Harper Lee’s
To Kill a
Mockingbird
GCSE English Literature
Revision Pack 2014
Name _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
____________________
1
Chapter Summaries
Harper Lee’s novel is divided into two parts. Part One (Chapters 1-11) focuses on the children’s
games, with Boo Radley as the driving force, while Part Two is centred on the adult’s game of Tom
Robinson’s trial.
Part One
Chapter 1 The story is narrated by Scout, a young girl who lives with her father, Atticus, her
brother Jem, and their cook Calpurnia in Maycomb, Alabama. This chapter introduces Dill, the
friend with whom Scout and Jem share adventures, and the mystery surrounding Arthur Radley
(whom the children call Boo). The children try to make Boo come out of his house.
Chapter 2 Scout’s first day at school does not go smoothly. She is scolded by Miss Caroline Fisher
(the new teacher) for knowing how to read and write, and for speaking out in Walter Cunningham’s
favour. The morning ends with her standing in the corner, her hands slapped.
Chapter 3 Burris Ewell arrives for his annual day of attendance at school, and Miss Fisher finds
out about his ‘cooties’. Walter Cunningham visits the Finch house for lunch and Scout is taught an
important lesson by Calpurnia about politeness to guests. Scout also learns about the Ewells in
Maycomb. Atticus tries to teach his children tolerance and to see things from the other person’s
point of view.
Chapter 4 A whole year passes, and Scout is disenchanted with school life. The mystery of the
Radley place deepens as the children begin to find small gifts in a tree outside. As yet, Scout does
not suspect that these come from Boo. Dill arrives, and the children invent a new game re-enacting
the drama of Boo Radley’s life. Scout rolls inside a tyre into the Radley garden. Afterwards, Scout
is apprehensive partly because she sense that Atticus disapproves of their game, partly because unknown to the boys –she heard laughter coming from behind a shutter at the Radley place.
Chapter 5 Scout, having been edged out of the boys’ games for a while, spends her time with Miss
Maudie Atkinson. Miss Maude is their friendliest neighbour, kind and generous to the children. She
is critical of the local gossip, Miss Crawford, and of religious bigots like Mr Radley. She has
tremendous sympathy for Boo Radley, whom she feels has been cruelly treated. The children’s last
attempt to communicate with Boo fails when Atticus catches them using a pole to push a note
through one of the Radley’ shutters. He forbids them to torment Boo any more, and urges them to
look at their behaviour from Boo’s point of view.
Chapter 6 Despite Atticus’ ban, the children try a final time to make contact with Boo. They go at
night and catch sight of a shadowy figure in the Radley backyard. Before they can discover its
identity, the sound of Nathan Radley’s gun frightens them off the premises. As they escape, Jem
loses his trousers on some barbed wire. It takes all Dill’s quick wits to make up a possible reason
for their disappearance – he says that he beat Jem at strip-poker. Jem, fearing Atticus’ anger
more than Mr Radley’s shotgun, goes back that night to retrieve his trousers.
Chapter 7 Jem tells Scout that he found his trousers mended and hanging neatly on the fence. He
guesses that Boo was responsible. He also suspects that the gifts in the tree are from Boo. Jem’s
suspicions are confirmed when Boo’s brother Nathan cements up the hole – sadly, before Jem can
write a thank-you note. The knowledge that Nathan wants to prevent any friendship between Boo
and the children reduces Jem to tears. Scout has not understood where the presents have come
2
from or the significance of the cement, yet the narrator (the older Scout) is able to convey Jem’s
understanding to us at the same time that she illustrates Scout’s ignorance.
Chapter 8 Mrs Radley dies. The children see snow for the first time. The winter is the coldest
since 1885. The children make a snowman which is a caricature of Mr Avery but Atticus, with his
usual tact, makes them change its shape so as not to offend Mr Avery. While the children watch
the fire which buns down Miss Maudie’s home, someone puts a blanket around Scout’s shoulders. It
is later realised that this must have been Boo Radley.
Chapter 9 Atticus knows that defending Tom Robinson will have a deep effect on his family. He
already sees this with Scout; he has to persuade her not to let it bother her when people insult
him. Uncle Jack (Atticus’ brother) arrives for Christmas and Jem and Scout get air-rifles from
Atticus. They all go to Finch’s Landing for Christmas Day. Scout manages to control her behaviour
until she meets cousin Francis, but he provokes her into a fight with him. She is punished by Uncle
Jack – unjustly, she feels, because her side of things has not been heard. When the children have
gone to bed, Atticus explains to his brother that he is worried that Scout will not be able to cope
with the pressure put on the family while he is defending Tom Robinson. During this conversation,
Atticus knows that Scout is listening from the hall.
Chapter 10 The children explain that they are disappointed with their father’s accomplishments
compared to those of their friends father’s. By the end of the chapter, they feel deep pride and
admiration for him. Atticus shows courage and skill in shooting the mad dog. In this chapter,
Atticus mentions the mockingbird. He explains that it is wrong to kill something that does no harm,
and gives only pleasure with its song.
Chapter 11 Acting quite out of character, Jem loses his temper with the outspoken, cantankerous
old neighbour, Mrs Dubose. In retaliation for the names she calls Atticus, Jem knocks off the
heads of her camellias. Atticus is angry at Jem’s behaviour. As punishment, Jem has to read to her
for a month. Scout goes with him and realises that these reading sessions increase daily in length.
When Mrs Dubose dies, Atticus explains the important part Jem and Scout have played in helping
her overcome her morphine addiction.
Part Two
Chapter 12 Jem is growing up, and to Scout’s disappointment, is unwilling to play with her any
more. While Atticus is away, Calpurnia takes the children to church. It is as memorable experience
for them. They meet hostility from one person, Lula, but the majority are welcoming. Scout
attends the service with interest and notices many similarities with their own church. A collection
is made in the church for Helen Robinson and her children. Calpurnia tells Scout that Tom Robinson
is accused of raping Mayella Ewell. Aunt Alexandra arrives.
Chapter 13 Aunt Alexandra comes to stay indefinitely because she feels that the children need
feminine influence during their crucial years of growing up. She is obsessed with ‘good breeding’
and fits in well with the neighbours, but not with the children because she demands different
standards of behaviour from those they are used to. Atticus is torn between being courteous to
his sister and raising Jem and Scout as he sees fit. After one attempt to try and impose his
sister’s standards on the children, he gives up.
Chapter 14 Having Aunt Alexandra living with the Finch family requires some adjustments, but
Atticus has to refuse his sister’s request to get rid of Calpurnia. Atticus has high regard for their
cook, and his sister’s arrival does not change that. Scout dislikes Jem’s new maturity, and when he
3
tries to talk to her as though he were an adult she fights him with her fists. Sent to her room as a
punishment, Scout is amazed to find Dill hiding under her bed. Jem shows that he has left
childhood behind when he decides to tell Atticus of Dill’s presence. Atticus is understanding and,
after informing Dill’s aunt, allows Dill to stay the night.
Chapter 15 Dill is allowed to stay. The peace of summer is broken by troubled events. Scout fails
to see the significance of these. Firstly Heck Tate, the sheriff, and some of Atticus’ friends
advise him to give up Tom Robinson; they are worried about the possibility of Tom being lynched.
Atticus refuses. A lynch mob from Sarum, bent on killing Tom, arrives at the jail – which Atticus is
guarding. Unknown to Atticus, the children have also made their way to the jail because Jem is
worried about Atticus’ safety. Unwittingly, Scout diffuses the explosive situation by chatting
innocently to Mr Cunningham, one of the mob. The men see sense and leave.
Chapter 16 It is not until they reach home that Scout understands the full danger and potential
violence of the evening. Atticus tries to explain how people change when they are part of a mob so
that men like Mr Cunningham, who are usually friendly, can become a threat. The next day all the
people of Maycomb County attend the trial, acting as if they were going to a carnival rather than
to se a man on trial for his life. Disobeying their father, the children go to the courtroom and find
seats amongst the Negroes in their balcony, next to Reverend Sykes. There they can witness the
proceedings without being seen by Atticus.
Chapter 17 Mr Tate testifies that on being summoned by Mr Ewell he found Mayella with injuries
mainly to the right side of her face. Mr Tate also verifies that no doctor was called. Mr Ewell
testifies next, and stirs up the court by the crude language of his accusation. He shows his
ignorance and stupidity and does not understand the implication of revealing that he is lefthanded. Jem understands that a left-handed person would be likely to cause injuries to the right
side of the face, rather than the left. Tom Robinson, being crippled in the left arm, would have
found it extremely difficult to inflict Mayella’s injuries.
Chapter 18 Mayella Ewell testifies. A picture emerges of her impoverished life: Mr Ewell spends
relief money on drink, and she and the children have to cut up old tyres for shoes in winter. Her
evident loneliness leads us to feel sympathy for her. Although she will not admit it, it becomes
clear that Mayella’s father beats her. The weakness of her accusation against Tom Robinson is
exposed when he reveals his withered arm. Mayella is angry with Atticus because she feels that he
has humiliated her in front of everyone and suggested that she is a liar. Mayella says that after
doing a job for her, Tom Robinson followed her into the house and raped her. The way Mayella
answers Atticus’ questions suggests she is lying. Mr BB Underwood spots the children in the
courtroom.
Chapter 19 Tom Robinson testifies that he often did jobs for Mayella. On this particular
occasion she asked him into the house and then made advances to him. When Bob Ewell saw Mayella
through the window, Tom became frightened and ran away. Scout believes Tom’s version of the
story. The deep prejudice of the South is apparent: there is outrage when Tom admits to feeling
sorry for Mayella. The ‘impertinence’ of his words stuns Mr Gilmer, for he feels that no White,
however poor, wants or feels they deserve the pity of a Negro. Dill is upset by this attitude and
Scout takes him out of the court, where they meet Dolphus Raymond.
Chapter 20 Outside the court, Dill and Scout talk to Mr Raymond. He reveals the secret of his
drinking bag, and explains that because he breaks the rules of accepted behaviour it is easier for
him – and for other people – if he pretends to be a social oddity. In summing up, Atticus explains
4
why Mayella might have framed Tom Robinson. He pleads with the jury to weigh the evidence
without prejudice, and reminds them that in law all people are equal.
Chapter 21 Calpurnia arrives to say that the children are missing from home. The children’s
presence in the court is noticed and they are sent home. Atticus relents and allows them back
after super to hear the verdict. Jem is optimistic and, after a long time, the jury returns with the
result. Tom Robinson is found guilty.
Chapter 22 Jem is outraged at the verdict and Atticus does not attempt to shield him from his
new-found awareness of the injustice of Maycomb people. The next day, the Negroes send gifts to
show their appreciation of Atticus, and he is visibly moved. The majority of the neighbours accept
the verdict without surprise and feel Atticus was foolish to defend Tom. Bob Ewell insults Atticus
by spiting in his face, and threatens future trouble.
Chapter 23 Predictably, Atticus reacts calmly to Bob Ewell’s assault, and dismisses the children’s
fears for his safety by making them look at the situation from Bob Ewell’s point of view. But Scout
and Jem are still worried. Aunt Alexandra feels that Atticus is too optimistic about Bob Ewell.
Atticus explains to Jem that there can be no fairer system of justice until people’s basic
prejudices are changed, and that will not happen quickly. Atticus reveals that it was a Cunningham
who caused the jury to take longer in making up its mind. Initially the Cunningham wanted Tom to
be acquitted.
Chapter 24 Aunt Alexandra holds a missionary tea and the ladies of Maycomb attend. They reveal
their hypocrisy as they talk with sympathy about poor Africans but with no sympathy for the local
Negroes. Mrs Merriweather talks about the poverty of the Mrunas and about how she cannot
understand the ‘sulkines of the darkies’. She also cannot understand why Atticus should want to
defend. Scout is puzzled and unimpressed by their insinuations and leading questions – which make
her the but of their amusement. She comments that she prefers the openness of men to the
company of ladies. However, her opinion changes when she sees how Aunt Alexandra conquers her
emotions on hearing of Tom’s death and manages to continue normally in company. Atticus relates
the events surrounding Tom’s death in a matter-of-fact way which conveys little emotion; the only
clue to his feelings is the comment that Tom had seventeen bullet holes in him and that ‘they didn’t
have to shoot him that much’.
Chapter 25 Jem and Dill go with Atticus to break the news of Tom’s death to Tom’s wife, Helen.
Dill likens her reaction to being trodden on by a giant. This echoes the scene at the beginning of
the chapter when Jem admonishes Scout for treading on an insect. Tom’s death is accepted in
Maycomb without surprise. The people remain unmoved by a highly critical editorial in the local
paper in which BB Underwood is bitter about the needless killing of Tom. Scout awakens to the
prejudice of Maycomb people and realises that Tom’s case was lost ‘the moment Mayella screamed’.
Chapter 26 Scout is growing up. She no longer fears the Radley Place and realises what a nuisance
they must have been to Boo Radley. She is puzzled by the attitude of her teacher, Miss Gates, who
condemns Hitler’s persecution of the Jews, but sees nothing wrong in Maycomb society’s
treatment of Negroes. Miss Gates feels that Tom’s conviction will teach the blacks a lesson. Jem
does not want to be reminded of the trial as he has not yet come to terms with his disillusionment
about people.
