To Kill A Mockingbird

Summary:

The novel To Kill a Mockingbird was written in the late 1950’s, and set during the great depression, in Maycomb. The story mainly revolves around the Finch family, that include Scout, Jem and their father, Atticus, who is a lawyer and as a single parents try to raise his children with all respect to their individualism. As the novel proceeds, certain characters are connected with the three top characters to form a dramatic story of events, attitudes, prejudices and values.

The novel is set in the quiet town of Maycomb, but the peacefulness is only superficial. There are three communities in this town; the black community, the white folk, and the white trash. Seemingly there is peace among the three, but underneath prevails a mixture

On their way to school, they pass the Radley house; it is a frightening home to them, for it houses Boo Radley, who has been labeled a lunatic. Simultaneously, their curiosity drives them to try out different ways to get Boo Radley, their reclusive, legendary neighbor, to come out of his house make. They create endless schemes and go so far as to make a play that details Boo's life. However, Atticus forbids them to do anything; he does not want them to torment Boo.

One day, Atticus takes on a case that affects him personally. Tom Robinson, a black man, is accused of having molested a white woman, Mayella Ewell. Most of the region is convinced instantly that Tom is guilty of the crime, and start to look at Atticus in a very negative way for truly defending him and trying to do right by him. The problem starts with children too; Scout and Jem begin to get anguished over their father at school, and their father begs them not to get peeved up over the town's

During the trial, Atticus proves that to the jury, and Scout and Jem are surprised when Tom is slapped with a guilty judgment. They begin to understand that many people in this town are very prejudiced against blacks, and their hearts are disappointed by it. 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 hatreds.

Atticus lost this case simply because it was still impossible for a black man to achieve victory over a white in the town. This amply discloses the deeply rooted racial prejudices still prevalent among the white people that cannot give an identical status to a black.

It is not much longer that Tom is killed in prison while trying to escape. Jem especially takes the whole affair tough, and it takes him a long time to come to holds with the jury's verdict, and Tom Robinson’s death.

After the trial has closed down Mayella's father, begins threatening Atticus for embarrassing him in the courtyard, and decides that he'll get him back one way or another. Atticus is persuaded that he is all talk and passes it off as