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- To Kill a Mockingbird: the plot
To Kill a Mockingbird: the plot
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Harper Lee's 1960 novel is narrated by Scout Finch, looking back on her childhood in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama, in the 1930s.
Part 1: childhood and Boo Radley
Scout, her brother Jem and their friend Dill are fascinated by their mysterious neighbour Boo Radley, who never leaves his house.
Someone leaves small gifts for them in a tree knot-hole, and later puts a blanket round Scout's shoulders during a fire.
Their father Atticus, a lawyer, shoots a rabid dog and makes Jem read to the dying Mrs Dubose, teaching lessons about courage.
Someone leaves small gifts for them in a tree knot-hole, and later puts a blanket round Scout's shoulders during a fire.
Their father Atticus, a lawyer, shoots a rabid dog and makes Jem read to the dying Mrs Dubose, teaching lessons about courage.
Part 2: the trial
Atticus defends Tom Robinson, a Black man falsely accused of raping a white woman, Mayella Ewell.
Atticus shows that Mayella was hit by a left-handed attacker, that her father Bob Ewell is left-handed, and that Tom's left arm is disabled.
Despite the evidence, the all-white jury finds Tom guilty. Tom is later shot while trying to escape from prison.
Atticus shows that Mayella was hit by a left-handed attacker, that her father Bob Ewell is left-handed, and that Tom's left arm is disabled.
Despite the evidence, the all-white jury finds Tom guilty. Tom is later shot while trying to escape from prison.
The ending
Bob Ewell, humiliated by the trial, attacks Jem and Scout on Halloween night.
Boo Radley saves them and Ewell is killed. The sheriff decides to say Ewell fell on his own knife, to protect shy Boo from public attention.
Scout stands on Boo's porch and finally sees the street from his point of view.
Boo Radley saves them and Ewell is killed. The sheriff decides to say Ewell fell on his own knife, to protect shy Boo from public attention.
Scout stands on Boo's porch and finally sees the street from his point of view.
Why does the jury's verdict matter so much to the novel?
- The evidence clearly shows Tom could not have done it.
- The jury still convicts him because he is Black.
- The verdict exposes the racism at the heart of Maycomb's justice system.
Answer: It shows that racism, not evidence, decided Tom's fate, exposing injustice in Maycomb.
Childhood games and Boo Radley's gifts, Atticus's lessons, Tom Robinson's trial and unjust verdict, Tom's death, Ewell's attack, Boo's rescue, and Scout seeing the world from Boo's porch.
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