird. It also shows that they are especially helpless in the bigot universe of Maycomb, which regularly treats the delicate guiltlessness of youth brutally.

Interpreting the Epigraph

The author starts this novel with an epigraph by Charles Lamb: “Lawyers, I suppose, were children once.”

A decent piece of this present story’s splendor lies in the way that it’s told from the perspective of a child. Through the eyes of Scout, Lee introduces the story objectively. By having a guiltless girl offer racial comments and respect ethnic minorities in a manner reliable with the society, Lee gives a panoramic view of the area and community. As a youngster, Scout can mention objective facts that a grown-up would not be able to make. Readers might forgive the perception of a kid, but they would not forgive a grown-up who offers these hostile comments.

Harper Lee is inside Scout. The father of Lee was a lawyer and Scout’s father is a lawyer, too. Lee studied law as well. Since Scout’s character is somewhat personal, the epigraph conveys a good sort of meaning. Lee demonstrates through recounting the story that she remained a child once.

The significance of the epigraph comes clearly when Atticus answers the question of Jem as how can Tom be charged with rape, Atticus says  that they jury has been doing it repeatedly and they would do it again in future and the only reaction to such decisions is that only children are left crying over such decisions. Jem communicates at various chapters of this novel that he wants to become a legal advisor like his father. The exercises he gets throughout the novel shapes his whole life. Readers are able to consider this Lawyer in future as a kid first.

The Fictional Town of Maycomb and Its Significance

The town of Maycomb is the fictional town of Maycomb County. It appears that it is planned not for the depiction of real geographical location but to represent a sort of little Southern town that existed during the 1930s. Scout tells the readers that the town is suffocating, old and very tired in outlook. 

To give it a real touch, the social aspects of the town are described in detail. The town is troubled, Atticus may be infected, by racism and social prejudices. Maycomb is divided geographically to show different classes of people in the town. While the wealthy families like the Finches live in enormous houses near the focal point of town. The Ewells live in small dirty cabins which are closed to the thrash throwing areas, where individuals drive their trees and junk to the dump. The black community lives in cabins which is a sign that the town is both racially and financially isolated. The Ewells need essential necessities like running water and protection, and they every now and again rummage in the landfill for nourishment. 

This clearly shows the economic inequalities in the town. This depiction of the town holds a significant role in the novel because this novel deals with all these families whose lives have been made miserable by this class distinctions and stereotypes. They are made to suffer while the others enjoy the luxuries of life.

Interpreting the end of the Novel

The novel ends when Scout and Jem are attacked by Bob Ewell. They are rescued by Radley and during the process of rescue, Bob gets murdered.  Scout`s father has a log and detailed discussion with the Sheriff Tate to discuss the proceedings of the murder while Boo Radley is rescued by Scout towards his home. The discussion of Atticus and Sheriff is hard to comprehend, in light of the fact that both of them are discussing two different perspectives of the case. 

Atticus believes that Jem has executed Bob. He thinks Heck wants to conceal reality to safeguard Jem. Atticus is resolutely against protection of Jem in case he has killed Bob. He believes that shielding Jem from the police might undermine Atticus’ reputation in the eyes of his kids and everything that he has educated them would be ruined.

Sheriff understands that it is Radley who has murdered Bob Ewell. He wants to hide reality to ensure the safety of Boo. The Sheriff doesn’t accept that Boo will be in a difficult situation, since he committed the murder to safeguard and rescue the children. However, he imagines that the society would pay gratitude towards Boo for doing a heroic act of protecting the children and make him a legend which would ruin the privacy of Boo because he does not want to showcase his skills.

Atticus intensely contradicts concealing Jem’s association in the murder of Bob Ewell. But at the same time, he acknowledges that protecting Boo from police is the right thing. This obvious irregularity is significant for the understanding of the readers and researcher to comprehend Atticus and his inspirations. Atticus is a man of principles who esteems law; however he also values his relationship with his kids as well.

Atticus isn’t worried about the possibility that concealing the involvement of Jem in the murder will be dishonest or unlawful. He is worried that accomplishing something so misleading will demolish his affinity and association with his kids. Atticus would prefer that Jem face a few challenges than imagine that his dad didn’t hold him to a similar standard as every other person. Atticus doesn’t have that sort of relationship with Boo. He, in fact, is thankful to Boo for protecting the lives of his children. So Atticus is eager to acknowledge that exposing Boo to police would be an error.

Another significant part of the ending of the novel is the walk of Scout with Boo. Boo requests that Scout takes him home and also uncovers that this character that has made people afraid of him is in fact a character who is afraid of things and cowardice in nature. In observing the fear of Boo, Scout is placed into the situation to safeguard Boo and his nobility, from the town. Scout for the first time calls him Mr. Radley and holds him from the arm.

