TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

Summary

This story is set in Maycomb, Alabama in the 1950´s. A little girl named Jean Finch or just Scout tells the story.

The story starts out in the summer, when Scout is about 7 years old. Jem and Scout get to know Dill that summer.The three kids become really good friends.

Next to the Finches place lives Arthur Radley (called Boo Radley by the kids). He did some stupid things when he was young, and since then he has never left his house. The three kids are really fascinated by the story of Boo Radley and they decide to try to make Boo come out of his house.

The end of summer comes, Dill needs to go home, and they have not seen Boo Radley after all.

This fall Scout is starting to go to school. She does not really like it because she already gets in trouble the first day of school.

Scout passes the Radley place every day, when she walks to school. One day she finds two pieces of chewing gum in a tree hole by the Radley place. A few days later Jem and Scout find another present, two pennies.

The summer break starts again, Dill comes back and they forget about the mysterious presents from the tree hole.

Atticus Finch is a lawyer and by the end of the summer he gets a new case. He has to defend a black man, who is accused of raping and beating a girl named Mayella Ewell. The town people are talking really badly about the Finches because it´s not normal that a black man is defended at all. For Scout a hard time starts because she does not understand what´s wrong about defending a black person.

The day of the trial comes, Jem and Scout are watching it without Atticus´s knowledge from the stand. During the cross examination of the witnesses it becomes clear that Tom Robinson is innocent but the jury votes against the black man and he has to go to prison. If Tom is found guilty by another court he will be hanged. Jem and Scout are really shocked by this injustice. Also Tom Robinson does not believe in justice and he tries to run off. The guards try to hold him back and shoot him.

Bob Ewell is really mad at Atticus because he proved that it was him who hit Mayella and that it was Mayella who was after Tom Robinson. That´s why Bob threatens to kill Atticus.

A little later it is Halloween. The school is having a Halloween party. Scout´s class is performing a play and Scout has to be a Ham. After the Party, Scout and Jem are walking home alone. Suddenly someone attacks them in the cover of darkness. To their luck a strange man arrives to help them.

The doctor comes and tells Atticus that the children where lucky, Jem has broken his arm and Scout has only survived because she was still wearing her ham costume. Then the Sheriff arrives, he tells the Finches that the attacker was Bob Ewell and that he´s dead. Then everybody looks at the stranger, whois in the room. He saved the children´s life and suddenly Scout understands who he is – Boo Radley.

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Characters

Jean Finch/Scout Narrator of the story, 7 years old

Jem Finch Brother of Jean, 11 years old

Attichus Finch Father of Jean and Jem , lawyer

Dill Friend of Jean and Jem who, spends every summer in Maycomb

Arthur Radley/Boo Neighbor of the Finches

Tom Robinson Black man, who is accused of rape

Bob Ewell Father of Mayella

Mayella Ewell “Raped” girl

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Opinion

I really liked this book. In the beginning it was kind of hard to understand but as I got farther the story got so fascinating that I had to keep on reading. It´s not so easy to read because a lot of it is written in spoken language and sometimes it´s hard to understand the slang of the kids or the black people.

This story shows how life was in the 1950´s in the southern states of America. It tells us about racism, family clans and gossip in a little town. A little girl tells the story and I think, this makes it even more interesting to read because she does not understand everything that´s going on and so she tries to explain it in her own way.

The story never gets boring and a lot of unexpected things happen. For example Atticus turns out to have been the former deadest shot in Maycomb county when he was younger.

I would recommend this book to everyone who’s interested in racism against the black in the USA of the 1950´s or to anyone, who just wants to read a good book.

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Extract

In the courtroom, the cross examinations are over and everybody is waiting for the decision of the Jury.

“What happened after that had dreamlike quality: in a dream I saw the jury return, moving like underwater swimmers, and Judge Taylor`s voice came from far away and was tiny. I saw something only a lawyer´s child could be expected to see, could be expected to watch for, and it was like watching Atticus into the street, raising his riffle to his shoulder and pull the trigger, but watching all the time knowing that the gun was empty.

A jury never looks at a defendant it has convicted, and when the jury came in, not one of them looked at Tom Robinson. The foreman handed a piece of paper to Mr. Tate who handed it to the clerk who handed it to the judge…. I shut my eyes. Judge Taylor was polling the jury: “Guilty…guilty…guilty…guilty…” I peeked at Jem: his hands where white from gripping the balcony rail, and his shoulders jerked as if each ”guilty” was a separate stab between them.

Judge Taylor was saying something. His gavel was in his fist, but he wasn`t using it. I saw Atticus pushing papers from the table into his briefcase. He snapped it shut, went to the court reporter and said something, nodded to Mr. Gilmer, and then went to Tom Robinson and whispered something to him. Atticus put his hand on Tom`s shoulder as he whispered. Atticus took his coat off the back of his chair and pulled it over his shoulder. Then he left the courtroom, but not by his usual exit. He must have wanted to go home the short way, because he walked quickly down the middle aisle towards the south exit. I followed the top of his head as he made his way to the door. He did not look up.

Someone was punching me, but I was reluctant to make my eyes from the people below us, and from the image of Atticus´s lonely walk down the aisle.

“Miss Jean Louise?”

I looked around. They were standing. All around us and in the balcony on the opposite wall, the Negroes were getting to their feet. Reverend Sykes´s voice was as distant as Juge Taylor´s:

“Miss Jean Louise, stand up. Your father´s passin`.”

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Interview with Corinne Hauck

1) When did you read the book?

- Last year

2) Why did you choose to read this book?

- Because I had to, my teacher told me to.

3) Did you like it?

- Yes I liked it a lot, I thought it was very interesting but I did not like the movie at all, so don´t watch it!

4) What do you think of Boo Radley?

- I think he`s nice, he likes children and he is helpful but he`s weird.

5) Would you be afraid of him?

- No, at the beginning of the book probably, not anymore after I finished the book.

6) Did you have a Boo Radley of your own in your childhood?

- We had a witch in our neighbourhood.

7) Do you think the discrimination of the black by the white is described objectively?

- Yes I do.

8) What would you have done in Atticus` place?

- I would have done the same thing because it`s really brave and it takes a lot of courage.

9) Did you like the ending of the book?

- As far as I can remember, I liked it.

10) Was it hard to read?

- It was in the beginning but then I got used to it.

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