TO KILL A

MOCKINGBIRD
By Harper Lee

Bush presents Harper Lee with the

nation's highest civilian award

Lee, the author of the beloved

novel "To Kill a Mockingbird," was
honored for her contribution to
American literature. The book, one of
the 20th century's best-selling
novels, gives a child's view of racial
injustice in a rural, Depression-era
Southern town, much like her
hometown of Monroeville.

CHAPTER 1

Narration 1st person Narrator, told through the eyes

of Jean Louise Finch, Scout
Narrative Parts narrator is an adult Scout
Dialogue spoken as Scout, the child in the story
Contrast of Dills family situation and Scout and Jems
Jem and Scout have been motherless since Scout
was two/ Scout has no recollection of her mother
and does not feel her absence/Jem does have
periods when he misses her
Dill is also without a mother and father by reason
of divorce/he has been shifted between
relatives/Dill has the skill of imagination and
fabrication because of his unstable home life
Jem and Scout have Atticus and Calpurnia to
provide a stable home life for them

CHAPTER 2

Satire of Education

Miss Carolines displeasure w/ Scouts

skills in reading and writing satirizes
schools preoccupation w/ structure and
sequence
Story about the cunning little kittens
reveals the tendency to impose
standards of ones own experience
instead of identifying and relating to the
learners situation

CHAPTER 3

Contrast of Buris Ewell and other kids

Physical Description Miss Carolines reaction

to his body lice/ that he is the dirtiest person
Scout has ever seen/ implies that the other
children are much cleaner/ lays the foundation
for the Ewell family later in the book

Atticus advice to Scout

You never really understand a person until
you consider things from his point of view
until you climb into his skin and walk around in
it.
Shows need for compassion and empathy/she
must learn to consider other peoples points of
view

CHAPTER 4

The Boo Radley Game

Children can be imaginative, but they can

also be unintentionally cruel
Scout wants to quit the game because
Atticus doesnt approve and she heard
laughter coming from the Radley house
when she was rolled into the yard in the tire

Oak Tree knothole Jem and Scout find

gum and Indian head pennies

CHAPTER 5

Miss Maudie Atkinsons Function

Characterize others through her

comments to Scout

Has a positive effect on Scout

Helps to shape Scouts understanding

and character

CHAPTER 6

Jem, Dill, and Scout attempt to peek into the

window to get a look at Boo
They were apparently discovered, so they
bolt.
Jem gets his pants caught and has to take
them off to get away.
Jem returns to get his pants because he know
Atticus will be angry.
Jem discovers that the pants were sewn and
folded, lying across the fence.
Apparently, someone was trying to keep Jem
out of trouble

CHAPTER 7

Jem and Scout find more stuff in the

knothole.
Soap Dolls carved in their images. They
realize the things theyve found are for
them.
Nathan Radley cements the knothole
shut, so that no more things can be put
there, which makes Jem understand that
Boo must have been the one leaving
things.
Jem Cries, which shows he understands
Boo Radleys loneliness.

CHAPTER 8

Miss Maudies house burns down

Boo wraps a blanket around Scout

because she is shivering.

CHAPTER 9

Atticus Character

Takes Tom Robinsons case

Defends him because he wants to
remain true to his convictions
Knows he is beaten before the trial even
starts, but he feels he must try

CHAPTER 9 (cont.)

Aunt Alexandra

Concerned w/ appearances
Wants Scout to be a lady
Has influenced cousin Francis
Characteristics of passivity, obedience, and good breeding

Atticus

More concerned w/ how his children behave at moments of

stress
Not concerned w/ superficial manners and dress
Influence shown in Scout, who is open, not deceptive, has
a fighting spirit, has an inner glow of sincerity
Ready and willing to defend the helpless and the underdog
Has a respect for well-kept silence

CHAPTER 10

Symbolic meaning of the Mockingbird

a sin to shoot a mockingbird

Cause no harm to anyone
Gentle and give of themselves through
song
Refers to people whose natures are like
that of mockingbirds
It is a sin to destroy a gentle person

CHAPTER 10 (cont.)

Ol One-shot

Beginning of the chapter, Jem and Scout

viewed Atticus as old and feeble/ not
physically active/ his modest
accomplishments (making a will air
tight) are a source of shame
Atticus shoots the rabid dog/ Jem and
Scout are proud of his courage and skill,
but they overlook his modesty

CHAPTER 11

Mrs. Dubose

Sickly and sourly old lady who shouts nasty

comments at Jem and Scout when they pass
Criticizes Atticus for the way he raises them
Casts sarcastic remarks for Atticus defense
of Tom Robinson
Jem releases his pent-up emotions by
destroying her camellia bushes with Scouts
baton
Jems punishment is to read to her

CHAPTER 11 (cont.)