Through this Scout wants to show to the people that Boo is the person who is strolling her down the road . In safeguarding the dignity of Boo and understanding his fears Scout imagines someone else’s perspective and contemplates the world from their point of view, similarly as Atticus educated her. Atticus’ last lines, that the vast majority are pleasant when you at last recognize the truth about them, underscores Scout’s development procedure from a kid who remained afraid of Boo illogically, to a grown-up fit for considering Boo to be a person.

To Kill A Mockingbird as an Autobiography

Harper Lee said that this isn’t a self-portrayal, but instead a case of how a writer ought to expound on what he knows and compose truthfully.  Nevertheless, a few people and occasions from the childhood of Lee are a direct reference to the life of young Scout in the novel., Amasa Coleman Lee,the father of Harper Lee, was a lawyer, and the father of Scout is also a lawyer. In 1919, Asama Coleman guards two dark men who are arrested for the charge of murder. After they are given death sentences Lee`s father never goes for the next criminal case. The mother of Scout dies when Scout is a baby but the mother of Harper Lee dies when Lee is 25 year-old. Edwin is the elder brother of Harper Lee and he becomes the motivation for Jem.

Lee`s character of Dill is a direct reference to Truman Capote. Capote is the childhood friend of Harper Lee. Just as Dill lives nearby to Scout in the summers, Capote lives nearby to Lee with his aunties. Like Dill, Capote has a noteworthy creative mind for intriguing stories. Both Lee and Capote have the same sort of hobbies of reading in their childhood. She and Capote make up and perform stories they compose on an old Underwood typewriter that is given to Lee by her father in childhood.  In the street where Lee lives, is a house that is always blocked and this becomes a motivation for the house of Radley in the novel.

The source of Tom Robinson is not very clear. At the point when Lee is 10 years of age, a white lady in Monroeville blames a dark man named Walter Lett for assaulting her. The story and the proceedings of the case are the newspaper of Lee`s father, which reveals that Lett is given death penalty for the rape. After a number of letters it is found that the person is accused falsely and his death penalty is converted into prison in life. Scholars accept that Robinson’s troubles mirror the famous instance of the Scottsboro Boys in which nine dark men are given punishment for the rape of two white ladies on but there is no solid evidence. 

To Kill a Mockingbird is a story of Injustices:

This novel deals with a serious issue. This issue is of injustice.  The best instance of bad form of injustice includes Tom Robinson who is erroneously blamed for a wrongdoing that he never does, nor proposes to do it. Tom’s perspective is not accepted on account of his race, which showcases the mistreatment of all the black people in the times when the novel is written down. Tom’s activities were not quite the same as what others in his circumstance would have done.

Rather than blowing up and striking back against society and the white townsfolk, Tom experienced the difficulties of the trial without getting exasperated on the grounds that he is erroneously blamed, and behaves as a respectable man. Tom’s activities delineate the sort of man he really is, not one to assault and beat a powerless young person; he shows that he is a civilized man.

Another instance of injustice is of religious nature. At the point when Jem and Scout go to chapel with Calpurnia, Jem remarks on the First Purchase Church, expressing that, on Sundays, the blacks perform the acts of worship, and white men play gambling games.

This is a type of racial treachery, implying that if the dark people are to bet in the white’s congregation, inconvenience would stimulate, which is religious injustice in a very bad form. The white individuals don’t regard the rituals of black people because of their skin color.

The primary principle of the Bill Of Rights pronounces that all men will have opportunity of religion, yet the white’s spend unlimited hours betting and erring on blessed land. Once more, the blacks don’t rebel; however let the whites do as they want. The blacks realize that they were abused in light of the fact that they dislike every other person.

The last occurrence of injustice is the response of the white court when Tom Robinson expressed that he feels distress for Mayella Ewell. A considerable lot of the individuals start to talk and giggle, as though they accept that Tom Robinson feels sorry for her because he has taken the advantage of her loneliness. 

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To Kill a Mockingbird. Reading Comprehension Questions, Multiple-choice questions

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7 April 2024

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To Kill a Mockingbird. 30 multiple-choice questions (Editable)

To Kill a Mockingbird. 40 Reading Comprehension Questions (Editable)

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, with our comprehensive bundle, combining 40 thought-provoking reading comprehension questions with 30 meticulously crafted multiple-choice questions. Explore the depths of the narrative as you unravel its themes, analyze character motivations, and dissect plot developments with precision. Perfect for educators seeking to enrich their curriculum with rigorous yet accessible assessments, this bundle promises to empower students to critically engage with the text while honing their reading comprehension skills. Whether used for individual assessment, group discussion, or classroom activities, these questions are designed to foster critical thinking and literary exploration among students of all levels. Perfect for literature studies, literature, comprehension, critical thinking, discussion and independent learning and can be used as a test quiz.

Note to Buyers This resource does not contain answer keys. We intentionally designed it this way to encourage students to actively engage with the text and collaborate in finding their own answers. Embrace the opportunity for students to develop critical thinking skills and explore diverse interpretations while working through the comprehension questions

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