TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
Harper Lee
Context
Nelle Harper Lee was
born on April 28, 1926, in Monroeville, Alabama, a sleepy small town similar in
many ways to Maycomb, the setting of To Kill a Mockingbird. Like
Atticus Finch, the father of Scout, the narrator and protagonist of To
Kill a Mockingbird, Lee’s father was a lawyer. Among Lee’s childhood
friends was the future novelist and essayist Truman Capote, from whom she drew
inspiration for the character Dill. These personal details notwithstanding, Lee
maintains that To Kill a Mockingbird was intended to portray
not her own childhood home but rather a nonspecific Southern town. “People are
people anywhere you put them,” she declared in a 1961 interview.
Yet the book’s setting
and characters are not the only aspects of the story shaped by events that
occurred during Lee’s childhood. In 1931, when Lee was five, nine young black
men were accused of raping two white women near Scottsboro, Alabama. After a series
of lengthy, highly publicized, and often bitter trials, five of the nine men
were sentenced to long prison terms. Many prominent lawyers and other American
citizens saw the sentences as spurious and motivated only by racial prejudice.
It was also suspected that the women who had accused the men were lying, and in
appeal after appeal, their claims became more dubious. There can be little
doubt that the Scottsboro Case, as the trials of the nine men came to be
called, served as a seed for the trial that stands at the heart of Lee’s novel.
Lee began To
Kill a Mockingbird in the mid-1950s, after moving to New York to
become a writer. She completed the novel in 1957 and published it, with
revisions, in 1960, just before the peak of the American civil rights movement.
Critical response to To
Kill a Mockingbird was mixed: a number of critics found the narrative
voice of a nine-year-old girl unconvincing and called the novel overly
moralistic. Nevertheless, in the racially charged atmosphere of the early
1960s, the book became an enormous popular success, winning the Pulitzer Prize
in 1961 and selling over fifteen million copies. Two years after the book’s
publication, an Academy Award–winning film version of the novel, starring
Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch, was produced. Meanwhile, the author herself had
retreated from the public eye: she avoided interviews, declined to write the
screenplay for the film version, and published only a few short pieces after
1961.To Kill a Mockingbird remains her sole published novel. Lee
eventually returned to Monroeville and continues to live there.
In 1993, Lee penned a
brief foreword to her book. In it she asks that future editions of To
Kill a Mockingbird be spared critical introductions. “Mockingbird,”
she writes, “still says what it has to say; it has managed to survive the years
without preamble.” The book remains a staple of high school and college reading
lists, beloved by millions of readers worldwide for its appealing depiction of
childhood innocence, its scathing moral condemnation of racial prejudice, and
its affirmation that human goodness can withstand the assault of evil.
Context
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
prominent lawyer and the Finch family is reasonably well off in comparison to
the rest of society. One summer, Jem and Scout befriend 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 fascinated with the spooky 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
venturing outside.
Scout goes to school
for the first time that fall and detests it. She and Jem find gifts apparently
left for them in a knothole 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 a stop to their antics, urging the children to try to see life
from another person’s perspective before making judgments. But, on Dill’s last
night in Maycomb for the summer, the three sneak onto the Radley property,
where Nathan Radley shoots at them. Jem loses his pants in the ensuing escape.
When he returns for them, he finds them mended and hung over the fence. The
next winter, Jem and Scout find more presents in the tree, presumably left by
the mysterious Boo. Nathan Radley eventually plugs the knothole 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.
Convinced that Boo did it, Jem tells Atticus about the mended pants and the
presents.
To the consternation
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,
even when they celebrate Christmas at the family compound on Finch’s Landing.
Calpurnia, the Finches’ black cook, takes them to the local black church, where
the warm and close-knit community largely embraces the 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 lynch him. Atticus faces the mob down the night
before the trial. Jem and Scout, who have sneaked out of the house, soon join
him. Scout recognizes one of the men, and her polite questioning about his son
shames him into dispersing the mob.
At the trial itself,
the children sit in the “colored balcony” with the town’s black citizens.
Atticus provides clear evidence that the accusers, Mayella Ewell and her
father, Bob, are lying: in fact, Mayella propositioned Tom Robinson, was caught
by her father, and then accused Tom of rape to cover her shame and guilt.
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 significant evidence pointing to Tom’s
innocence, the all-white jury convicts 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 lapses into despondency and doubt.
Despite the verdict,
Bob Ewell feels that Atticus and the judge have made a fool out of him, and he
vows revenge. He menaces 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 tripped
over a tree root and 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 embraces her father’s advice
to practice sympathy and understanding and demonstrates that her experiences
with hatred and prejudice will not sully her faith in human goodness.