Chapter 27 Life begins to settle down after the trial and only three things of interest happen.
Bob Ewell finds a job, but is sacked within a few days. He believes Atticus fixed it in some way.
Judge Taylor meets an intruder in his house. Tom Robinson’s wife Helen is harassed on the way to
5
work by Bob Ewell, until Link Deas makes him stop. Aunt Alexandra senses that Bob Ewell has not
yet finally got his revenge and she fears for the safety of their family. Atticus is not so
pessimistic. Jem and Scout prepare for the Halloween pageant at school, an event which they
attend, unescorted, at night.
Chapter 28 The children go to the Halloween pageant alone. The darkness and eeriness of the
journey across the school yard is stressed. Cecil Jacobs gives them both a fright by jumping out on
them. Scout is so when she misses her cue that she wants to wait until the audience has left
before she and Jem set off home. On the way they are attacked by Bob Ewell, who tries to kill
them. Jem is badly hurt. Scout is aware of the presence of a fourth person, who saves them and
takes the injured Jem home. On their arrival Atticus summons the doctor, who announces that
Jem has a broken elbow. Scout is incurious about the stranger on the porch and does not connect
him with the fight. The sheriff, Heck Tate, arrives with the news that Bob Ewell has been found
dead.
Chapter 29 Scout tells Heck Tate what happened during the attack. Atticus’ misjudgement of Bob
Ewell is revealed. He did not imagine that Ewell would go to these lengths for revenge. While
relating the events it suddenly dawns on Scout that the person who was present at the fight and
who saved them was Boo Radley.
Chapter 30 Atticus mistakenly believes that Heck Tate is protecting Jem by insisting that Bob
Ewell fell on his knife. In fact, Heck is trying to shield Boo Radley. Heck argues that it would be
wrong to subject Mr Radley to publicity, and Atticus finally understands the sheriff’s reasoning.
Scout likens Boo to a mockingbird.
Chapter 31 At Boo’s request, Scout escorts him to see the sleeping Jem and then home. While
thinking of Boo, she is reminded of their childish selfishness. They received gifts from him but
gave nothing in return. In recalling the events of the past two years she is aware of her greater
maturity and of how far she has been able to ‘stand in other’s shoes’.
Character Studies
6
The following character studies are very brief and do not cover all aspects of the characters.
The character of Atticus is well summed up by Miss Maudie when she calls him ‘civilised
in his heart’ (Chapter 10). He stands for all that is best in Maycomb as a citizen, a
father, a Christian and a Southern gentleman.
As a citizen Atticus is highly responsible and highly respected. He is elected
unopposed to the state legislature and works hard for it. Miss Maudie speaks for the
community when she tells Aunt Alexandra, ‘Whether Maycomb knows it or not, we’re
paying him the highest tribute we can pay a man. We trust him to do right’ (Chapter
24). His conduct and conversation throughout the book show that he is entirely free from the usual
Maycomb faults of pride, racism and hypocrisy.
As a father Atticus stands in contrast to Mr Radley and Bob Ewell, both of whom ill-treat their
offspring. Scout and Jem have perfect confidence in their father. He always tells them the truth,
and they are totally secure in the knowledge that he loves them. When they fear he is in danger
from Bob Ewell they cannot eat or play; when they fight it is to avenge not insults to themselves but
rather insults to him. His steady reassuring presence in their lives is epitomised in the novel’s last
words, when he goes to sit and watch by Jem’s bed. ‘He turned out the light and went into Jem’s
room. He would be there all night, and he would be there when Jem waked up in the morning’
(Chapter 31).
Atticus is also a truly religious man, who puts into practice Christian teaching on love, tolerance
and forgiveness of others. As he tells Scout, ‘I do my best to love everybody’ (Chapter11). He
teaches his children not to bear grudges and tries to find excuses even for his enemies. Instead of
hating and despising Mayella he feels sorry for her. As Miss Maudie says, he represents true
Christian values in Maycomb. ‘We’re so rarely called on to be Christians, but when we are, we’ve got
men like Atticus to go for us’ (Chapter 22).
Finally, Atticus represents the admirable side of the tradition of the Southern gentleman. He is
supremely courteous to all females, even the vicious-tongued Mrs Dubose. When Walter Cunningham
comes to lunch he speaks to him as politely as he would to a man of his own age and social status. He
is brave too, as a Southern gentleman should be. He faces the mad dog and risks his life to protect
Tom from the lynch mob, but does so quietly, without any exhibitionist display.
Atticus’s manner is cool and dry; his speech is formal, but his heart is warm. When he sees the
food sent to his house by the black community he is so moved that his eyes fill with tears. He is
invariably kind and considerate to others. At Miss Maudie’s fire he is the one who remembers to
rescue her favorite rocking chair. He is Harper Lee’s ideal of a true gentleman and a true hero.
Jem is very much his father’s son, and through the novel his resemblance to Atticus
increases. From the beginning he is like his father in his consideration for others; when
he first meets Dill he quickly realises that Dill is embarrassed by his parent’s divorce,
so he stops Scout asking awkward questions about it. It is he who thinks of inviting
hungry Walter Cunningham to lunch; it is he who offers to help clear Miss Maudie’s
garden after the fire; it is he who notices when Atticus is worried and warns Scout,
‘he’s got a lot on his mind now, without us worrying him’ (Chapter 14).
Just as Atticus is a good father, Jem is a good elder brother. He takes care of Scout, comforts
her when she is distressed, explains things to her when she is puzzled. When she eats the Radley
chewing-gum he makes her gargle to prevent infection; when he is given money for his birthday he
shares it with her; when she is miserable at having disgraced herself at the pageant he is so kind
that she reflects that he ‘was becoming almost as good as Atticus at making you feel right when
things go wrong’ (Chapter 28). Like Atticus he is compassionate to others – he weeps with pity for
7
Arthur when Mr Nathan Radley puts cement in the hole in the tree, and when Scout asks him to
explain racial discrimination he is so upset he cannot bear to discuss it.
Like his father Jem is clever. When there is not enough snow to build a complete snowman he
has the idea of building it in earth and then covering it with a thin layer of snow, and when Atticus
sees the result he says, ‘from now on I’ll never worry about what’ll become of you, son, you’ll always
have an idea’ (Chapter 8). At the trial he is one of the first to realise the point of Atticus’s
questions as to which side of Mayella’s face was injured. After the trial he pleases his father by his
intelligent questions about the jury system.
Jem suffers during the book, especially at the time of the trial when his reason and decency
assure him that Atticus must win. It is clear, however, from his later discussions with his father
that he is not overcome by the shock of defeat; already he is trying to work out ways of changing
the Alabama law in order to prevent future miscarriages of justice. He is willing to persevere in spite
of setbacks, just like his father.
Finally, it should be noticed that Jem’s character develops as he grows older. At the beginning
of the novel he shows signs of childlike immaturity – he fails to realise, for instance, that acting the
Radley drama might cause distress to Arthur. Also, in the early chapters his idea of courage and
manhood is very superficial, and he is ashamed of what he considers Atticus’s physical feebleness.
This changes, however, after the incident with the mad dog. Later he is able to appreciate the really
heroic nature of the work Atticus does; he even understands that a cartoon making fun of Atticus in
the Montgomery Advertiser is actually a compliment, since it shows his father ‘spends his time doin’
things that wouldn’t get done if nobody did ‘em’ (Chapter 12). By the end of the book he has gained
so much in maturity of understanding and behaviour that Miss Maudie, baking after the trial for all
the three children, gives him a whole slice of the grown-up cake whereas Scout and Dill get only
little separate cakes. All three children understand the significance of this.
Just as Jem is clearly Atticus Finch’s son, Scout is clearly Atticus Finch’s daughter,
but she is not so calmly rational as either her father or her brother. This is due
partly to her age, but also to the fact that she is more naturally impulsive in her
reactions. She rushes into fights, jumps to conclusions, and is in general more
emotional than the males in her family. As Atticus puts it, ‘Scout’d just as soon jump
on someone as look at him if her pride’s at stake’ (Chapter 9).
Scout shares many of Atticus’s moral principles, such as egalitarianism and
anti-racialism, but she does so on a simple emotional basis. She wants to invite Walter
Cunningham and to visit Cal just because she likes them and is instinctively without prejudice. Like
her father and brother she is clever and loves reading. Atticus once tells her that she has a good
head, though she does not always use it properly, simply because her emotions tend to run away with
her. She also possesses the Finch courage. When Jem is forced to go the Dubose house she insists
on supporting him with her company even though she is terrified of Mrs Dubose. Like her male
relatives, too, she is instinctively considerate of others; in fact she is the first of the children to
feel uncomfortable about their Radley activities. At the very end there is a striking example of her
sensitivity to others’ feelings in her handling of Arthur Radley. She realises without any words from
him that he would like to see Jem and to stroke his hair; and when the time comes for Arthur to
return to the Radley house she is careful to preserve his public dignity by refusing to lead him like a
child.
Even though she lacks her male relatives’ calm and rational self-control Scout has some qualities
in which she is their superior. She is extremely warm, friendly and open. Her natural instinct is to
make friends with everyone she meets; in the centre of a dangerous lynch mob she makes pleasant
conversation with Mr Cunningham in order to make him feel at home.
Like Jem, Scout gains in maturity as time passes. She learns some degree of self-control and
refrains from fighting children who insult her father even though it shames her to do so: ‘Somehow,
if I fought Cecil I would let Atticus down’ (Chapter 9). She develops deeper understanding of the
8
needs and rights of other people; by the end of the book she feels real remorse at having taken part
in what must have been sheer torment to Arthur Radley. Finally, though she is a natural tomboy,
always wearing trousers for choice and disliking the company of ladies, she does gradually begin to
adjust to the feminine role. Love and admiration for Cal initiate the process; when she watches Cal
at work in the kitchen she says, ‘I began to feel there was some skill involved in being a girl’ (Chapter
12).
As in Jem’s case, the process of development is often painful for Scout. She suffers, however,
in ways rather different from his. He is most distressed by the betrayal of abstract principles of
justice; she is hurt more by the conventional limitations of her sex and by the fact that her adored
brother naturally grows away from her as he passes from childhood to adolescence. However, her
experiences through the book have taught her many lessons. What she says at the end is a typical
example of her childish over-simplification but it has some truth in it: ‘As I made my way home, I
thought Jem and I would get grown but there wasn’t much else for us to learn, except possibly
algebra’ (Chapter 31).
Dill, since he is not a full-time resident of Maycomb nor a member of the Finch family, is not so
obviously and directly involved as his friends in the central tragedy of the Tom Robinson case. In a
way, however, he suffers more than either Jem or Scout. Unlike them, he lacks the security of
family love; as Scout’s cousin Francis unkindly says, ‘he hasn’t got a home . . . he just gets passed
around from relative to relative’ (Chapter 9). His loneliness makes it natural that he, of all the
children, is the most fascinated with the Radley house, which ‘drew him as the moon draws water’
(Chapter1). This is because he is unconsciously aware of a similarity between his own situation and
that of Arthur Radley. His ‘engagement’ to Scout, to whom he proposes marriage during his second
summer in Maycomb, and his suggestion that they should get themselves a baby, are clearly
symptoms of his desperate need to create for himself the family life which he lacks. Even his aunt
Rachel, with whom he spends the summer, is not a person deserving a child’s love, respect and trust.
He is well aware of her secret drinking habits and her lack of real interest in himself.
Dill may not be as intellectually advanced as Jem, but he is more inventive. Like Scout he can
express himself in vivid images, as when he describes Helen Robinson’s reaction to the news of her
husband’s death: ‘Scout . . she just fell down in the dirt . . . like a giant with a big foot just came
along and stepped on her. Just ump’ (Chapter 25). His imaginative ability is chiefly revealed in his
invention of what Scout calls ‘the biggest ones I ever heard. Among other things he had been to
Nova Scotia, he had seen an elephant, and his granddaddy was Brigadier General Joe Wheeler and
left him his sword’ (Chapter 5). This tendency to romantic invention is accounted for by the sadness
of Dill’s real life; he is unhappy at home and so needs his fantasies for compensation. As Scout
explains, he knows the truth but prefers ‘his own twilight world where babies slept, waiting to be
gathered like morning lilies’ (Chapter 14).
Like Jem he loathes cruelty, to such a point that he has to leave the courtroom because the
prosecuting attorney’s way of speaking to Tom makes him cry. As he says to Scout, ‘It made me sick,
plain sick’ (Chapter 19). His ultimate reaction to evil is, however, more despairing than Jem’s. Where
Jem discusses with his father possible means of reforming the legal system, Dill abandons hope and
decides the only career for him is as a clown. To him the world is so ugly and unreasonable, and the
chance of improving it so impossible, that all one can do is laugh; ‘There ain’t one thing in this world I
can do about folks except laugh, so I’m gonna join the circus and laugh my head off’ (Chapter 22). At
first reading this may seem comic, but in fact it is very sad, just as Dill himself is a pathetic
character, in spite of his lively imagination, funny exaggerations and enthusiasm for adventure.
