To Kill A Mockingbird: a summary
To Kill A Mockingbird is an intriguing and influential story about human rights and equality, as well as the maturing and independence of two young children growing up in a confusing and changing world.
Scout and Jem Finch are growing up in the small Alabama town of Maycomb. Their father, Atticus, is the local lawyer and a single parent to Jem and Scout. He tries to raise his children with honor and respect to their individuality.
To amuse themselves, Scout, Jem, and their best friend Dill begin an "adventure" during their summer vacations to get Boo Radley, their reclusive neighbor, to come out of his house. They develop an endless number of schemes to do so, and even go so far as to create a play that details Boo's life. Atticus forbids them to have anything to do with Mr. Radley, urging them to let the poor man be.
Atticus is a good man, and one day takes on a case that affects him personally. A black man, Tom Robinson, is accused of beating and raping a white woman, Mayella Ewell. Most of the county is convinced immediately that Tom is guilty of the crime, and begin to look at Atticus in a very negative way for actually defending him. Scout and Jem begin to get tormented because of their father at school, and Atticus tells them not to get excited over the town's prejudice.
As the trial begins, it becomes apparent to Scout and Jem that there is no way that Tom Robinson could have beaten and raped Mayella Ewell, because his left hand is crippled. Atticus proves that to the jury, and Scout and Jem are astonished when Tom is charged with a guilty verdict anyway. They then begin to realize that many people in town are very prejudiced against blacks, and they are extremely saddened by this fact. It is hard for them to understand how people can be so mean to each other, and they both begin to see that, even in court where things are supposed to be unbiased, men's hearts bring in their own hatred.
Not long after the trial, Tom is shot 17 times and killed for trying to escape while in prison. Jem takes this especially hard, and it takes him a long time to come to grips with the jury's decision as well as Tom's death.
After most of the drama from the trial has died down, Bob Ewell, Mayella's father, begins threatening Atticus for embarrassing him in court, and declares that he'll get him back one way or another. Atticus is convinced that he's all talk, and passes it off.
Time draws on, and finally Bob Ewell becomes good to his word and attacks Jem and Scout on Halloween night with a knife. He breaks Jem's arm and almost kills Scout, but Boo Radley of all people, comes to their rescue and saves them. The sheriff, Heck Tate, hushes the whole thing over so Boo Radley will not be dragged into the spotlight, and Scout is thrilled to finally get to meet the man they for so long fantasized about. As she walks him back home, she realizes that all this time he was watching them from his front porch windows, and just for a little while she is able to stand in his shoes. After he walks into his house, Scout, Jem, and Dill never see him again.
Scout and Jem Finch are growing up in the small Alabama town of Maycomb. Their father, Atticus, is the local lawyer and a single parent to Jem and Scout. He tries to raise his children with honor and respect to their individuality.
To amuse themselves, Scout, Jem, and their best friend Dill begin an "adventure" during their summer vacations to get Boo Radley, their reclusive neighbor, to come out of his house. They develop an endless number of schemes to do so, and even go so far as to create a play that details Boo's life. Atticus forbids them to have anything to do with Mr. Radley, urging them to let the poor man be.
Atticus is a good man, and one day takes on a case that affects him personally. A black man, Tom Robinson, is accused of beating and raping a white woman, Mayella Ewell. Most of the county is convinced immediately that Tom is guilty of the crime, and begin to look at Atticus in a very negative way for actually defending him. Scout and Jem begin to get tormented because of their father at school, and Atticus tells them not to get excited over the town's prejudice.
As the trial begins, it becomes apparent to Scout and Jem that there is no way that Tom Robinson could have beaten and raped Mayella Ewell, because his left hand is crippled. Atticus proves that to the jury, and Scout and Jem are astonished when Tom is charged with a guilty verdict anyway. They then begin to realize that many people in town are very prejudiced against blacks, and they are extremely saddened by this fact. It is hard for them to understand how people can be so mean to each other, and they both begin to see that, even in court where things are supposed to be unbiased, men's hearts bring in their own hatred.
Not long after the trial, Tom is shot 17 times and killed for trying to escape while in prison. Jem takes this especially hard, and it takes him a long time to come to grips with the jury's decision as well as Tom's death.
After most of the drama from the trial has died down, Bob Ewell, Mayella's father, begins threatening Atticus for embarrassing him in court, and declares that he'll get him back one way or another. Atticus is convinced that he's all talk, and passes it off.
Time draws on, and finally Bob Ewell becomes good to his word and attacks Jem and Scout on Halloween night with a knife. He breaks Jem's arm and almost kills Scout, but Boo Radley of all people, comes to their rescue and saves them. The sheriff, Heck Tate, hushes the whole thing over so Boo Radley will not be dragged into the spotlight, and Scout is thrilled to finally get to meet the man they for so long fantasized about. As she walks him back home, she realizes that all this time he was watching them from his front porch windows, and just for a little while she is able to stand in his shoes. After he walks into his house, Scout, Jem, and Dill never see him again.