Character List
Jean Louise “Scout”
Finch - The narrator and protagonist of the story. Scout lives with
her father, Atticus, her brother, Jem, and their black cook, Calpurnia, in
Maycomb. She is intelligent and, by the standards of her time and place, a
tomboy. Scout has a combative streak and a basic faith in the goodness of the
people in her community. As the novel progresses, this faith is tested by the
hatred and prejudice that emerge during Tom Robinson’s trial. Scout eventually
develops a more grown-up perspective that enables her to appreciate human
goodness without ignoring human evil.
Atticus Finch - Scout
and Jem’s father, a lawyer in Maycomb descended from an old local family. A
widower with a dry sense of humor, Atticus has instilled in his children his
strong sense of morality and justice. He is one of the few residents of Maycomb
committed to racial equality. When he agrees to defend Tom Robinson, a black
man charged with raping a white woman, he exposes himself and his family to the
anger of the white community. With his strongly held convictions, wisdom, and
empathy, Atticus functions as the novel’s moral backbone.
Jeremy Atticus “Jem”
Finch - Scout’s brother and constant playmate at the beginning of the
story. Jem is something of a typical American boy, refusing to back down from
dares and fantasizing about playing football. Four years older than Scout, he
gradually separates himself from her games, but he remains her close companion
and protector throughout the novel. Jem moves into adolescence during the story,
and his ideals are shaken badly by the evil and injustice that he perceives
during the trial of Tom Robinson.
Arthur “Boo” Radley - A
recluse who never sets foot outside his house, Boo dominates the imaginations
of Jem, Scout, and Dill. He is a powerful symbol of goodness swathed in an
initial shroud of creepiness, leaving little presents for Scout and Jem and
emerging at an opportune moment to save the children. An intelligent child
emotionally damaged by his cruel father, Boo provides an example of the threat
that evil poses to innocence and goodness. He is one of the novel’s
“mockingbirds,” a good person injured by the evil of mankind.
Bob Ewell - A
drunken, mostly unemployed member of Maycomb’s poorest family. In his knowingly
wrongful accusation that Tom Robinson raped his daughter, Ewell represents the
dark side of the South: ignorance, poverty, squalor, and hate-filled racial
prejudice.
Charles Baker “Dill”
Harris - Jem and Scout’s summer neighbor and friend. Dill is a
diminutive, confident boy with an active imagination. He becomes fascinated
with Boo Radley and represents the perspective of childhood innocence
throughout the novel.
Miss Maudie Atkinson - The
Finches’ neighbor, a sharp-tongued widow, and an old friend of the family. Miss
Maudie is almost the same age as Atticus’s younger brother, Jack. She shares
Atticus’s passion for justice and is the children’s best friend among Maycomb’s
adults.
Calpurnia - The
Finches’ black cook. Calpurnia is a stern disciplinarian and the children’s bridge
between the white world and her own black community.
Aunt Alexandra -
Atticus’s sister, a strong-willed woman with a fierce devotion to her family.
Alexandra is the perfect Southern lady, and her commitment to propriety and
tradition often leads her to clash with Scout.
Mayella Ewell - Bob
Ewell’s abused, lonely, unhappy daughter. Though one can pity Mayella because
of her overbearing father, one cannot pardon her for her shameful indictment of
Tom Robinson.
Tom Robinson - The
black field hand accused of rape. Tom is one of the novel’s “mockingbirds,” an
important symbol of innocence destroyed by evil.
Link Deas - Tom
Robinson’s employer. In his willingness to look past race and praise the
integrity of Tom’s character, Deas epitomizes the opposite of prejudice.
Mrs. Henry Lafayette
Dubose - An elderly, ill-tempered, racist woman who lives near the
Finches. Although Jem believes that Mrs. Dubose is a thoroughly bad woman,
Atticus admires her for the courage with which she battles her morphine
addiction.
Nathan Radley - Boo
Radley’s older brother. Scout thinks that Nathan is similar to the deceased Mr.
Radley, Boo and Nathan’s father. Nathan cruelly cuts off an important element
of Boo’s relationship with Jem and Scout when he plugs up the knothole in which
Boo leaves presents for the children.
Heck Tate - The
sheriff of Maycomb and a major witness at Tom Robinson’s trial. Heck is a
decent man who tries to protect the innocent from danger.
Mr. Underwood - The
publisher of Maycomb’s newspaper. Mr. Underwood respects Atticus and proves his
ally.
Mr. Dolphus Raymond - A wealthy
white man who lives with his black mistress and mulatto children. Raymond
pretends to be a drunk so that the citizens of Maycomb will have an explanation
for his behavior. In reality, he is simply jaded by the hypocrisy of white
society and prefers living among blacks.
Mr. Walter Cunningham - A poor
farmer and part of the mob that seeks to lynch Tom Robinson at the jail. Mr.
Cunningham displays his human goodness when Scout’s politeness compels him to
disperse the men at the jail.
Walter Cunningham - Son of
Mr. Cunningham and classmate of Scout. Walter cannot afford lunch one day at
school and accidentally gets Scout in trouble.