Aunt Alexandra is Atticus's sister, but so unlike him in character that she makes Scout inclined to
believe in folk-tales concerning changelings. Our earliest impressions of her are all unfavourable: she
is so cold and unloving that she reminds Scout of Mount Everest; she shows the prejudices of
9
Maycomb society so thoroughly that she 'fitted into the world of Maycomb like a hand into a glove'
(Chapter 13). She annoys Scout by her snobbery and her insistence on ladylike behaviour; she even
annoys the patient Atticus by her barely concealed racial prejudice, as when she tries to persuade
him that Cal should be dismissed as a bad influence on the children. In fact her social instincts
incline her to side with the Maycomb majority against Atticus; as Jem reports to Scout: ' She won't
let him alone about Tom Robinson. She almost said Atticus was disgracin' the family' (Chapter 15). In
the first part of the book all that Scout can find in her favour is that she is an extremely good cook.
Towards the end of the novel, however, we begin to see a better side of Aunt Alexandra. She
loves her brother and remains loyal to him in spite of her prejudice against his opinions. When he
returns home from his defeat in the trial she greets him with the words: 'I'm sorry, brother'
(Chapter 22). Scout is impressed because she has never heard her aunt call Atticus 'brother'
before. When he brings the news of Tom's death Aunt Alexandra almost breaks down, and she tells
Miss Maudie: 'I can't say 1 approve of everything he does, Maudie, but he's my brother and I just
want to know when this will ever end. ... It tears him to pieces’ (Chapter 24). It is on that same
occasion that Scout sees her aunt's courage and dignity, when she goes back to face the ladies coolly
and politely, as if nothing had happened. It is not until the very last pages that we realise that, after
all, under her cold, forbidding exterior Aunt Alexandra has a good heart. When the children escape
Bob Ewell's attack she starts demonstrating warm concern in a way she never has before. She even
calls Scout 'darling'.
The Ewell family. The Ewells are Atticus's chief opponents in his fight for racial justice, and they
belong right at the bottom of the white social scale. Even Atticus, who is the most tolerant of men,
describes them as 'absolute trash' (Chapter 12).
Our first introduction to the Ewell family occurs during Scout's first day at school, when
the teacher notices a louse in one boy's hair. The boy is Burris Ewell, 'the filthiest human being 1
had ever seen' (Chapter 3). His behaviour matches his appearance, he slouches rudely out of the
classroom after having deliberately reduced the teacher to tears by his foul language. '"Report and
be damned to ye! Ain't no snot-nosed slut of a schoolteacher ever born c'n make me do nothin'!"' As
we learn more about his family background we come to understand his behaviour. The Ewells live in a
filthy shack, surrounded by garbage: the children are dirty, illiterate and diseased. Bob Ewell, the
father, is responsible for this state of affairs. His wife is dead; he never works; the sole means of
support for his family is relief cheques from the Government, and these he spends on whisky for
himself. When he gives evidence in court he is arrogant, ignorant and foul-mouthed. He shows no real
concern for his daughter, and can see no reason why he might have been expected to call a doctor
for her at the time of the alleged rape. In almost every word he speaks he reveals his crude racial
prejudice, even complaining that the 'nigger nest' near his house devalues his property. The readers
already know that the black community houses are clean, neat and orderly, in contrast to his own.
After the trial he shows his mean, cowardly spirit by attempting revenge only on those unable to
resist. At Atticus himself he dares only to spit, and he tries to break into Judge Taylor's house only
when he thinks it is empty; but he is brave enough to pester Helen Robinson, whose position as a
black woman makes it impossible for her to retaliate, and to attack two young children in the dark.
Mayella Ewell, Bob's eldest daughter, is a different case. In spite of her hopeless home
circumstances she makes efforts to look after her younger brothers and sisters, and tries to keep
herself clean. No one except Tom Robinson has ever treated her decently; her father gives her no
help at all with the family and when Atticus speaks to her in court with ordinary politeness she
thinks he must be making fun of her. She has no friends and no opportunity of making friends. In
10
these circumstances it is understandable that she is driven by desperation to make sexual advances
to Tom. As Atticus puts it, in doing so'"... she has committed no crime, she has merely broken a rigid
and time-honoured code of our society ... She knew full well the enormity of her offence, but
because her desires were stronger than the code she was breaking, she persisted in
breaking it"' (Chapter 20). Atticus pities her, because she is the victim not only of her father but
also of the intolerance and prejudice of her society. She lies in court, as her father does, but her
crime is much less than his.
The Cunningham family. The Cunninghams, like the Ewells, are poor whites, but their poverty is
decent and honourable. They all work hard; they pay their debts, and are capable of loyalty and
gratitude.
Their poverty is first revealed to us by the appearance of little Walter Cunningham on
Scout's first day at school; he has no shoes or lunch and malnutrition has made him much smaller
than Scout even though he is by several years the older of the two. He is backward educationally,
because his father has needed his help on the farm, and so has been unable to keep him at school.
Atticus has explained earlier to the children that the Cunninghams' poverty is the result of the
Depression, and not their own fault. Even in their extreme poverty they are scrupulous in paying
debts; when Walter Cunningham has no money to give Atticus in return for legal advice he gives him
vegetable produce and firewood instead. Unlike the Ewells the Cunninghams are too proud to accept
charity, in the form of either government relief cheques or church baskets from the rich. Atticus
tells the children 'the Cunninghams hadn't taken anything from or off anybody since they migrated
to the New World' (Chapter 23).
Like the white community in general and the poor whites in particular, the Cunninghams
are racially prejudiced. It is Walter Cunningham who leads the lynch mob to the jail before Tom's
trial. However, Scout's innocent attempt to make friendly conversation with him is sufficient to
make him remember his debt of gratitude to Atticus, and he calls off the mob. After that it is a
Cunningham on the jury who supports Atticus and so delays the verdict, because, as Atticus explains,
'once you had earned their respect they were for you tooth and nail' (Chapter 23).
Harper Lee's presentation of the Cunninghams does not make them attractive, but she
shows they deserve some respect. She makes clear their ignorance, prejudice and capacity for racial
violence, but finds some excuse for these failings in the poverty of their background. Their hard
work, determination and independence must evoke some admiration.
The Radley family. The Radley house is the chief focus of interest for Jem and Scout in Part One
of the novel. For Harper Lee it provides an example of a variety of social evils: pride, lack of love,
isolation in the community, and even religious bigotry. The Radleys never mix with their neighbours;
the door of their house is kept shut. Even though the father is reputedly 'so upright that he took
the word of God as his only law' (Chapter 1), he never attends church with the rest of the
community. The younger son, Arthur, is sacrificed to the cold hearts and family pride of his parents
and elder brother.
Arthur Radley, as Miss Maudie remembers him, was once a pleasant boy who always 'spoke
as nicely as he knew how'" (Chapter 5). As a teenager he became involved with a gang of Cunningham
boys. They drove a car the wrong way round the square and mischievously locked up the officer who
tried to arrest them. The other boys are punished in a way which ultimately benefits them: the
judge sends them to a state school where they learn useful trades. Mr Radley is too proud to allow
his son to be treated in the same way as the poor white Cunninghams. Because of the privileged
social position of the Radleys Arthur is excused formal punishment and sent home to his father, who
sentences him privately to a lifetime of solitary confinement. He gains the reputation of a dangerous
lunatic, but in fact, as Jem and Scout discover, he is only simple-minded, childlike and sweet-natured.
He understands the children, gives them the sort of presents they like, and finally saves their lives.
In the end, however, he returns to his lonely house, since after the long years of solitude he is too
11
shy to associate with other human beings. It is implied, too, that the long confinement has so
weakened his health that he has not long to live. As Miss Maudie says when Scout asks her about the
Radleys, '"that is a sad house'" (Chapter 5).
The white ladies. The white ladies of Maycomb form a circle of their own. Not only are they a
menace to Scout, who dreads forcible integration into their way of life, but they act as mouthpieces
for the narrow-minded prejudice of the white community as a whole. They love to gossip, to
congratulate themselves on their own high status and Christian virtue, and to look down upon the
blacks. The most prominent among them are Miss Stephanie Crawford, who has a spiteful tongue, and
Mrs Merriweather, who poses as the most devout lady in Maycomb and yet shows herself most
unchristian in her attitude to race relations.
The one bright spot in the Maycomb ladies' group is Miss Maudie. Scout and Jem love and
respect her. She lets them play in her garden and always takes a friendly interest in their activities,
even on the morning after the destruction of all her property in a fire. She has a lively sense of
humour and no personal pride; she thinks Jem's snowman funny even though the joke is partly
against herself, since the snowman wears her hat and hedge-clippers. Unlike other Maycomb ladies
she avoids spiteful gossip and racial prejudice, and her strength of character enables her to shame
them into silence when they meanly criticise Atticus at the Missionary Circle tea. It is the existence
of a character like Miss Maudie even in the white ladies' group that makes it seem as if there is
hope for Maycomb society. As Scout once tells her, '"You're the very best lady I know"' (Chapter 5).
The black community. Harper Lee gives a very favourable account of the black community. In
general it is shown to possess all the virtues which the white community lacks. Black Christianity is
expressed in action; the whites merely talk about it. Blacks are humble where whites are proud;
hardworking where whites are lazy. (Laziness among whites is not restricted to men like Bob Ewell;
Mr Radley also does no work and Aunt Alexandra's husband spends his days lying in a hammock).
Harper Lee frequently contrasts black and white ways of life, usually to the advantage of the blacks.
Of First Purchase Church she says: 'Negroes worshipped in it on Sundays and white men gambled in
it on weekdays' (Chapter 12). The description of the filthy Ewell residence is placed beside that of
the well-kept Negro settlement: '... their cabins looked neat and snug with pale blue smoke rising
from the chimney and doorways glowing amber from the fires inside. There were delicious smells
about: chicken, bacon frying crisp as the twilight air' (Chapter 17). Their traditional family life too
seems preferable to that of most of the whites. Mrs Merriweather, describing the social system of
the African tribe which she plans to convert, believes she is painting a deplorable picture. In fact
she gives an impression of admirable warmth and security. As Scout reports, 'I learned more about
the poor Mrunas' social life from listening to Mrs Merriweather: they had so little sense of family
that the whole tribe was one big family. A child had as many fathers as there were men in the
community, as many mothers as there were women' (Chapter 27). Dill, Arthur and Mayella would be
glad of a chance to live in such a society.
Two black individuals are given prominence in the novel: Tom and Cal. Both are admirable.
Tom is kind, generous, courteous and intelligent. He refuses to accept payment for the work he does
for Mayella Ewell, because he pities her hard life and admires her efforts to bring up her brothers
and sisters. His natural sense of decency makes him unwilling to repeat in court the foul language he
heard Bob Ewell use to Mayella. His tact and intelligence enable him to avoid accusing Mayella
directly of lying; instead he says she must be 'mistaken in her mind'. Cal, too, is an excellent person.
She brings up the children lovingly but firmly, correcting them when they do wrong, comforting them
when they are sad, and entertaining them, especially Scout, when they are bored or lonely. Atticus
relies on her to run his household and guide his children to do right.
In some respects the presentation of the black community may be considered unrealistic.
In the whole novel there is only one character, Lula, who expresses resentment and hostility towards
whites. Moreover, there seem to be no bad characters in the black community. As Atticus says in
12
court, 'You know the truth, and the truth is this: some Negroes lie, some Negroes are immoral, some
Negro men are not to be trusted around women - black or white. But this is a truth that applies to
the whole human race and to no particular race of men' (Chapter 20). All races include some bad
characters, and it might be suggested that the black people in this novel seem too good to be true.
However, as one of the main objects of the book is to combat prejudice, readers may feel Harper
Lee's technique is justified.
MINOR CHARACTERS (In order of appearance in the novel)
Simon Finch - ancestor of Scout's, who established Finch's Landing in Alabama and owned a cotton
farm on which slaves worked
Uncle Jack - Atticus and Aunt Alexandra's younger brother, a doctor who lives in Nashville. He
returns to Maycomb every Christmas, and Scout and Jem know him as the fun and friendly bacheloruncle, who teaches them to shoot and flirts with Miss Maudie. He is close to Atticus in his openminded views.
