To Kill a Mockingbird
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| Author | Harper Lee |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Southern Gothic (semi-autobiographical) |
| Publisher | HarperCollins |
| Released | July 11, 1960 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 336 (Hardcover 40th Anniversary edition) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-06-019499-5 (Hardcover 40th Anniversary edition) |
To Kill a Mockingbird is a semi-autobiographical Southern Gothic novel by Harper Lee. The 1960 novel, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1961, is loosely based on the lives of various friends and members of the author's family, with differing character names. Grappling with themes such as selfishness, courage, pride, prejudice, and life's many stages, with a backdrop of life in the Deep South. Lee weaves together a story that has remained relevant and interesting over years and was adapted for film by director Robert Mulligan with a screenplay by Horton Foote in 1962. It is, to date, her only published novel.
[edit] Plot introduction
The novel is a coming of age story about sister and brother, Scout and Jem Finch, who were growing up in a small town in the South called Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s. The story takes place over a period of three years and is told from the point of view of younger sister, Scout. During the story the children's father, attorney Atticus Finch, is appointed to defend a black man falsely accused of raping a white girl.
[edit] Explanation of the novel's title
After giving Jem and Scout air-rifles as Christmas presents, Uncle Jim warns the children that, although they can "shoot all the bluejays you want" they must remember that "it's a sin to kill a mockingbird". Maudie later explains that it is a sin because mockingbirds do no harm and provide pleasure with their songs: "They don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us". The mockingbirds symbolize innocence and the innocent victims in the novel.
[edit] Plot summary
Scout Finch lives with her brother, Jem, and their father, Atticus, a middle-aged lawyer, in Maycomb county, Alabama. One summer, Jem and Scout befriend a boy named Charles Baker Harris (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 House. The house was owned by Mr Radley, who had two sons, Nathan, who takes over the household after Mr Radley's death, and Arthur (nicknamed Boo), who has lived there for years without venturing outside in daylight. Boo is infamous for the rumors that abound about him in Maycomb County as a result of his reclusiveness, the two most famous being that he once stabbed his father in the leg on an impulse, and that he sneaks out of the house every night, eats squirrels and cats and lurks outside people's houses.
Scout goes to school for the first time that autumn and has a disastrous day, but gives the readers an introduction to the Ewell family in one of her classmates, the child of infamous town drunk Bob Ewell, layabout and ne'er-do-well who has built a house on the town dump. On the way home, 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 presents in a tree, presumably left for them by the mysterious Boo. Boo's brother Nathan Radley eventually plugs the knothole with cement claiming it was "diseased".
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 Mayella Ewell. 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 who hasn't paid enough attention to him, runs away and comes to Maycomb. Scout finds him hiding under her bed. 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, Dill, and Scout, who sneaked out of the house, soon join him. Scout recognizes one of the men as Walter Cunningham, father of one of her schoolmates, 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 seventeen times, killing him. In the aftermath of the trial, Jem's faith in justice is badly shaken because of the unbelievable verdict, and he lapses into despondency and doubt as Tom Robinson's verdict was chosen by the jury clearly because he was black.
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, spits in Atticus' face on a town street, and finally attacks Jem and Scout as they walk home from a Halloween pageant at their school. After a brief scuffle in the dark, in which Jem breaks his arm, Ewell disappears and Jem and Scout are discovered by an unnamed man and brought to their house. There, it is revealed that the man is, in fact, Boo Radley. The sheriff arrives with the news that Bob Ewell has died of a knife wound to the stomach; Atticus at first believes that Jem fatally stabbed Ewell in the struggle, but the sheriff insists that Ewell tripped over a tree root and fell on his own knife. It is evident (although unsaid) that Boo had actually intervened and killed Ewell to save the children; the sheriff wishes to protect the reclusive Boo, contrary to Atticus's belief, from the publicity certain to follow from the townspeople if they learned the truth of Boo's involvement. Atticus asks if Scout understands what is going on, Scout replies that doing otherwise would be "killing a mockingbird" (as Boo had done nothing to hurt them and has only done good). After sitting with Jem for a while, Scout is asked to walk Boo home. While standing on the Radley porch, Scout imagines many past events from Boo's perspective and feels sorry for him because she and Jem never gave him a chance, and never repaid him for the gifts that he had given them.
Walking home, she recalls all the events that have happened so far in the story (which have taken up about two or three years) and comes home to Atticus and a sedated Jem. While being tucked in, she remarks to Atticus that Boo Radley turned out to be a nice person; Atticus leaves her with the words: "Most people are, Scout, when you finally see them."
[edit] Characters
- Jean Louise "Scout" Finch
- Jeremy Atticus "Jem" Finch
- Atticus Finch
- Calpurnia
- Alexandra Hancock (née Finch)
- Charles Baker "Dill" Harris
- Robert E Lee "Bob" Ewell
- Mayella Ewell
- Tom Robinson
- Arthur "Boo" Radley
- Maudie Atkinson
- Heck Tate
- Braxton Bragg Underwood
[edit] Major themes
Courage
Courage is a central theme in To Kill a Mockingbird. There are many example of courage displayed throughout the novel including:
- Atticus defending Tom Robinson.
- Atticus shooting dead Tim Johnson, a rabid dog.
- An optimistic Miss Maudie after the destruction of her house.
- Link Deas speaking out in public for Tom Robinson.
- Arthur "Boo" Radley reaching out to Jem and Scout via the gifts in the knot hole.
- Mrs. Dubose fighting her morphine addiction.
