"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee
Novel begins and we find that Scout Finch lives with her brother, Jem, and their widowed father, Atticus, in the sleepy Alabama town of Maycomb. Maycomb is suffering through the Great Depression, but Atticus is a famous lawyer and the Finch family is well off in comparison to the rest of society. One summer, Jem and Scout become friend with a boy named Dill, who has come to live in their neighborhood for the summer, and the trio acts out stories together. Eventually, Dill becomes interested with the strange house on their street called the Radley Place. The house is owned by Mr. Nathan Radley, whose brother, Arthur (nicknamed Boo), has lived there for years without coming outside.
Scout goes to school for the first time and dislikes it. She and Jem find gifts apparently left for them in a hole of a tree on the Radley property. Dill returns the following summer, and he, Scout, and Jem begin to act out the story of Boo Radley. Atticus puts them away, urging the children to try to see life from another person’s background before making judgments. But, on Dill’s last night in Maycomb for the summer, the three moved secretly onto the Radley property, where Nathan Radley shoots at them. Jem loses his pants in the escape. When he returns for them, he finds them repairing the pants. The next winter, Jem and Scout find more presents in the tree, very likely to be left by the mysterious Boo. Nathan Radley eventually closes the hole with cement. Shortly thereafter, a fire breaks out in another neighbor’s house, and during the fire someone slips a blanket on Scout’s shoulders as she watches the blaze. She was sure that Boo did it, Jem tells Atticus about the repaired pants and the presents.
To the great confusion of Maycomb’s racist white community, Atticus agrees to defend a black man named Tom Robinson, who has been accused of raping a white woman. Because of Atticus’s decision, Jem and Scout are subjected to abuse from other children. Atticus’s sister, Alexandra, comes to live with the Finches the next summer. Dill, who is supposed to live with his new father in another town, runs away and comes to Maycomb. Tom Robinson’s trial begins, and when the accused man is placed in the local jail, a mob gathers to kill him. Atticus faces the mob down the night before the trial. Jem and Scout, who have gone secretly out of the house, soon join him. Scout recognizes one of the men, and her polite questioning about his son shames him in spreading the mob.
At the trial itself, the children sit with the town’s black citizens. Atticus provides clear evidence that the accusers, Mayella Ewell and her father, Bob, are lying: in fact, Mayella intended Tom Robinson to do that and was caught by her father, and then accused Tom of rape to cover her shame. Atticus provides impressive evidence that the marks on Mayella’s face are from wounds that her father inflicted; upon discovering her with Tom, he called her a whore and beat her. Yet, despite the clear evidences pointing to Tom’s innocence, the all-white jury charged him. The innocent Tom later tries to escape from prison and is shot to death. In the aftermath of the trial, Jem’s faith in justice is badly shaken, and he became very sad.
Despite the verdict, Bob Ewell feels that Atticus and the judge have made a fool out of him, and he vows revenge. He threatens Tom Robinson’s widow, tries to break into the judge’s house, and finally attacks Jem and Scout as they walk home from a Halloween party. Boo Radley intervenes, however, saving the children and stabbing Ewell fatally during the struggle. Boo carries the wounded Jem back to Atticus’s house, where the sheriff, in order to protect Boo, insists that Ewell fell over a tree root and eventually fell on his own knife. After sitting with Scout for a while, Boo disappears once more into the Radley house.
Later, Scout feels as though she can finally imagine what life is like for Boo. He has become a human being to her at last. With this realization, Scout accepts her father’s advice to practice sympathy and understanding and shows that her experiences with hatred and prejudice will not damage her faith in human goodness and with that novel comes to an end.
Scout goes to school for the first time and dislikes it. She and Jem find gifts apparently left for them in a hole of a tree on the Radley property. Dill returns the following summer, and he, Scout, and Jem begin to act out the story of Boo Radley. Atticus puts them away, urging the children to try to see life from another person’s background before making judgments. But, on Dill’s last night in Maycomb for the summer, the three moved secretly onto the Radley property, where Nathan Radley shoots at them. Jem loses his pants in the escape. When he returns for them, he finds them repairing the pants. The next winter, Jem and Scout find more presents in the tree, very likely to be left by the mysterious Boo. Nathan Radley eventually closes the hole with cement. Shortly thereafter, a fire breaks out in another neighbor’s house, and during the fire someone slips a blanket on Scout’s shoulders as she watches the blaze. She was sure that Boo did it, Jem tells Atticus about the repaired pants and the presents.
To the great confusion of Maycomb’s racist white community, Atticus agrees to defend a black man named Tom Robinson, who has been accused of raping a white woman. Because of Atticus’s decision, Jem and Scout are subjected to abuse from other children. Atticus’s sister, Alexandra, comes to live with the Finches the next summer. Dill, who is supposed to live with his new father in another town, runs away and comes to Maycomb. Tom Robinson’s trial begins, and when the accused man is placed in the local jail, a mob gathers to kill him. Atticus faces the mob down the night before the trial. Jem and Scout, who have gone secretly out of the house, soon join him. Scout recognizes one of the men, and her polite questioning about his son shames him in spreading the mob.
At the trial itself, the children sit with the town’s black citizens. Atticus provides clear evidence that the accusers, Mayella Ewell and her father, Bob, are lying: in fact, Mayella intended Tom Robinson to do that and was caught by her father, and then accused Tom of rape to cover her shame. Atticus provides impressive evidence that the marks on Mayella’s face are from wounds that her father inflicted; upon discovering her with Tom, he called her a whore and beat her. Yet, despite the clear evidences pointing to Tom’s innocence, the all-white jury charged him. The innocent Tom later tries to escape from prison and is shot to death. In the aftermath of the trial, Jem’s faith in justice is badly shaken, and he became very sad.
Despite the verdict, Bob Ewell feels that Atticus and the judge have made a fool out of him, and he vows revenge. He threatens Tom Robinson’s widow, tries to break into the judge’s house, and finally attacks Jem and Scout as they walk home from a Halloween party. Boo Radley intervenes, however, saving the children and stabbing Ewell fatally during the struggle. Boo carries the wounded Jem back to Atticus’s house, where the sheriff, in order to protect Boo, insists that Ewell fell over a tree root and eventually fell on his own knife. After sitting with Scout for a while, Boo disappears once more into the Radley house.
Later, Scout feels as though she can finally imagine what life is like for Boo. He has become a human being to her at last. With this realization, Scout accepts her father’s advice to practice sympathy and understanding and shows that her experiences with hatred and prejudice will not damage her faith in human goodness and with that novel comes to an end.
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