Miss Rachel Haverford - a Finch neighbour, aunt of Dill
Mr. and Mrs. Radley and Nathan — parents and older brother of Boo, rarely seen outside their
house; Boo's keepers/protectors
Miss Stephanie Crawford - a Finch neighbour, with a light-hearted nature and concerned with
triviality and local gossip
Miss Caroline Fisher and Miss Gates - Scout's schoolteachers
Doctor Reynolds - Maycomb doctor and family friend
Little Chuck Little - a member of Scout's class; of poor background and a 'born gentleman'
Cecil Jacobs - Scout's classmate and neighbour; taunts Scout with prejudice of her father; jumps
out on Jem and Scout on their way to the pageant
Mr. Avery - superstitious Finch neighbour
Eula May - Maycomb's telephone operator
Judge John Taylor - the elderly judge in the Tom Robinson trial; of high moral calibre and
unconventional behaviour
Cousin Ike Finch - Finch relative; a confederate veteran, who still lives the American Civil War in his
mind
Uncle Jimmy - Aunt Alexandra's husband; a quiet man
Francis - Alexandra and Jimmy's grandson
Zeebo - Calpurnia's son; reads hymns at the black church; the local garbage collector
Jesse - black lady who looks after Mrs Dubose
13
Lula May - black lady who objects to Scout and Jem being at the black church
Reverend Sykes - leader of the black church; he finds seats for Jem, Scout and Dill at the trial and
offers his viewpoint of events
Helen Robinson - Tom's wife; as an object of prejudice she cannot find work
Mr. Link Deas - owner of cotton-picking farm; offers Tom and Helen Robinson work and support
Mr. Underwood — owner, editor and printer of the Maycomb Tribune
Mr. Dolphus Raymond - white man from a rich family who lives with a black woman and their
children; the white community look down on him as he seems permanently drunk, but Scout and Dill
learn that by this he is giving the white community a reason for his chosen way of life
Mr. Gilmer - the solicitor representing Mayella Ewell
Mrs. Grace Merriweather - prominent, 'devout' figure of the Maycomb Missionary Circle; organiser
of the pageant
Mrs. Farrow - another member of the Missionary Circle
Misses Tutti and Frutti Barber - old, deaf Maycomb sisters
Themes of the novel
Growing Up
Mrs. Creshaw - town seamstress who makes Scout's pageant costume
14
To Kill a Mockingbird is about the narrator's growth of awareness. It belongs to a genre of novel
writing called bildungsroman where the narrator is taken from a period of innocence through to a
state of comparative maturity. Chapters 1-11 focus specifically on Scout and Jem, but the learning
does not stop here and a new lesson is learned about some aspect of life in almost every chapter (for
instance through their observation of, and participation in, events during and following the trial).
Scout
The story is told by a mature narrator who is looking back on herself as a child. Scout's naivety and
childish view of the world is highlighted by the reader often understanding events better than Scout
herself.
Over the course of the novel Scout learns various lessons:
• From Calpurnia that politeness should be shown to all people even if their manners differ from your
own (Chapter 3).
• From Atticus to control her impetuosity (Chapter 9) and to appreciate the various meanings of
courage (Chapters 10 and 11), to learn tolerance and to be able to turn the other cheek.
• From Aunt Alexandra the value of being a lady (Chapter 24).
• From Heck Tate and Atticus the destructive implications of society's prejudice, even if Scout has
not yet been able to fully appreciate why prejudice exists (Trial chapters, Aftermath and closing
chapters).
Scout's important educational experiences all seem to take place outside school. She is switched off
by school where the teachers' lessons seem to be totally out of context to the children's lives.
By the end of the novel Scout has successfully managed to take on Atticus's key lesson in the novel that of seeing another person's point of view. Her behaviour with Boo has transformed dramatically
from that at the beginning. However she is still a child, and after her traumatic incident with Robert
Ewell she comes back to her reading of The Grey Ghost, a book which she was reading at the beginning
of the novel. She feels she has learned all she can for the moment.
Jem
Jem's growing up is much quicker and more radical. While we observe Scout maturing, she comments
on her brother's growth. This growth is easier to chart because:
• Jem is one of the closest people to the narrator.
• It is easier to report more about another character (i.e. Jem) than what is happening to oneself
(Scout).
At the beginning of the novel Jem likes to play superstitious games about Boo Radley with Scout and
Dill. The start of Jem's period of maturing is marked when:
• Jem goes to get his trousers (Chapter 6) and Scout comments 'Jem and I first began to part
company'
• Jem organises the building of the snowman. He does not see this as a game, but takes a mature
attitude to finding the resources which are needed (Chapter 8).
• Jem begins to recognise Boo's human side (Chapter 9) and the childish games discontinue.
In contrast, Scout does not really appreciate the real nature of Boo's personality until the end of the
novel. She is a few steps behind Jem in this process of growing up.
Jem gradually becomes more separate from Scout and Dill, particularly after his punishment involving
Mrs Dubose (Chapter 11), after which time Scout notices he is acquiring 'an alien set of values'
15
(Chapter 12). He breaks 'the remaining code of our childhood' (Chapter 14) when he goes to tell
Atticus that Dill is in the house, having run away. Jem is proud about showing Scout his first signs of
physical maturity (Chapter 23) and suffers teenage angst in his response to the injustices of the trial
(Chapters 22-3). Although not a child anymore, he is having trouble coming to terms with the adult
world. We are constantly reminded of this uncertain transition when he acts responsibly and with
maturity at times, but he has a child's understanding in many other respects, for instance when he
misinterprets the mob of men outside their house as meaning trouble (Chapter 15).
By the end of the novel he has taken on some adult attitudes and views. He has learned from Atticus's
example, for instance when he tries to make Scout feel better about her mistake after the pageant
(Chapter 28). Jem's movement from childhood to adulthood is acknowledged in different ways by the
adults in his life; Miss Maudie gives him a slice from the cake (Chapter 22) and Calpurnia has
anticipated this change earlier by the respectful title of 'Mister Jem' (Chapter 12).
Courage
There are many examples of courage shown throughout the novel. For instance:
• Chuck Little stands up to Burris Ewell in class (Chapter 3).
• Jem rescues his trousers at night from the Radley Place (Chapter 6).
• Miss Maudie is optimistic after her house has burned down (Chapter 8).
• Mr Link Deas speaks out for the Robinsons (Chapter 19 and 27).
Two major types of courage are emphasised in the novel.
• 'Real courage' (Chapter 11) when you continue with what you are doing even though you arc fighting a
losing battle. An example is Mrs Dubose's battle with her morphine addiction.
• Fighting against evil and prejudice. Understanding of others is sometimes not enough; an act of
bravery is demanded to try to prevent evil taking place and to override prejudice. Examples of this
type of courage are:
- Mr Underwood's article about Tom Robinson's death (Chapter 25).
- Boo Radley's heroic act when he rescues Jem from Robert Ewell (Chapter 28).
Both these main types of courage are evident in the major plot of the novel:
• Atticus represents Tom Robinson even though success is unlikely.
• He makes a stand against racial prejudice in the Maycomb community.
Prejudice
Prejudice is arguably the most prominent theme of the novel. It is directed towards groups and
individuals in the Maycomb community. Prejudice is linked with ideas of fear, superstition and
injustice.
1: GROUPS
16
Race
Racial prejudice consumed the mob (Chapter 15) which wished to prevent Tom Robinson even gaining a
court hearing (the basic form of justice). It is the fiercest form of prejudice in the novel.
• The abolition of slavery after the American Civil War had changed the legal position of Blacks in
American society.
• This freedom initially made Blacks' lives much harder. The Whites now saw the Blacks as potential
competitors for jobs, particularly in the hard years of the Economic Depression during which To Kill a
Mockingbird is set.
• Fear and paranoia led to the belief by Whites that the Blacks desired all that the Whites had,
including their women.
As you are reading consider other examples of racial prejudice (apart from the case of Tom Robinson).
For example:
• Aunt Alexandra's attitude to Calpurnia
• The Missionary tea ladies' comments about the Blacks
• The Black and White segregation in Maycomb
• Peoples' views of Dolphus Raymond, a white man living with a black woman
Class and family groups
Maycomb is divided into clearly defined groups which characterise position and status in society. Jem
recognises the class structure when he tells Scout in Chapter 23 that there are 'four kinds of folks in
the world'. These are:
• The Finches and their neighbours (the White middle class)
• The Cunninghams (who represent the badly hit farming community)
• The Ewells (the lowest class of Whites)
• The Blacks (automatically seen as at the bottom of the social strata)
The Ewells, universally despised by the Maycomb community as 'White Trash' (the term was commonly
used to refer to the lowest social group of Whites, typically very poor, uneducated, dirty and crude),
would most keenly feel the threat of the Blacks. Due to the abolition of slavery there was no longer a
clear distinction of boundaries between the lower-class Whites and the Blacks.
When Tom showed that he felt sorry for Mayella (a crime worse than rape in the white jury's eyes)
this would be seen as the lowest class of citizen showing superiority towards a class above (and a
white woman -see discussion of Gender below). The white community's fear of racial disturbance and
their insecurity about their own position in society meant that Tom Robinson was found guilty. This
maintained the traditional hierarchies in the community, at least for the time being (i.e. until the
Blacks' Civil Rights Movement of the late 1950s/early 1960s).
Aunt Alexandra is obsessed with heredity and educating Scout and Jem about their superior family
background. She will not allow Scout to bring a Cunningham, from a poor, conservative but proud and
decent farming family, home to play, nor allow Scout to visit Calpurnia at her home (Aunt Alexandra is
a snob!). Every family group in Maycomb, according to Aunt Alexandra, had a particular 'Streak'
(Chapter 13 and Chapter 23). Scout documents the 'caste system', where, due to the inward growing
and isolated nature of the community, distinct and very particular family characteristics have
developed. We see how beneath the restrictions of the class system there is further categorising of
people in their presumptions about family groups, rather than seeing each person as an individual.
17
Gender
Local history in the novel tells us that the females at Finch's Landing were kept on a tight rein, just
like the slaves (Chapter 9). At the time the novel is set, women were still regarded as unequal to men.
Scout learns about women's position from:
• Miss Maudie in terms of religion (Chapter 5)
• Atticus in terms of the law - they were not permitted to sit on the jury (Chapter 23)
• Aunt Alexandra in terms of expected behaviour and dress (throughout the novel)
However, an idealised view of women was held at the time of the novel. The Southern Gentleman was
expected to show chivalry and protection to Southern Belles and the idea of Southern Womanhood
was that women were to be worshipped and protected.
We see therefore that by the time Tom Robinson had his hearing it was more complicated than racial
prejudice. To some extent, class and gender prejudice also lead to the unjust verdict of guilty.
2: INDIVIDUALS
Prejudice is directed towards individual characters in the novel who do not fit into the expected
behavioural patterns of society and about whom little is known. These prejudices are fed by:
• Fear - for example the children are frightened of Boo Radley, an outsider to society whom they have
never seen.
• Rumour -Jem, Scout and Dill have heard rumours about Boo, from Miss Stephanie and other children
at school.
• Superstition - superstitious views of ghosts, and stories they have learned from growing up in the
Maycomb community, feed into their fear of Boo Radley.
When the children's experience of the world increases and they realise that Boo is a real person,
capable of suffering like everyone else, prejudice towards him dies.
Other individuals who are targets for prejudice are:
• Miss Maudie by the foot-washers for her love of nature and unconventional religious views
• Atticus for his defence of a black man
• Tom Robinson himself
Harper Lee seems to indicate that the breaking down of prejudice has to be targeted towards
individuals initially, for instance like the Cunningham man at the trial. A 'baby-step' (Miss Maudie,
Chapter 22) has to be taken instead of solving prejudice all at once.
Solutions to prejudice
The author seems to be presenting two solutions to getting rid of prejudice:
• Atticus's maxim
• Harper Lee's challenge of stereotypes
Route to Prejudice
Route to Understanding
A Lack of Understanding
Standing in another's shoes
Fear/Superstition/Stereotyping/
Intolerance
Tolerance/Sympathy/Courage
to stand up against prejudice to others
18
Prejudice
No prejudice
Injustice
Justice
Atticus's maxim follows that if you attempt to stand in another's shoes or another's skin you will be
able to see their point of view and there will be an understanding and tolerance and therefore no
prejudice. This is repeated to the children and demonstrated by Atticus, for instance when he tries to
sympathise with Mrs Dubose and Robert Ewell. We see that Scout and Jem, as time goes by, learn to
do this with various characters, for instance Mayella Ewell and Boo Radley (see Theme on Growing Up).
It is shown to be a very effective maxim which can be applied to almost anybody. Atticus even tries to
attempt to get into the dirty skin of Robert Ewell, although this finally defeats him. Even Atticus has
reached his bottom line of tolerance (a sign of his humanity?). We are left with an unresolved question
- what to do about extreme characters who seem untouchable by reason and are inherently evil?
Harper Lee does not seem to be able to provide an answer to this question here.
Harper Lee’s challenge of stereotypes
People often stereotype others out of ignorance. Harper Lee seems to be challenging the traditional
stereotypes in American fiction by her sensitive portrayal of particular characters in To Kill a
Mockingbird.
The Blacks Blacks were viewed as either evil human beings or stupid, lovable and childlike creatures.
Harper Lee makes her black characters, Calpurnia and Tom Robinson, normal human beings capable of
the same thoughts and feelings as Whites. She shows the reader that although they are considered
of lower class than people like the Ewells, they are more law-abiding, more hard working, more houseproud.
The Southern Gentleman As indicated above, the Southern Gentleman would have been traditionally
represented as a gallant and extremely courteous gentleman, who worshipped the idea of Southern
Womanhood above all else. Through Atticus, Harper Lee challenges this stereotype. He is polite to
everyone in an equal sort of way, and we remember him saying to Aunt Alexandra that he is 'in favour
of Southern womanhood as much as anybody, but not for preserving polite fiction at the expense of
human life' (Chapter 15).
The Southern Belle and Southern Womanhood The idea of ladylike behaviour and feminine dress was
accepted and expected of young girls like Scout who should be brought up to be Southern Belles.
Harper Lee shows that Scout does not fit into this mold and that her clothes are 'mocked' (see
Symbolism) by Aunt Alexandra's missionary circle friends (Chapter 24). Unlike Aunt Alexandra,
Atticus is not concerned with making Scout into 'a ray of sunshine' (Chapter 9), but Harper Lee does
go some way into accepting the idealised stereotype when she eventually makes Scout sympathetic to
being a lady.