Mrs. Duboses affliction

Was suffering from a terminal illness

Stopped taking her morphine for the pain
Wanted to die without being addicted

Jems gain from the experience

Learns what real courage is

Courage is when a person fights until the
end even when he knows he is beaten
Also learns a lesson in tolerance Scout
and Jem lengthen their stays at Mrs.
Duboses

CHAPTER 12

Insights Jem and Scout gain by attending

church with Calpurnia

Generous unity among First Purchase Church

members

Gain insight into Cals dual life

Show of support for Tom and his family which contrasts

the white communitys reaction toward Atticus
Is in command of two languages
Has had long involvement with the Finch family
Learned and taught reading from Blackstones
Commentaries

Are informed by Cal that it is not necessary to

tell everything one knows

Blackstones Commentaries

Blackstone, Sir William (1723-1780), an

English judge, author, and professor, won
recognition for his Commentaries on the
Laws of England (1765-1769). This book
presented a comprehensive picture of the
English law of his time, and became the
most influential book in the history of English
law. It was the basis of legal education in
England and America for years. Blackstone's
book greatly influenced American colonists.
The colonists used it as their chief source of
information about English law.

CHAPTER 13

Aunt Alexandra comes to stay with

the Atticus and his children/drives
home the point that Atticus is very
different

CHAPTER 14

Dill has run away from home and

ended up at the Finchs
Dill explains that his parents give him
everything he needs but themselves
He feels unneeded

CHAPTER 15
Contrast Between Two Groups of Men
Tradition for men to stand in anothers
front yard for death or politics
Group led by Heck Tate there for a
little of both
Warn Atticus of Old Sarum bunch
thinking of lynching Tom Robinson
Express fear for Atticus and his family
Crowd disperses in laughter

CHAPTER 15 (cont.)
Contrast Between Two Groups of Men
Mob at the jail smells of pigpens and
stale whiskey
Serious in their intent to lynch Tom
Robinson
Tension is pierced by Scouts
innocent talk

CHAPTER 15 (cont.)

Mobs are powerful when they act as groups

Scout causes Mr. Cunningham to see through
Atticus eyes
Mr. Cunningham feels shame for endangering
Atticus children
Scout reminds them of their individuality with
talk of entailments
Once the individual members of a mob think
as individuals, the mob mentality disappears

CHAPTER 17

Heck Tates Testimony

Had been no medical confirmation of
Mayellas alleged assault
Wants to establish that Mayella was
beaten by a left-handed assailant
Had marks the whole way around her
throat which suggests that someone
choked her with both hands
Wants Heck to repeat the points
made in the testimony

CHAPTER 17 (cont.)

Characterization of the Ewells

Have existed as parasites of the county
Live behind the town dump
Live in a shack of patched, corrugated
iron sheets with a tin can roof
Shack surrounded by junk that
resembles the playthings of a mad child

CHAPTER 17 (cont.)

Description of Bob Ewell

Mayellas father
Struts like a rooster
Chinless face and a red neck
Beaklike nose
Crows when he speaks

CHAPTER 17 (cont.)

Bob Ewells Testimony

Confirms Heck Tates testimony
Mayella was beaten on right side of her
face
Mayella was not examined by a doctor
Establishes that Bob Ewell is left-handed
Shows that Bob Ewell could have
beaten his own daughter

CHAPTER 18

Mayellas Testimony
Depicts a deprived background
Her day is extraordinary and almost
animalistic survival
Lives in isolation, no contact with
other people and other life-styles
Tries to keep her story straight, but
falters
Suggests that her father beat her, not
Tom Robinson
Tom rises and it becomes apparent
that his left arm is 12 inches shorter
that his right and is useless

CHAPTER 19

Toms Testimony
He was kind to Mayella and often
did chores for her because he
felt sorry for her
Resisted Mayellas advances to
kiss him by running away
Declares he would never strike a
white woman
Establishes that Bob Ewell saw
Mayella make advances to kiss
him and had threatened to kill her

CHAPTER 19 (cont.)

Toms motivation to help Mayella were

only a show of kindness, but kindness
can be so uncommon that it is
unrecognized and reacted to with
hostility
Toms only resistance to Mayellas
advances was to run; striking a white
woman would mean certain death
Attorney Gilmers treatment of Tom
racially offensive

CHAPTER 20

Dolphus Raymond
Considered to be the town drunk
Married to a black woman
Has mixed children
Entrusts Dill and Scout with his
deepest secret that he doesnt drink
Believes that if people believe he is
under the influence of whiskey, then
they are more comfortable with their
prejudice of him and his lifestyle

CHAPTER 20 (cont.)

Things havent caught up with that

ones (Dills) instincts yet. Let him get
a little older and he wont get sick and
cry. Maybe thingsll strike him as
being not quite right, say, but he
wont cry, not when he gets a few
years on him.
As a person gets older, he/she gets
hardened toward the way some
people treat other people.

CHAPTER 20 (cont.)

