"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee - Literary Analysis

SETTING AND PLOT

SUMMARY OF THE SETTING:

The novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee takes place in Maycomb County, Alabama, during the 1930's. Maycomb is described as "a tired old town" where "in rainy weather the street turned to red slop; grass grew on the sidewalks, the courthouse sagged in the square." The Finch's (Atticus, Jem, Scout, and eventually Aunt Alexandra) live in a small neighborhood a bit away from the school--which is farther into town--and have many important neighbors, including The Radleys, Miss Maudie, Mrs. Stephanie, and many others. Since the novel takes place during the 1930's, there is a bit of electricity, but not too much. The old buildings stand in the town square, including the courthouse and the Jail.

FIVE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT EVENTS:

At the beginning of the story, Scout and Jeremy Finch are playing out in the neighborhood during the Summer, doing their usual plays and shenanigans. At this point Scout is almost six, making Jem nearly ten. Eventually, they come across a peculiar boy named Dill, who is a year older than Scout even though she's a bit taller. For the rest of the Summer their friendship grows stronger as they perform their own plays and wonder about the happenings of Boo Radley across the street.

As school is beginning to start, Jean Louise is already literate. She goes in on her first day incredibly excited and ready to learn. Unfortunately, her teacher--Miss Caroline--is not content with Scout's abilities and asks her to stop until third grade. This upsets Scout, but there is nothing else she can do. The next mishap is caused by a boy by the name of Burris Ewell, who comes from a wicked family. He has cooties, in which Miss Caroline screams at the sight of. When she asks Burris to go home until his cooties are cured, he responds with words of such disrespect that I shall not mention them. As lunch time comes around, the Finch's head home for a meal, right after Scout teaches Walter a lesson in the school yard.

Once the Christmas party at Finch's landing (the place where the rest of the Finch family lives) has rolled around, Aunt Alexandra disapproves of Scout's tomboyish ways as usual. She believes that "ladies" should not be wearing overalls all over the place, which is significant since after Scout and Jem get beat up at the end of the book, Aunt Alexandra gives Scout a pair of overalls to change into. After the Finch family has Christmas dinner, Scout and Francis (Scout's second cousin) go off and explore the area a bit more, and end up having an extremely provocative conversation. Francis, like many other kids, makes fun of Scout for her dad defending a man of color in court. At this point, Jean Louise has had enough of people going around calling her father a "nigger-lover," and proceeds to beat up Francis. The boy then screams for his grandmother (Aunt Alexandra), and falsely accuses Scout of calling him names. Atticus, Jem, and Scout immediately return home.

The court case of Tom Robinson is perhaps the most substantial and important part of this novel. It entails the entire case, from start to finish, in which Atticus tries to prove a man innocent of assault. This part of the story begins with Jeremy, Jean Louise, and Dill heading over to the Maycomb Courthouse to watch Atticus's most important case. Reverend Sykes, a man of color, greatly appreciates how kind Atticus is to his people, and offers for the three children to sit with him in the balcony. The case proceeds as follows; Heck Tate--the sheriff--is the first to testify. He explains that Bob Ewell came to him in the middle of the night on November 21st, telling him that Mayella (Bob's Daughter) has been assaulted by a . man of color. Tate states that Bob "came in, very excited he was and said to get out to the house quick." -Page 169. He then explained that when he got there, Mayella was all beat up, with a large bruise on her right eye, and various other injuries including signs of strangling around the neck. Next to the stand is Bob Ewell (in which says that he saw the entire thing), followed by his daughter Mayella, who makes an interesting pause during her testimony. On page 186:

"'Is he (Mayella's father) good to you, is he easy to get along with?'

'He does tollable' cept when---'

'Except when?'

Mayella looked at her father, who was sitting with his chair tipped against the railing. He sat up straight and waited for her to answer.

'Except when nothin',' said Mayella. 'I said he does tollable.'"

It seems that Mayella caught herself before she gave away the real truth about what happened the night of November 21st. Last to the stand is Tom Robinson, who claims that he never hurt Mayella and was attempting to get away from her hugging and trying to kiss him. Scout, Jem, and Dill then go back home for dinner before returning to see the verdict. Tom Robinson is declared guilty, and the case is over.

Finally, the fight towards the end of the book shows all what kind of low person Bob Ewell really is. Although typically Halloween isn't a big holiday in Maycomb, this year, many people from the area decide to host a party at the highschool with a play, in which Scout is a ham. As Jem and Scout are walking home through the woods from the party, Scout realizes that she has forgotten her shoes behind the stage. They then conclude that they will just go back for them in the morning, and continue on. Jem is the first to notice an odd rustling that stops when they stop, and then continues as they move forward. They assume that it is just Cecil Jacobs, who scared them on the way to the Pageant. They proceed to yell rude comments about Cecil into the night, and oddly receive no response. Suddenly, Scout is knocked to the ground in her ham costume and hears as Jem tries to fight off their attacker. She feels him fall beside her, and get up to continue fighting. After a bit of rustling, the night is silent except for the sound of a grown man breathing heavily. Scout is led back to her house and her brother is brought with her. She soon discovers that her savior is not Atticus as she suspected, but none other than the fabled Boo Radley. Scout also learns that her attacker was Bob Ewell himself, who had stooped so low after threatening Atticus as to attack two innocent children, or, mockingbirds. The man "fell on his knife," and was pronounced dead.

THE CONFLICT:

The most prominent conflict in the novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" would most likely be Atticus trying to defend Tom Robinson in his court case. At first, the only issues it causes are people making fun of Jem and Scout at school, and bad mouthing Atticus. Eventually, the case begins to negatively affect Atticus's mental health. As the story goes, Mr. Robinson allegedly assaulted a 19 year old girl, and was prosecuted by the girl's father (Bob Ewell). As the court case continues, multiple witnesses are called to the stand in the most suspenseful court case Maycomb County has ever seen. The order is as proceeds; Heck Tate; Bob Ewell; Mayella Ewell; Tom Robinson. Late at night, after the Finch's have gone home for supper and then come back, the jury makes their ruling. Tom Robinson has been accused guilty, and shall spend his days in the state prison. The truly evil man called Bob Ewell has won.

HOW THE SETTING HELPS TO SHAPE THE PLOT 

The setting greatly shapes the plot during "To Kill a Mockingbird." For example, since the story takes place during the 1930's, there are no phones, and the laws aren't the same as they are today. People of color are still treated unfairly, which most likely led to the prosecution of Tom Robinson, and how wrongly people speak of negros. Maycomb county seems to be insignificant to the rest of the world, but all so important to the people living there. The fact that the Finches lived in a neighborhood a bit farther from town square, Jem and Scout have to pass the Radley place every day coming to and from school. This leads to another important symbol besides 'the mockingbird,' which is Boo Radley. At the beginning of the book, Boo is merely a source of childhood superstition. He gradually becomes increasingly and intriguingly real to them. At the end of the novel, he becomes fully human to Scout, illustrating that she has developed into a sympathetic and understanding individual.

THE MOST IMPORTANT EVENT.

The most important event in the entire novel is when Scout walks Boo Radley home after the fight. The entire hidden meaning of the novel is change and progression. The fact that Scout sees Boo Radley as an actual person who was an innocent person subjected to unfair treatment (killing a mockingbird) is the significance of this event. She realizes that he is real, and that he chose to stay inside. Arthur Radley wasn't some kind of monstrous creature, but rather, just another person.