Harper Lee's aim for readers of To Kill a Mockingbird seems to be to live the lives of her characters,
to live Atticus's maxim, and by doing this to make them appreciate similar unknown characters in their
own communities - especially the Blacks whom, at that time, many white people would have known little
about. Above all, her message is that it is 'a sin' to harm an innocent (see Symbolism). Harper Lee
does not imply that there is a quick and easy process to the solving of prejudice, which is one of the
19
reasons why To Kill a Mockingbird' is such a realistic novel.
Symbolism
The mockingbird motif
The mockingbird is the most significant symbol in the novel. This repeated image and its key symbol of
an innocent creature, make it a strong motif. A mockingbird is a type of finch, a small, plain bird with
beautiful song which 'mocks' or mimics other birds' song. There are different species of the bird,
some of which are endangered, and it is thought that their habits differ according to their adaption
to specific environments. The mockingbird is not a completely new symbol and appears in other places
in American literature and folklore.
The mockingbird first appears in Chapter 10 of To Kill a Mockingbird when Atticus is telling the
children how to use their shotguns: 'Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember
it's a sin to kill a mockingird'. Scout is surprised to hear the nonjudgmental Atticus calling anything a
'sin'. Miss Maudie explains to her that this is because mockingbirds arc neither harmful nor
destructive, and only make nice music for people to enjoy.
The symbol for Boo Radley and Tom Robinson is not drawn together until Scout's comment at the end
when she recognises that the public exposure of Boo Radley would be 'sort of like shootin' a
mockingbird' (Chapter 30). However, although not made explicit previously, it is evident that both
characters have mockingbird traits:
• They both show kindness - Boo to the children, Tom to Mayella.
• They are both innocent - Boo of the evil persona with which he is associated and Tom of the crime of
rape.
• Both are victims of prejudice (see Theme on Prejudice).
• Both are imprisoned and potentially vulnerable - Boo is imprisoned in a separate world to protect him
from people's prejudice if exposed, as Heck Tate, Atticus and Scout recognise at the end of the
novel. Tom is imprisoned and later killed as a result of people's prejudice.
Atticus, a mockingbird too in a sense, has sung Tom's song of truth to the people of Maycomb but has
not been heard.
The mockingbird symbol is kept alive for the reader throughout the narrative, therefore continually
reminding us of the themes with which it is associated. For Instance, it is referred to:
• After the mad dog incident (Chapter 10)
• When waiting for the jury's verdict (Chapter 21)
• In Mr Underwood's article about Tom's death (Chapter 25)
• When Scout and Jem are on their way to the pageant (Chapter 28)
At tense moments, like on the way to the pageant, even the mockingbird is silent. In moments of
descriptive beauty the mockingbird is often alluded to, lurking somewhere in the background.
Harper Lee invites the reader to consider the word 'mockingbird' and all its associations:
• The children mock Boo's life as they make fun of and imitate it.
• Mayella accuses Atticus of mocking her.
• The trial is a mockery of justice.
20
Other symbols
The significance of the mockingbird motif therefore broadens out to contain many layers of meaning.
The mockingbird is not the only symbol in the novel. Other examples of the author using a description
to allude to something else are:
• The Radley house, with its closed doors and shutters and austere front, represents the privacy and
isolation and unfriendliness of the Radley family.
• The tree beside the Radley Place represents Boo's character and his desire to communicate, when
presents are left in the tree. When the hole is closed up (Chapter 7) Boo's contact is being denied,
but when the children stand near the tree watching the fire (Chapter 8) contact is established again.
Much later (Chapter 26) Scout notices the tree trunk swelling and soon afterwards Boo saves the
children and Bob Ewell is found dead under the tree (Chapter 28).
• Scout and Jem's snowman represents how superficial skin colour is to the essence of a human being.
There is not much snow and there is a lot of mud, so the snowman is dark until Jem covers it with bits
of snow he has found. It keeps changing colour and during the fire the snowman collapses altogether.
• Mrs Dubose's camellias represent the prejudices which cannot be brushed off easily. They have to
be tugged by their roots.
Themes and Related Incidents
On each new reading of the novel, further symbols will be realised.
21
These are not definitive lists, just guides! Some page references have been given – your
task is to find the rest.
Courage
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
Mrs Dubose’s battle with morphine addiction (p.117)
Atticus representing Tom (making a stand against prejudice) and knowing he will fail
Jem returning for his trousers (p.62)
Boo Radley rescuing Jem and having to leave the sanctuary of his home to do so.
Miss Maudie’s optimism after her house has burned down (p. )
Jem touching the door of the Radley house (p.16 )
Chuck Little standing up to Burris Ewell in class (p.30 - 31)
Atticus telling Helen Robinson of Tom’s death (p. )
Mr Underwood’s article about Tom Robinson (p. )
Link Deas speaking out for the Robinsons (p. )
Lack of courage – Bob Ewell attacking Jem and Scout (p. )
Lack of courage – the jurors arriving at a verdict of Guilty (p. )
Growing Up
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
Scout learns of the value of politeness from Calpurnia (p. )
Scout and Jem learn the true meaning of courage from Atticus (p. )
Scout learns the value of being a lady from Aunt Alexandra (p.261 - 262)
Scout’s changing view of Boo Radley and the Radley games (p.110 and 267), though
Jem is first to recognise Boo’s human side
Scout understanding why it would be wrong to tell Maycomb of Boo Radley’s part in
Bob Ewell’s death (p. )
The change in Jem after his time spent with Mrs Dubose (p. )
Jem becoming as good as Atticus for making Scout feel better (p.285)
Miss Maudie symbolically giving Jem a slice of the big cake and its implications
(p.237)
Jem’s angst during the trial (p. )
Dill remaining childlike enables the reader to measure Jem and Scout’s growth
Boo Radley has been stunted mentally and thus not developed as other characters
have – relate this to Dill’s troubled childhood, which sees him seeking comfort in his
fantasies
Prejudice
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
Racial prejudice prevents Tom from having a fair trial (p. )
Racial prejudice consumes the mob who come for Tom Robinson (p. )
However, Atticus has made a small step towards defeating prejudice when he makes
the jury take so long to reach their verdict (p. )
Racial prejudice is inherent in Maycomb’s citizens, even if they are unaware of it –
the Missionary tea ladies’ comments about the blacks and Scout’s teacher’s shortsightedness (p. )
Racial prejudice – Dolphus Raymond’s lifestyle (p. )
Moving away from racial prejudice, Aunt Alexandra is obsessed with heredity (p. )
The Ewell’s are despised by the people of Maycomb – white trash (p. )
Boo Radley is persecuted (by Jem, Scout, Dill, other school children and to some
degree Miss Stephanie) because he is different from others (p. )
22
·
·
·
The Radleys themselves are persecuted because they keep themselves to themselves
(p. )
Miss Maudie is frowned upon because of her love of nature and unconventional
religious views (p. )
Women at this time still were still regarded as unequal to men
Injustice/Justice
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
Because he is a Negro, Tom is unable to have a fair trial – the word of whites will
always be taken over the word of blacks, regardless of character (p. )
Court case – despite obvious evidence to the contrary, Tom is convicted (p. )
The death of Tom Robinson (p. )
Atticus knows he is going to lose the case – aware of injustice/prejudice from the
outset (p. )
Dolphus Raymond talks about the ‘simple hell’ people face because of skin colour (p. )
Atticus and his family are unjustly abused when he agrees to defend Tom Robinson
(p. )
Jem feels his punishment for destroying Mrs Dubose’s camellias is unjust (p. )
Scout is punished at school for knowing how to read and write (p. )
Similarly, Scout feels she is unjustly treated during her first day at school for
simply trying to tell the teacher how things work in Maycomb (p. )
Scout is punished for fighting with her cousin without having her side of the story
heard (p. )
Bob Ewell’s death – justice for Tom Robinson (p. )
To tell Maycomb of Boo Radley saving Jem and Scout would be unjust (p. )
Family
If asked to write about family, you should consider the range of families depicted in the
novel: the Finches (Atticus, Jem and Scout and the role Calpurnia plays, plus the
extended Finch family), the Ewells, the Robinsons, the Radleys and Dill’s “family”.
Maycomb/Community
If asked to write about the community/communities or Maycomb itself, focus on the
range of social types and the views held by each.
In all of the above, you should try to comment on the views of the author – for example,
what is Harper Lee trying to tell the reader about prejudice? Don’t simply comment on
the character’s views – refer to the writer too. You should also refer to the socialhistorical context of the novel (meaning what it has to say about life in the 1930s and
the period in which Harper Lee was writing). Finally, make references to Lee’s use of
Structure, Style and Language
language where possible.
23
Structure
The structure of the novel has a pleasing symmetry. At the centre of Part 1 is the children's fear
of Boo Radley; at the centre of Part 2 is Bob Ewell's hatred of Tom Robinson. Later, this hatred is
directed towards Atticus's children and their lives are saved by Boo Radley, the former object of
their fear:"thus the plot of Part 2 is neatly joined to that of Part 1. In the section devoted almost
exclusively to Tom Robinson and Bob Ewell, the thread of Part 1 is kept in the reader's mind by
references to Boo Radley (Chapters 15, 19, 23 and 26).
Part 1 may be subdivided into two sections:
Chapters 1-8: Boo Radley (1 Home, 2-3 School, 4-8 'Making Boo Radley come out')
Chapters 9-11: Gathering Shadows (Opposition, first from children (Cecil Jacobs and cousin
Francis) and later from adults (Mrs. Dubose))
Part 2 may be subdivided into four sections:
Chapters 12-15: Prelude to the trial
16-21 The trial of Tom Robinson
22-28 Aftermath: Ewell's attack
29-31 Boo Radley again.
Each of these sections works up to its own dramatic climax - in Chapter 8 the burning of Miss
Maudie’s house and the unnoticed appearance of Boo Radley; in Chapter 11, the episode of Mrs
Dubose; in Chapter 15 the 'attack' on Maycomb jail; in Chapter 21 the end of the trial; in Chapter
28 Ewell's attack on the children and his death; in Chapter 31 Scout's recognition of Boo Radley's
love and protection.
There is another interesting contrast between Part 1 and Part 2. Part 1 is largely
concerned with the way the children come to understand more about people as individuals - at
school, young Walter Cunningham and Miss Caroline Fisher; at home, Miss Maudie Atkinson, Mrs.
Dubose and, of course, Boo Radley. In Part 2, on the other hand, the emphasis is on the wider social
situation. First, Aunt Alexandra's arrival and her views on propriety and the bringing up of children
lead them to think about the family as a social unit. Soon they become aware of the prejudices and
injustices in the community as a whole. These have their focal point in the trial of Tom Robinson
and they are also revealed in the. contrast between Miss Gates's Current Events lesson and her
comment on Tom Robinson's conviction, and in the opinions of the Missionary Circle. Part 2 also
emphasizes the divisions in society (Mr Dolphus Raymond, the Ewells, the sad plight of 'mixed'
children, in Chapter 16, and the visit to Calpurnia's church are important here) and the children's
own attempts to understand the view of the adults on family pride, 'gentle breeding', background
and 'fine folks1. 'If there's just one kind of folks, why can't they get along with each other? If
they're all alike, why do they go out of their way to despise each other?'
Over the basic plan, as outlined above, are laid many details which lend strength and
interest to the structure of the novel. The character of Miss Maudie Atkinson, though not involved
in the plot, is of great importance in every section of the novel in helping the children to
understand the significance of their experiences. The Cunningham family are subtly used to provide
a thread which links many sections of the story.
Throughout the book there are effective echoes and contrasts. At the end of the
first chapter Jem touches Boo's house in fear and daring; at the end of the last chapter Boo
touches "the-sleeping Jem with love and affection. The wider lessons of school and the opinions of
Miss Gates in Chapter 26 recall the wider lessons and the opinions of Miss Fisher in Chapters 2 and
3. In Chapter 9 Scout is so enraged by taunts against Atticus that she attacks her cousin and,
thanks to Atticus, learns much from the episode; in Chapter 11, Jem is so enraged by Mrs Dubose's
charges against Atticus that he attacks her camellias and, thanks to Atticus, he too learns much.
24
The growth of insight and understanding in Jem, from his discussions with Atticus about the
verdict at the Robinson trial in Chapter 23, is paralleled by the growth of insight and understanding
in Scout, from Miss Maudie's part in the Missionary Circle tea-party in Chapter 24.
There are significant repetitions and echoes of phrase which lend a unity to the story
- like Miss Maudie's phrase about Atticus being the same in his house (and in the courtroom) as he
is on the public streets (see Chapters 5 and 19), a phrase which Atticus himself echoes in his
discussion with the sheriff in Chapter 30, Parallel with phrases like this are the repetitions of
small personal gestures at significant moments in the story, like Atticus's pushing up his glasses to
his forehead, which in Scout's mind links the anxieties over Tom Robinson (Chapter 16) with the
shooting of the mad dog (Chapter 10) and combines with a recollection of another of Atticus's
gestures - calmly folding his newspaper and pushing back his hat (Chapters 15 and 16). Again the
silent apprehension as the jury files in to give its verdict (Chapter 21) recalls for Scout an earlier
episode:
The feeling grew until the atmosphere in the court-room was exactly the same as a
cold February morning, when the mockingbirds were still, and the carpenters had
stopped hammering on Miss Maudie's new house, and every wood door in the
neighbourhood was shut as tight as the doors of the Radley Place. A deserted,
waiting, empty street, and the courtroom was packed with people. A steaming
summer night was no different from a winter morning -... I expected Mr. Tate to
say any minute, 'Take him, Mr. Finch ...' (Chapter 21)
This passage is connected with the imaginative use of the mockingbird symbolism.