Atticus Closing Remarks

Condemns the social code (Blacks dont mix
with Whites) that imposes guilt on those who
break it / In this case caused Mayella to place
Toms life at stake by accusing him of rape
Condemns the assumption that all Blacks lie,
are immoral, and are not to trusted with
White women
Condemns the denying of one source of
equality the courtroom because of
prejudice
Hopes to make the jurors see Tom Robinson
as an individual, not merely as a black man
Hopes the jurors will stand in Tom Robinsons
shoes

CHAPTER 21

Scout knows the verdict before it is

read because the jury does not look
at Tom Robinson (a jury does not look
at a defendant it has convicted)
This also suggests a sense of
collective guilt

CHAPTER 22

Before the verdict, Jem expressed a

belief in justice, rationality, and
individual integrity
The verdict is cruel and crushing to Jem
This signifies that Jem has finally gone
over the threshold to adulthood. This
was his first experience toward
becoming hardened to conform to the
expectations of society
Bob Ewell spits in Atticus face and
threatens him

CHAPTER 23
Atticus Explanation of Bob Ewells Threat
Wants revenge because the Ewells never
had much credibility and whatever they
had left, Atticus stripped him of it in
court
Atticus walks in Bob Ewells shoes
Bob Ewell will seek revenge where he
can easily get it
If spitting in Atticus face spares Mayella
a beating, then it is worth it

CHAPTER 23 (cont.)
Atticus Explains the Result of the Trial
Attributes the verdict to where the
trial was held
Tom was convicted because he was
Black
Prejudice cannot be screened when
selecting jurors

CHAPTER 24
Irony in Missionary Circles Conversation
The women are capable of compassion
as long as it is long distance and they
dont get their hands dirty
Concerned with an African tribe, but
they dont see how they perpetuate
prejudice and poverty in their own town
Are hypocrites who view themselves as
Good Christians

CHAPTER 24 (cont.)

Tom supposedly tries to escape

Is shot 17 times
Atticus believed that Tom was tired of
white mans chances
Tom was not treated as an individual
in court nor in prison

CHAPTER 25

Mockingbird Symbolism
Mr. B. B. Underwoods editorial in his
newspaper is about Tom Robinsons
death
Says Tom was as harmless as a
mockingbird
Says Toms death was like the
senseless slaughter of songbirds by
heartless hunters

CHAPTER 27

Bob Ewell fired from the WPA (an

allusion to the Works Progress
Administration created in 1935 to
provide paying jobs for unemployed
workers) for laziness

Allusion: reference to something in

literary, historical, or biblical past

Ewell tries to burglarize Judge Taylors

home
Ewell harasses Helen Robinson as she
is on her way home from working at
Link Deas

CHAPTER 27(cont.)

Misses Tutti and Frutti Barber (Sarah

and Frances) missing all of their
living room furniture
Group of kids playing a prank by
sneaking in and taking the furniture
to the cellar
Introduces Halloween
Provides some comic relief

CHAPTER 28

Suspense at the beginning of chapter

creates an ominous feeling and tension
Scouts ham costume is confining
Aunt Alexandras apprehension @ the kids
going to the celebration without an adult
Halloween, moonless night
Strange shadows cast on the Radley house
School yard is black as pitch
Jems talk of haints
Scouts tripping on a root
Cecil Jacobs leaping out from behind the
lone oak tree to scare them
Scout decides to wear the costume home

CHAPTER 28 (cont.)

Scout and Jem attacked on way home from the

pageant
Sense someone is stalking them
At first, think it is Cecil Jacobs again
Break into a run, Scout falls
Feels Jem pulled away from her
Hears a crunching sound and scream
Scout is grabbed herself
Scouts assailant is jerked away from her
Scout stumbles into a body on the ground
Scout sees someone carrying Jem toward their
home
Jem has a broken arm
Bob Ewell is dead with a kitchen knife stuck up
under his ribs

CHAPTER 29

Heck Tate asks Scout to explain what

happened
Scout goes through the entire story
Points out a man in the bedroom as
the one who carried Jem away
Recognizes him as Boo Radley

CHAPTER 30

Atticus at first thinks that Jem killed

Bob Ewell in self-defense
Heck Tates interpretation is different

Insists that Jem did not and could not

have killed Bob Ewell
Believes that Boo defended Jem and
Scout, preventing a crime from being
committed
Public trial would destroy Boo Radley
So, Bob Ewell fell on his knife

CHAPTER 30 (cont.)

Atticus and Scout realize the truth

must be sacrificed to protect Boo
Radley
Dragging Boo Radley through a
public trial would destroy him
Scout tells Atticus that it would be
like killing a mockingbird

CHAPTER 31

Scout demonstrates her sensitivity and

compassion when guiding Boo to the front
porch
Allows Boo the role of gentleman when she
walks him home
Slips into Boos point of view while standing
on the Radley porch
Feels sorrow for not being giving to Boo in the
same way he has been giving to her and Jem
Boo had given them their lives