Harper Lee presents and contrasts two types of courage, namely:
1. Real courage - the most prominent example being Atticus Finch's decision to fight for Tom Robinson. Another example is Mrs. Dubose's battle with her morphine addiction.
2. Fighting against ignorance and prejudice - the understanding of others is sometimes not enough; an act of bravery is demanded to try and prevent evil taking place and to subdue prejudice. Examples of this courage include:
- Mr Underwood's article on the death of Tom Robinson.
- Arthur "Boo" Radley's heroic act when he saves Scout and Jem from a vengeful Bob Ewell.
- Atticus defying the racial prejudice of Maycomb by defending Tom Robinson.
Destruction of Beauty through Selfishness
Another major theme is the destruction of beauty through selfishness, or circumstances beyond one's control. The title itself is derived from Atticus' warning to Jem that it is a sin to shoot mockingbirds, as all they do is create beauty. Examples of this theme include:
- The death of Tom Robinson as a result of a crime he did not commit.
- The spiritual death of Mayella Ewell for claiming Tom Robinson raped her, when she actually loved him and was forced to be ashamed of it by the society she lived in.
- The destruction of Mrs. Dubose's flowers by Jem.
- The imprisonment and cruel isolation of Arthur "Boo" Radley by his father.
- The effect the town's anger at Atticus has on him.
- The heartbreaking lesson Jem learns about the town he grows up in: that it is inherently racist at heart.
- Dill's rejection by his parents.
- The death of Tim Johnson, the dog Atticus shot dead because he had rabies.
- The discouragement of Scout and Jem's interest in Calpurnia's life by Aunt Alexandra.
Development of Courage
Thorughout the book,Jem and Scout's understanding of courage gradually changes. At the start of the novel, Jem runs over and touches the Radley house. Jem believes this to be an act of great courage (placing oneself in a dangerous situation). however, as Jem matures, he learns that "true" courage is moral courage, standing up for what is right. He learns that what he did is an act of cowardice, as he did not want to be subjected to the ridicule of Scout and Dill.
Prejudice
Prejudice is another prominent theme in To Kill a Mockingbird. The most obvious example is racial prejudice; The mob Atticus and the children confront at the jail wishes to lynch Tom Robinson without a trial. Another form of prejudice is class prejudice. This is shown when Aunt Alexandra refuses Scout's request to invite Walter Cunningham, son of the farming Mr. Cunningham, to play, claiming that "he - is - trash".
[edit] Literary significance & criticism
The American Library Association reports that To Kill a Mockingbird was the one of the 100 most frequently challenged books of 1990-2000[1], and cites several cases from that period and earlier of the book being challenged or banned[2].
In 2001 To Kill a Mockingbird was removed from the freshman required reading list at Muskogee High School, Muskogee, Oklahoma. Complaints of racial slurs, in particular use of the word "nigger", were cited as reasons for the action. The school board voted to reverse the decision later the same year.[3][4]
[edit] Allusions/references from other works
In the 2002 novel The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold a paperback copy of To Kill a Mockingbird is among the first items of evidence uncovered during investigations into the murder of the novel's narrator, Susie Salmon. Like To Kill a Mockingbird, The Lovely Bones is told by a female narrator from a first-person perspective and also recounts aspects of American childhood and family life.
In the 2000 film, Almost Famous, 11-year-old William Miller and his mother, Elaine, discuss the novel. He admires Atticus Finch, which his widowed mother (who admires Calpurnia and her efforts to aid the motherless Finch children) encourages in the hope that he will become a lawyer.
The 1998 film Pleasantville alludes to To Kill a Mockingbird in its climactic trial scene, as the "colored" characters (those who have become full-color, rather than black-and-white) are required to sit in the balcony of the courtroom.
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[edit] Allusions/references to actual history, geography and current science
The novel is semi-autobiographical. Scout is based on the author herself, Harper Lee, who grew up a tomboy in Monroeville, Alabama, the inspiration for the fictional town of Maycomb. Atticus is based on the author's attorney father, Amasa Coleman Lee. Finch is the author's mother's maiden name. Dill is based on the author's childhood friend and neighbor Truman Capote. The trial of Tom Robinson has some similarities to the Scottsboro Trials that really took place in Scottsboro, Alabama in the 1930s. However there are several differences i.e. the Scottsboro trial involved nine defendants instead of just one.
[edit] Awards and nominations
1961 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
[edit] Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
The book was made into the well-received and Academy Award-winning film with the same title, To Kill a Mockingbird, in 1962.
This book has also been adapted as a play by Christopher Sergal.
[edit] Release details
- 1960, USA, J.B. Lippincott ISBN 0397001517, Pub date July 11, 1960, Hardcover
- 1999, USA, HarperCollins ISBN ISBN 0060194995, Pub date December 1, 1999, Hardcover
[edit] See also
- Harper Lee
- Atticus Finch
- To Kill a Mockingbird (film)
- Scottsboro Boys
- Maycomb
- To Kill a Mockingbird in popular culture
[edit] Sources, references, external links, quotations
- Publishing History of To Kill a Mockingbird
- Study resource for writing about To Kill a Mockingbird
- Sparknotes study guide: To Kill a Mockingbird
- GradeSaver study guide with quizzes and glossary on To Kill a Mockingbird
- Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee by Charles J. Shields, 2006
- Photos of the first edition of To Kill a Mockingbird
- NovelGuide: To Kill a Mockingbird
- Harper Lee - Wikiquote
| Preceded by Advise and Consent by Allen Drury |
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 1961 |
Succeeded by The Edge of Sadness by Edwin O'Connor |