Another effective structural device is used almost at the end of the novel when
Scout, having accompanied Arthur Radley back to his house, stands before the shuttered window
and imagines the events of the last two years as they would have appeared to Boo Radley, watching
from inside that same window.
Narrative voice
The story of To Kill a Mockingbird is presented to us as a series of events observed by a young girl.
Admittedly Scout is a precocious child (at the beginning of the story she is not quite six years old).
Behind the young girl, of course, is the adult that she grew into - for we are led to understand that
the novel is the story as recalled by an older Scout looking back at her childhood. 'When enough
years had gone by to enable us to look back on them, we sometimes discussed the events leading to
his (Jem's) accident' (Chapter 1). And behind this again is the literary experience of Harper Lee her knowledge of people and things, her literary skills and style, her vocabulary.
Nevertheless, we are given the impression that the events unfold as they appeared to
the young Scout; and this narrative method has considerable effectiveness as a result of Scout's
youth and innocence.
First, it is a source of humour, as (for example) when Scout innocently reports Miss
Maudie's question to Miss Stephanie Crawford ('What did you do, Stephanie, move over in bed...?')
without understanding the sexual innuendo behind it (Chapter 5), or in the way Scout picks up and
uses the term 'morphodite' without understanding the hermaphrodite qualities of Jem's snowman.
Secondly, some of the ugliness and horror of a series of events which include a
charge of rape, the senseless sacrifice of Tom Robinson, the attack on two children by Bob Ewell
and his death at the hands of Boo Radley, can be toned down by being presented in this way.
Thirdly, the reader gains an additional interest by his ability to perceive significance
where Scout is not aware of it. She does not at first see the significance of the gifts in the knothole; she does not understand the full implications of a charge of rape or the full horror of Mayella
25
Ewell's actions, and when Scout overhears and reports Atticus's remarks about this she does so
without knowing exactly what he means.
Fourthly, because of the above aspect, Lee is able to contrast effectively Scout's
ingenuousness, the justice, rationality and straightforwardness of children and, on the other hand,
the hypocrisy, prejudice, the perversion of justice and the sordid adult values which are implicit in
many of the events she relates. Both Atticus ('So far nothing in your life has interfered with your
reasoning process') and Mr. Dolphus Raymond ('Because you're children and you can understand it')
comment on the children's advantage.
You should also note how, in Chapter 25, Lee overcomes the problem of relating
events at which our narrator was not present.
Narrative Style
The style of To Kill a Mockingbird is comparable to nineteenth-century literature, much admired by
Harper Lee. Similarities are:
• Full and leisurely portrayal of a particular community
• Attempt at realism
• Concern with the battle of good and evil
• Tragic and comic elements
• Sentimental feel, with a clear set of morals
• Chronological order of events
Some of its characteristics, for instance that it is a regional novel, link it to other twentiethcentury Southern American writing as well as to traditional ideas of the nineteenth-century novel.
It is of its time in its reference to history and exploration of contemporary concerns, for instance
the theme of racial prejudice, which is still an important issue today.
Language
Harper Lee's language is straightforward and varied. The realistic and exact dialogue is full of
colloquialisms from the southern states of America. The descriptive passages are notable for their
detailed observation and precise expression. Consider this description of Walter Cunningham:
Walter looked as if he had been raised on fish food: his eyes, as blue as Dill Harris's,
were red-rimmed and watery. There was no colour in his face except at the tip of his
nose, which was moistly pink. He fingered the straps of his overalls, nervously picking
at the metal hooks. (Chapter 3)
or the paragraph (beginning 'Something had happened to her') which describes Mrs. Dubose's face
in Chapter 11.
The variety of the writing ranges from clean-cut logic and the dramatic cut-andthrust of Atticus's cross-examination in the courtroom to the mystery and suspense which are
found in the description of the Radley Place (Chapter 1), the account of the children's visit there
one night (Chapter 6) and the attack which is made upon them on Halloween and their rescue by a
mysterious stranger (Chapter 28). Lee can convey a feeling of unreality in a passage like this:
What happened after that had a dreamlike quality: in a dream I saw the jury return,
moving like underwater swimmers, and Judge Taylor's voice came from far away, and
was tiny. I saw something only a lawyer's child could be expected to see, could be
26
expected to watch for, and it was like watching Atticus walk into the street, raise a
rifle to his shoulder and pull the trigger, but watching all the time knowing that the gun
was empty. (Chapter 21)
At other times she can clothe an abstraction in a series of sense impressions:
Summer was our best season: it was sleeping on the back screened porch in cots, or
trying to sleep in the tree-house; summer was everything good to eat; it was a
thousand colours in a parched landscape; but most of all, summer was Dill. (Chapter 4)
or through a string of events:
Somehow it was hotter then: a black dog suffered on a summer's day; bony mules
hitched to Hoover carts flicked flies in the sweltering shade of the live oaks on the
square. Men's stiff collars wilted by nine in the morning. Ladies bathed before noon,
after their three o'clock naps, and by nightfall were like soft tea-cakes with frostings
of sweat and sweet talcum. (Chapter 1)
Accurate observation and liveliness of expression are often 'evident in thumb-nail sketches of
minor characters, like those of Mr. Gilmer (Chapter 17) and Mrs. Grace Farrow (Chapter 24); and
Lee's writing constantly pleases by the use of striking phrases. The shadow of a man, moving across
the Radley porch, is 'crisp as toast' (Chapter 6): Mayella Ewell gains a kind of stealthy confidence,
'like a steady-eyed cat with a twitchy tail' (Chapter 18); Scout refers to her father's 'last-willand-testament diction' (Chapter 3).
The use of simile and metaphor is particularly effective (see the Figurative Language
section below for more on this). The ground around the cabin of the Ewells looks 'like the playhouse
of an insane child'; if Miss Maudie found a blade of nut-grass in her garden, it was 'like the Second
Battle of the Marne'; Miss Stephanie Crawford is described as 'that English Channel of gossip'.
When Scout overheard a conversation that suggested that her Aunt had plans for bringing her up
more strictly, she 'felt the starched walls of a pink cotton penitentiary' closing in on her.
Sometimes it is a single word that is effective: when Scout is rolled inside the tyre, 'Ground, sky
and houses melted into a mad palette’.
At the other end of the scale there are many extended passages of description and
discussion which demonstrate the versatility and suppleness of Lee's handling of language.
Examples are: the discussion of education at the beginning of Chapter 4; the account of the growth
of Maycomb in Chapter 13; the description of Maycomb jail in Chapter 15; and the story of Colonel
Maycomb in Chapter 28. The gently ironic humour of these passages is characteristic of the novel
as a whole and an important element in a story which is so often critical of human behaviour.
Figurative Language
Harper Lee makes use of various stylistic devices to create effect. Scout talks about the
characters she is describing in similes:
• Calpurnia's 'hand was as wide as a bed slat and twice as hard' (Chapter 1)
• 'Jem's white shirt-tail dipped and bobbed like a small ghost dancing away to escape the coming
morning' (Chapter 8)
Simile is also used to create images, often recurring, to emphasise prominent ideas. The previous
section on Symbolism shows how this is done with the mockingbird motif. Careful placing of images
link up key themes and create a sense of coherence in the novel as a whole.
27
Objects are personified by Scout which helps to reinforce a symbolic structure, for instance the
description of Maycomb and the Radley Place in Chapter 1. The fence is referred to as 'a picket
drunkenly guarding the front yard' (Chapter 1) and the house 'droopy and sick' (Chapter 1).
These examples and the use of metaphors, as well as illuminating meaning, evoke the traditions and
ways of children growing up in the Southern United States. An example of this is the way Scout
describes Atticus in court in Chapter 17 as going 'frog-sticking without a light', when she thinks
that Atticus is starting something without the sufficient equipment to deal with it. Such childhood
images are poetic in their naivety and originality, but have been crafted by a creative, grown-up
narrator (Harper Lee).
Figurative language like this lightens a story which is fairly tragic and also helps to make the novel
more realistic. Humorous use of language also has this effect, for instance Scout's malapropism
when she has not understood the words 'Absolute Morphodite' (Chapter 8) and Robert Ewell's
malapropism when, ironically, he does not understand the meaning of 'ambidextrous' at the trial
(Chapter 17).
Harper Lee's ability to capture a variety of dialect and southern colloquial expressions adds
realism and authenticity to the novel. One example of a general southern colloquialism is 'buying
cotton', a polite way of saying that the person does nothing. Varieties of speech are often used to
make a social comment about a character:
• Child dialogue and use of slang are notable. See Jem, Scout and Dill's conversation at the end of
Chapter 1. The narrator is clearly skilled in capturing children's language, but she is not restricted
to this as she tells her story from a mature perspective.
• Robert Ewell uses a crude, harsh language at the trial and refers to Mayella being raped,
'screamin' like a stuck hog' (Chapter 17). This is a grotesque metaphorical comment and it shows
what little love and respect he has for his daughter. His swear words in the trial work in turning us
against this character.
• Mayella's dialect is equally broad, representing the uneducated whites. She takes offence to
Atticus's address of 'ma'am' and 'Miss Mayella' (Chapter 17), showing us that she has not been
exposed to politeness and does not recognise basic social conventions.
• Tom's dialect is also broad, 'I passed by yonder she'd have some little somethin' for me to do choppin' kindlin', totin' water for her.' (Chapter 19) However, in contrast to Robert Ewell, Tom's
dialect is softer. He calls Judge Taylor and Atticus 'suh' and 'Mr. Finch', and is the voice of
politeness.
• Calpurnia speaks 'coloured-folks' talk' and 'white-folks' talk' (Chapter 12), reflecting her
background and inherent ways (her grammar gets 'erratic' when she is angry) but also her current
position and the lack of education in the black community.
• Atticus, mirroring his personality, speaks courteously, formally but straightforwardly.
Harper Lee therefore cleverly uses a variety of language for different purposes:
• To create atmosphere
• To reveal character
• To create symbolic structure
• To support and enhance key themes
• To show authenticity
• To provide information
• To make a social comment
• To provide humour or reveal irony
28
Language is never static. Some of the words Harper Lee used have a different meaning in today's
society. The language used to describe Blacks has changed. Harper Lee and characters like Atticus
and Calpurnia referred to Blacks as ‘Negroes’ and ‘coloured men/ women’. Today the term 'Blacks'
is a more acceptable term of description for skin colour and the 'Negroes' descendants would now
be referred to as 'African-Americans'. People would rarely say/write 'the coloured man' today,
perhaps because it was used to designate a separate legal group under Apartheid in South Africa.
However, 'nigger', a bad word in the novel and still not generally used by Whites, has begun to be
used by Blacks to refer to themselves. Blacks are using a word which Whites cannot use and
therefore claiming exclusive right of usage. They are not accepting the Whites' creation of how or
how not to refer to Blacks, but they are inventing their own terminology. By doing this Blacks are
creating an insecurity amongst Whites as to how to refer to Blacks.
Another noticeable change in language and meaning is in reference to 'coming out'. This has taken
on a specific meaning in recent years, but today's meaning and the meaning in the novel are
nevertheless linked. Boo's 'coming out' involves him revealing his true person to the condemning
outside world and today's usage involves a person no longer shutting away their homosexual identity
to a society which is less than accepting. Both have implications of fear, of being different, of
making a bold statement by being known.
Background notes
29
Harper Lee
Harper Lee, youngest of three children, was born in 1926 and brought up in Monroeville in the Deep
American South. Her father was a lawyer. Her mother had a mental illness.
Harper Lee grew up in the same town as the writer Truman Capote. They played as children in their
tree house and talked about books. She was a bit of a tomboy and he was more sensitive and
effeminate. Both authors drew on this friendship in their works e.g. the character of Dill in To Kill
a Mockingbird.
After attending local schools at Monroeville, Harper Lee was educated at the State University of
Alabama, where she studied law. This experience, as well as her father being a lawyer, enabled her
to develop an extensive knowledge of legal vocabulary - very much evident in the novel.
She never completed her degree and went to work in New York (jobs were easier to come by in the
North) as an airline reservations clerk, trying to finance herself as a writer, a lifelong ambition.
She eventually gave up this job to write full-time and in 1960 To Kill a Mockingbird was published.
It was an immediate bestseller and has won her many awards. It remains highly successful, which is
why you are studying it today.
We may never really know precisely how the novelist's personal experience helped her to write the
novel, as Harper Lee refuses all interviews. She spends most of her time living back in Monroeville
where she was brought up. By doing this, as Peter Lennon claimed in The Guardian on 3 October
1995, she is essentially 'protected by the community she so sensitively put in the dock'. In this way
she mirrors her character, Atticus Finch, who says, 'we're fighting our friends. But remember this,
no matter how bitter things get, they're still our friends and this is still our home' (pp. 84-5,
Chapter 9).
Context and Setting
To Kill a Mockingbird is set in a small town in Alabama in the Southern States of America. Although
Maycomb is a fictitious town, based on Harper Lee's home town Monroeville, real places like
Montgomery are referred to in the novel. In order to understand how the atmosphere of the time
affected both Harper Lee and the creation of her characters, it is necessary to consider the
context and belief systems of both the time in which it was written (late 1950s) and the era in
which it is set (1933-5).
Although the novel is set seventy years after the Civil War (1861-65), attitudes and resentments
and memories of violence were still prominent.
· The Southern States had gone to war with the North, which was more progressive than the
South and trying to abolish slavery. African slaves, imported in the seventeenth, eighteenth
and nineteenth centuries, were a vital part of the South's economy, particularly as a source
of labour in the cotton-growing plantations.
· The Northern States won and the United States of America was established. Slaves were
made free men. However, there was still much resentment by Whites in the South, who
largely viewed Blacks as ill-educated, with low morals, hardly human at all. Blacks and
Whites remained segregated in all aspects of life until the second half of the twentieth
century.
· A particularly violent group of Whites formed the Ku Klux Klan in 1867. Members wore long
white cloaks and hoods so they could not be easily recognised. They persecuted and
30
murdered Blacks and Catholics.
The years between 1933-5 were relatively peaceful, though it was a time of severe economic
depression.
· The Wall Street Crash of 1929 caused many shares suddenly to become worthless and
poverty swept the country. The farming states of the South were badly hit.
· President Roosevelt made substantial attempts at economic recovery. After the National
Recovery Act, Roosevelt told the people 'they had nothing to fear but fear itself. However,
these strategies took time to lift the depression.
· As the United States had many internal problems, they were not very concerned or involved
with European affairs. Many Americans were so caught up with their own troubles that they
were not even aware of what was going on in the rest of the country, let alone the rest of
the world.
At the time Harper Lee was writing To Kill a Mockingbird (the late 1950s) the social climate would
have been uppermost in her thought.
· Blacks, who had fought for their country during the Second World War, were starting to
demand more civil rights, for instance their right to lead a desegregated life. The Blacks'
Civil Rights Movement took on a new vigour. Alabama was an important centre in the
movement.
· This led to a novel which is a mixture of nostalgia, criticism and perhaps guilt - typical of
white Southern American writers of the time who had gained some perspective on the ways
of the isolated communities in which they grew up.
Maycomb is a microcosm of American society in the 1930s. It is only concerned with its own
problems (of poverty and unemployment) but it is on the eve of major change, both from within and
from outside its world. Its geographical position and historical background have shaped its
inhabitants - we will see this as we focus on the characters and neighbourhoods of the Maycomb
setting. The novel is about one man, Atticus Finch, trying to jolt his society out of this isolationist
Essay Notes
mentality and towards recognising that Blacks are humans, who deserve the same rights as Whites.
31
You will have forty five minutes to answer one question on this novel. In that time you
should aim to write about five/six incidents/points. As soon as you have read the
question write your essay plan listing the incidents/points you intend to cover. The
incidents should be written about in order of importance. In other words start with
the 'big' points/incidents so if you run short of time a major point will not be missing
from the essay. It is worth spending five minutes planning your essay so that the
remaining forty minutes are used for writing. Stopping, mid essay, to think about what
you are going to write about next is a waste of valuable time. In order to write that all
important essay plan, you will need to have all the major incidents in the novel at your
fingertips. Anybody who has to spend time searching for a particular quote, page or
incident is in trouble. Memorise important page numbers!
The following notes can be manipulated to cover the major themes and characters of
the novel e.g. Atticus, prejudice, injustice, racism, portrayal of the black
community and the way Scout and Jem are affected by the environment in which
they grow up.
The actual essay questions are very difficult to predict but it is very likely that at
least one of the above themes will be touched upon and you may be able to use one of
the following plans.
Notes for questions focusing on Atticus
The following notes provide details which could be used to answer questions on Atticus’
character or Atticus as a good father. Remember that being a good person also makes
Atticus a good father because he is setting an excellent example to his children. The
plan is also of use if you are asked to write about Scout and Jem's upbringing or their
family life. You could argue that Scout and Jem have an excellent upbringing because
Atticus is such a good father. Brief comment on Calpurnia would also be necessary as
she is very much part of their family life. Her firm but fair discipline- punishing Scout
over Walter Cunningham How much she cares for the children - end of Scout's first
day at school.
Intro: Brief outline of Atticus' character e.g. his intelligence, politeness, courage,
refusal to accept the prejudices of the people of Maycomb, strong desire to do what he
sees as being 'right' despite the opinions of others, not a violent man, prefers to use
his head, tolerant, always tries to see things from the other persons point of view, tries
to see good in people. He is a well-respected member of the Maycomb community and
comes from a long established Maycomb family. As a father he demands high standards
of honesty and good manners, always fair and basically tries to instil his values of
tolerance etc. in the children.
Scout and Jem's impression of Atticus
p6 The children seem to be quite happy with their father. He seems genuinely fond of
his children and does very best to bring them up so that they are honest, polite and
tolerant of other people.
'Jem and I found our father satisfactory: he played with us, read to us, and treated us
with courteous detachment.'
32
Atticus does not fuss over his children and he is even criticised by his brother and
Aunt for allowing them too much freedom. However he has a much better understanding
of Jem and Scout's needs and is much more adept at handling them than either of his
relations.
p96/97/98 He believes in selecting things from their behaviour that need to be
corrected, for example Scout's hot headedness and ignoring those things that are
probably best ignored - Jem's decision to live up in the tree, Scout's sudden interest in
swearing.
p92 Atticus' qualities as a good father are highlighted when the children go to their
Aunt's house for Christmas dinner. He has asked Scout not to become involved on
fights when people taunt her about the Tom Robinson trial. However, cousin Francis
provokes Scout in to fighting him by repeatedly referring to Atticus as a 'nigger lover'.
Uncle Jack punishes Scout unfairly, in her opinion, because he didn't bother to listen to
her side of the story and she points out his failings in comparison to Atticus.
p95 'Well, in the first place you never stopped to gimme a chance to tell you my side of
it . . .’ Atticus understands children well and Scout has come to expect fair treatment
because that is how Atticus has always treated his children.
p97 Atticus shows further understanding of children when he tells his brother that he
should not have lied to Scout when he explained what a 'whore lady was. He believes
that honesty is the best policy because children know when they are not getting a
straight answer.
p97/98 • Atticus deliberately switches his conversation with Uncle Jack to the trial
because he is aware Scout is listening. He wants her to think she is overhearing his
advice rather than being told to do it directly. Again this demonstrates a good
understanding of his children. Atticus is well aware that Scout soon forgot when he told
her directly to do something.
p98 The children feel that their father doesn't quite come up to their idea of
manliness. "He doesn't hunt, fish, gamble, drink or smoke and he is much older than
their friends' fathers. He also wears glasses and reads a lot. Even his job does not
impress them. 'Atticus was feeble: he was nearly fifty . . . which we felt reflected on
his abilities and his manliness'
p103-8 However, these are just childish grumbles and Scout and Jem have their eyes
opened in connection their father's 'abilities' he shoots a mad dog. Calpurnia observes
the mad dog coming down the street and telephones Atticus, who instructs her to
contact the neighbours and returns home himself with the sheriff. The scene is one of
terror as the residents watch the mad dog advance and only Atticus has the skill
required to shoot the dog with one shot. The children are filled with admiration for
their father. They were completely unaware of their father's expertise as a marksman,
but Atticus is too modest to boast about his skill in this area. In fact it is not
something he is particularly proud of and he will not shoot unless he absolutely has to.
Atticus' sense of justice and his civilised nature, prevent him from shooting for
pleasure as Miss Maudie explains to the children.
pl09 'If your father's anything, he's civilised in his heart . . . I think maybe he out his
33
gun down when he realised that God had given him an unfair advantage over most living
things. Atticus shows considerable bravery throughout this incident but he does not
want his children to respect him because he is a 'dead shot'. He would rather they
realised that it is better to use your head than to resort to violence and guns,
something he himself has always tried to do.
p24 Scout's first day at school is something of a disaster. She is reprimanded because
Atticus has taught her to read and write and told to tell Atticus not to teach her any
more as it will interfere with her education or rather Miss Caroline's new system.
Scout finds herself in further trouble when she tries to defend Walter Cunningham and
explain his circumstances to the new teacher who is an outsider. She has her hands
slapped and is told to stand in the comer. p33 At home that night Scout tells Atticus
about her first day at school. She does not want to return to school because of Miss
Caroline's instructions that she should no longer read with Atticus and the seeming
unfairness of Miss Caroline's punishment. Even though Miss Caroline is in the wrong
Atticus shows a willingness to compromise and tries to persuade Scout to look at the
school day through Miss Caroline's eyes. Miss Caroline is an outsider who does not fully
understand Maycomb's ways and as result she has misunderstood "and mistaken Scouts
intentions. Atticus is sure that the teacher did not set out to hurt or insult either
Scout or Walter Cunningham.
p33 ‘. . . if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you'll get along a lot better with all kinds
of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point
of view . . . until you climb in to his skin and walk around in it.' This philosophy is central
to Atticus' attitudes and behaviour and it is the chief lesson that he tries to teach his
children. Atticus is an extremely tolerant man who is always prepared to see the other
person's point of view. In fact he even tries to understand Bob Ewell's position after
the trial.
p241 'Jem, see if you can stand in Bob Ewell's shoes a minute . . .'
p26 When Jem invites Walter Cunningham home because he has no lunch Atticus
welcomes him and begins chatting to him about crops as if they were equals not a man
and a boy. During their meal Walter pours a large amount of syrup all over his food and
Scout embarrasses Walter by tactlessly asking him 'what the sam hill he was doing.'
Scout is removed to the kitchen and severely reprimanded-by a furious Calpurnia, who
on page 27 says, 'There's some folks who don't eat like us . . . but you ain’t called on to
contradict 'em at the table'. When Scout turns to Atticus for comfort and to complain
about Calp3urnia he supports Cal's actions. Atticus is a gentleman who is unfailingly
polite. He also tries to treat everyone alike whether they are black or poor. He treats
Walter Cunningham with respect and expects his children to display the same tolerance
and understanding which is why he is so annoyed by Scout's behaviour.
pl15 The Mrs Dubose incident again shows that Atticus is a caring, tolerant man, who
wants his children to inherit the correct values. p124 'I wanted you to see what real
courage is . . .'
Atticus and Boo Radley
p9-14 Boo Radley is a figure of fear and mystery. He is described as a 'malevolent
phantom' and is the subject of much imaginative and vicious gossip in the community of
34
Maycomb. The community has exaggerated his activities to include poisoning pecan nuts
in the school yard, eating cats and squirrels raw, terrifying Miss Crawford by staring
through her window at night, and killing plants by breathing on them. The children are
too young to see through the myths and gossip of the townsfolk and they unconsciously
absorb the town's prejudice. Atticus attitude is somewhat different he does not take
part in or believe the gossip and rumours which circulate around the town and believes
that the Radleys should be left alone to mind their own business.
p54 During their summer holidays Scout, Jem and Dill play various games where they
attempt to get Boo Radley to come out. On one particular occasion they are attempting
to pass a message on the end of long pole when Atticus catches them. This is not the
first time Atticus has discovered the children aggravating Boo Radley and he decides
that the time has come to put and end to their games. '. . . I'm going to tell you:
something and tell you one time: stop tormenting that man . . . What Mr Radley did was
his own business...' Atticus respects the privacy of other people and tries to show an
understanding of their feelings and point of view at all times. He wants Scout and Jem
to display the same tolerance by adopting his principles and thinking for themselves
instead of believing the rumours they have heard, in Maycomb, without question.
Calpurnia works for the Finches as a cook but she is really more of a replacement
mother than a servant. Atticus has great faith in Calpurnia's judgement and has
absolute trust in her ability to care for his children.
p6 As Scout herself comments, 'Calpurnia always won, mainly because Atticus always
took her side.' Atticus is free from any form of prejudice, racial or otherwise. He does
not make judgements about people based on their colour, instead he prefers to judge
people by their individual merits. When the trial of Tom Robinson begins Aunt
Alexandra arrives to 'look after' Scout and Jem. She is annoyed to find out that
Calpurnia has taken Scout and Jem to the Negro church and tries to persuade Atticus
to sack Cal. She seems to think that the children should not be as close to someone who
is a servant and a negro. However Atticus refuses outright and defends Calpurnia.
p150 'Alexandra, Calpurnia's not leaving this house until she wants to . . . She's a
faithful member of this family and you'll simply have to accept things the way they
are.' As far as Atticus is concerned colour is not an issue, to him Calpurnia is a
dependable member of the Pinch family who the children love and he is not prepared to
listen to Aunt Alexandra's prejudiced, intolerant opinions.
Atticus and Tom Robinson
Atticus agrees to defend Tom Robinson a coloured man who has been accused of raping
a white woman. The townspeople are against him but Atticus refuses to be swayed by
the weight of public opinion. He is determined to defend Tom Robinson. The case of
Tom Robinson is a matter of honour for Atticus. He feels that if he does not take the
case he will lose his self-respect, the respect of his children and the respect of those
townsfolk whose opinions he values.
p83 '.......if I didn't I couldn't hold my head up in town . . . I couldn't even tell you or
Jem not to do something again.'
p84 Atticus knows that he cannot win the case and when Scout asks him why he is
35
trying to defend Tom Robinson even though there is no chance of victory he explains
why. ‘Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for
us not to try to win.' Atticus is an honourable and courageous man who believes in
equality of people before the law, which ' is why he is prepared to defend Tom
Robinson. He knows it is case that he cannot win and in defending Tom Robinson he is
exposing himself and his children to the disapproval of the townspeople, but Atticus is
a man who stands by his principles.
pl59- The Saturday night before the trial, the sheriff, Heck Tate, and a group of men
come to talk to Atticus. They are afraid there will be trouble the following day when
Tom Robinson is brought back to Maycomb to stand trial. On Sunday night Atticus goes
in to town to stand guard outside the jail. A group of men come into town to lynch Tom
Robinson but Atticus refuses to stand aside. Atticus actions show great bravery but he
is determined that Tom Robinson should at least be allowed to go to trial' whatever the
final verdict.
pl61 'Link, that boy might go the chair, but he's not going till the truth’s told.'
Throughout the trial Atticus does his very best defend Tom Robinson, something which
does not endear him to the townspeople. They don't like the idea that Atticus is
actually taking the job seriously and they feel that he is letting down the white
community. However Atticus is not interested in falling in line with general public
opinion. He intends to follow the course of action that he feels is right.
The above notes would also be of use if you were asked to compare Atticus as
father to other fathers in the novel or if you were asked to write about family
life in general. You would merely look at some of Atticus' good qualities then
compare him to other less successful parents e.g.
Bob Ewell
p29-31 Burris Ewell's behaviour indicates a poor upbringing by his father.
p33-4 Atticus comments on Ewell's failure as a father.
p187-9 Further description of the Ewell's life style.
p202 Mayella's testimony indicate Ewell's failure as a father
p207- Ewell has beaten Mayella and she is so terrified of her father that she is
prepared to condemn Tom Robinson to death rather than admit the truth.
Mr Radley
p11-13 Mr Radley's treatment of his son Boo seems particularly harsh. p13 Even
Calpurnia comments on his meanness.
Notes for questions focusing on prejudice and/or injustice in 'To Kill a
Mockingbird'
36
Intro: Brief background to nature of the people who live in Maycomb and their
prejudices. Maycomb is a tired town. The pattern of life has not changed for some time
and there is no desire for change. Most importantly the town has turned in on itself
with no interest in the outside world. The people are inbred and inward looking. Your
position and standing in society depends on your family history. People are not judged
on their individual merits. Anyone who is different, like Boo Radley, or an outsider is
viewed with fear and suspicion by the Maycomb inhabitants.
This mistrust of outsiders is also evident in their dislike of the Negro community.
Negroes, no matter how hardworking, honest and virtuous, are treated as second class
citizens. Although some individuals in the novel like Atticus and Miss Maudie respect
the Negro community, the majority of white people in Maycomb seem to mistrust and
dislike them, which has resulted prejudice and injustices against the black community.
Boo Radley
Boo Radley is the subject of much gossip and superstitious rumours circulated by the
less tolerant inhabitants of Maycomb. He is described as a 'malevolent phantom' who
only goes out at night when the moon is down. Whenever something untoward happens in
the town Boo gets the blame. He is thought to have mutilated people's chickens and
household pets and even though the real culprit is uncovered the people of Maycomb
still believe Boo Radley was involved in some way.
p9 'although the culprit was Crazy Addie . . . people still looked at the Radley place,
unwilling to discard their initial suspicions.' The townsfolk of Maycomb are more
influenced by fear, superstition and rumours than by that which is rational and sensible.
The Radley's do not deserve to be persecuted by the gossips and scaremongers of
Maycomb. They have done nothing wrong other than failing to conform to the rigid
patterns of behaviour that the Maycomb people expect.
p9 'The Radleys, welcome anywhere in town, kept to themselves, a predilection
unforgiveable in Maycomb . . .' Even the children at school have picked up on their
parents' unreasonable prejudices in. connection with Boo Radley. No one will eat pecans
that fall from the Radley tree as this will result in certain death.
p9 'A baseball hit into the Radley yard was a lost ball and no questions asked.' Scout
and Jem have unconsciously absorbed the town's prejudices against Boo Radley and
have built up an image of Boo Radley as being somehow less than human, based on the
gossip and myths that have been created around him in the town.
p14 Jem and Scout are terrified of Boo and Jem describes Boo to Dill as a six and a
half foot monster. Obviously this description is not accurate and is the result of some
childish fantasy, but truth about Boo Radley seems to have been lost in the children's
irrational fears and superstitions.
p44 The children also persecute and harass Boo Radley with their summer holiday
games as they try to get him to come out and devote much of their energy to reenacting their rather gruesome version of his life story. As the novel progresses Jem
and Scout begin to realise that Boo Radley is not the malevolent phantom they once
thought he was but unfortunately their tolerance is not shared by the majority of
Maycomb's inhabitants.
37
Tom Robinson
When Atticus agrees to defend a coloured man for raping a white woman the townsfolk
are outraged, because if he has been accused by a white man of raping a white woman
he must be guilty. The fact that Tom Robinson is of good character, it is doubtful that
the rape took place at all, and his accusers the Ewells are considered to be the lowest
form of white trash, is irrelevant. The people of Maycomb refuse to believe the true
facts because of the intense racial prejudice that prevails in Maycomb County.
p92 Atticus and his children are abused and shunned by friends and family alike
because he has agreed to represent a black man. When the children go to their Aunt's
house for Christmas Scout has to listen to taunts and abuse about her father from
cousin Francis. 'Grandma says it's bad enough he lets you all run-wild, but now he's
turned out a nigger-lover we'll never be able to walk the streets of Maycomb again.' In
insulting Atticus and his family Francis is only repeating what he has heard his
grandmother say. There ideas of what was socially acceptable and their prejudice
against Negroes were common to most middle class white people at the time,
particularly in the South.
pl59- On the Saturday night before the trial a group of respectable middle class white
men, including the sheriff come to visit Atticus. They have come to warn him that there
may be trouble when Tom Robinson returns to Maycomb for the trial. Even though they
are personal friends of Atticus their own racial prejudices will not allow them to
support Atticus' decision to defend Tom Robinson. There is an air of unrest about them
and many of them are critical of Atticus' actions. On the Sunday night group of men
come into town to lynch Tom Robinson. They do not believe that Tom Robinson deserves
a fair trial. As far as they are concerned because he is coloured he must be guilty and
there is no point in trying him in court. Tom Robinson does not warrant the same
privileges as a white man and unlike Atticus these men do not believe that all men
should be treated as equal before the law regardless of race. The lynch mob is made up
of poor working men who were often extremely prejudiced as what little status they
had rested on them being white and not black. Tom Robinson is portrayed as a decent,
honest, hardworking man. Calpurnia knows him from her church and speaks highly of him
when Atticus asks her opinion.
pl83- During the trial Atticus proves almost without any doubt that Tom has not raped
Mayella Ewell. It seems more likely that she has turned to him for some comfort and
when he rejected her advances she tried to destroy the evidence of her 'offence' by
destroying Tom Robinson. The beating she received came from her father when he
found out about her indiscretion.
pl89-90 Bob Ewell is portrayed as a foul-mouthed uncouth liar who cares little for the
well-being of his family. He is even warned about his use of obscenities by the judge.
By all that is fair and right Tom Robinson should be found not guilty. Jem who is looking
at the case in simple terms of right and wrong is certain that Tom Robinson will be
released, but has not reckoned on the racial prejudice of the jury men. Tom Robinson's
only offence was to 'feel sorry' for a white woman. But the Ewells relied on the
prejudices of the townspeople and accused Tom in the certain knowledge that he would
be found guilty because he was coloured.
38
Further examples of prejudice and injustice worthy of note:
Aunt Alexandra's attitude to Calpurnia p150
The obvious prejudice when the ladies of Maycomb meet after the trial p251-262
Inverted prejudice (black person prejudiced against a white person) when Scout and
Jem go to Calpurnia's church and are insulted by Lula - p131
However not all residents of Maycomb are prejudice are unfair in their judgement of
people (see Atticus in the notes above and his treatment of Tom and Calpurnia).
The above notes can also be used in connection with racial prejudice - just miss out the
section on Boo Radley. If you are asked about the way people in Maycomb behave/treat
others again you can write about their prejudiced attitudes and unjust actions which
result in the destruction of Tom and the persecution of Boo.
39
Past Questions from 2010
onwards
MAY
2013
JAN.
2013
40
MAY
2012
JAN.
2012
41
MAY
2011
MAY
2010
42
Sample ‘Old Style’ Essay
Questions to make you think
1.
Write about the importance of Boo Radley in the novel.
Include:
· what most people in Maycomb think about him
· how Jem’s ideas and Scout’s ideas about him change
· how the writer uses Boo to get across important ideas to the reader and what those ideas
are
2. Atticus and Bob Ewell are both single parents. Compare them.
Write about:
· how each of them brings up his children
· how their children respond to them
· the effects they have on their children
· your own response to Atticus and Bob Ewell as parents
3. What do you think Harper Lee shows us about law and justice in Maycomb in the 1930s?
You should write about:
· specific incidents or situations
· different characters’ views about law and justice
· the effects different incidents or situations have on the characters
· how Harper Lee prompts the reader to think about law and justice
4. Why does Harper Lee choose to tell the story from Scout’s viewpoint?
You should write about:
· what Scout learns from her experiences and how she matures during the novel
· what effect Scout’s interpretation of events has on the reader.
5. What do you think Scout learns during the novel?
You should write about:
· what happens to Scout
· what she learns about herself
· what she learns about other people, and the society she lives in
· how the writer brings out the changes in Scout
6. At the end of the novel the following conversation takes place between Atticus and Scout:
“. . . Atticus, he was real nice . . .”
“Most people are, Scout, when you finally see them.”
Think about the characters the children meet in the story. Choose three of the following
characters: Boo Radley, Bob Ewell, Mrs Dubose, Aunt Alexandra, Dolphus Raymond.
Mayella Ewell. Does Atticus’s opinion that people are ‘real nice’ apply to them?
You should write about:
· what they say and do in the novel
· their attitudes
· the way the writer presents them
7. Discuss Atticus’s parenting style. What is his relationship with his children like?
8. What is Atticus’s relationship to the rest of Maycomb? Examine his role in the community.
43
9. Analyse the trial scene, and its relationship to the rest of the novel.
10. Discuss the author’s portrayal of the black community, and the characters of Calpurnia and
Tom Robinson. Are they realistic or idealised?
11. ‘Boo Radley is a malevolent phantom.’ Discuss.
12. Discuss the author’s descriptions of Maycomb. What is the town’s role in the novel?
13. Analyse the characters’ and author’s treatment of Boo Radley. What is his role in the novel?
14. How do Jem and Scout’s characters change during the course of the novel? How do they
remain the same?
15. Analyse the childhood world of Dill, Scout and Jem, and their relationship with Boo Radley in
Book One.
16. Discuss the role of family in To Kill a Mockingbird, paying close attention to the character of
Aunt Alexandra.
17. To tell the story the writer uses the voice of her central character. What are the effects of
this technique?
18. Does Harper Lee merely describe, or does she criticise?
19. Depressing or optimistic? Discuss.
20. Discuss the changes in the relationship between Scout and Jem as the novel progresses.
21. ‘A story about childhood’. True or false?
22. Choose one or two settings in the novel. Discuss how they reveal character.
23. From which three characters do you think Jem and Scout learnt the most?
24. Families are an important issue in the novel. Choose two or three families and explain how each
deals with their experiences.
25. Atticus is a good father. Discuss.
26. Mr Raymond tells Scout, “Your pa’s not a run of the mill man”. How true is this?
27. What forms of prejudice do the children encounter in the novel?
28. What kind of courage is displayed in To Kill a Mockingbird?
44
28. "Most people are [nice] when you finally see them."
Show how Scout and Jem discover the truth of this statement for themselves.
You should consider the following:
· Mrs Dubose
· Dolphus Raymond
· Arthur Radley
· The truth of Scout’s conclusion that there's just "Folks”
· Some examples of people who do not seem "real nice".
29. "Mr Finch, if you was a nigger like me, you'd be scared, too. "
Discuss the predicament Tom finds himself in and why he has no hope of resolving it.
You should consider the following:
· Why he had tried to help Mayella
· What the community attitude is to the Ewells
· What the community attitude is towards the Negroes
· What Mayella’s motive was for accusing him of raping her
· The way the writer presents ideas of justice
30. Both Atticus and Bob Ewell are single parents. Discuss the differences in the way they bring up
their children.
You should consider the following:
· Their attitude to schooling
· Their providing for their children
· The time they spend with their children
· Their children's attitude towards them
· The way the writer uses the two men to make a statement about encouraging human
dignity.
31. Compare Aunt Alexandra and Miss Maudie’s influence on the lives of the children.
You should consider the following:
· Their expectations for the children
· Aunt Alexandra's attempts to teach Scout
· The tone of their conversations with the children
· The children’s attitude towards them
· The way the writer uses them to demonstrate the role of adults on in the upbringing of
children.
45