➢ Title of the Book : To Kill a Mockingbird

➢ Author : Harper Lee

➢ ISBN No. : ISBN978-1-78-475263-7
➢ No. of Pages : 309

➢ What does the title suggest ?

o The title of the book “To Kill a Mockingbird” is more of a
symbolic one rather than a literary one. The plot revolves around
the obliteration of innocence through the contact with evil. The
mockingbird in the book represents the idea of innocence. A
number of characters such as Jem, Tom Robinson, Dill, Boo
Radley, Mr. Raymond can be identified as mockingbirds whose
fragile innocence is hurt and destroyed by the contact with evil in
the harsh world of us. There’s a number of incidence connecting
the plot and the title of the book. In the concluding chapter Scout
thinks that hurting Boo Radley would be like shooting a
mockingbird.

➢ What is the book about?

o The book is narrated by a six year old Scout Finch who lives with
her brother Jem Finch and father a prominent lawyer Atticus Finch
in the city Maycomb. As the story progresses the narrator grows up
from the age of six to nine. Not only she comes of her age, she
becomes a mature girl from a innocent child who is aware of the
harsh dealings of the world. The book in itself is divided into two
parts. The trio of Scout, Jem and Dill develop a curiosity about the
person in the spooky house in the street who has not ventured
outside for years. Atticus puts an end to their antics by instructing
them to look things from other's perspective before making
judgements. Boo constantly kept gifts for them and it was always
 to their surprise who kept those gifts. 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
a white woman. 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 to death. In the aftermath of the trial, Jem’s faith
in justice is badly shaken, and he lapses into despondency and
doubt. 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, and finally attacks Jem and Scout as they walk home from a
Halloween party. Boo Radley intervenes, however, saving the
children and stabbing Ewell fatally during the struggle. Boo carries
the wounded Jem back to Atticus’s house, where the sheriff, in
order to protect Boo, insists that Ewell tripped over a tree root and
fell on his own knife.

➢ What are the characters involved?

o Scout Finch, Atticus Finch, Jem Finch, Arthur Radley, Bob Ewell,
Charles Baker Dill, Miss Maudie, Calpurnia, Aunt Alexandra,
Mayella Ewell, Tom Robinson and Nathan Radley.
➢ Who is your favourite character? And why?
o To me Scout Finch was a firm and just character. Though Atticus
Finch remains to be the moral pillar of the plot but it is her
daughter Scout Finch who makes us realise the actual transition
through application of these guiding principles. She is the
protagonist and the narrator of the story. Her character has evolved
a great deal through the plot. Thanks to Atticus’s wisdom, Scout
learns that though humanity has a great capacity for evil, it also has
a great capacity for good, and that the evil can often be mitigated if
one approaches others with an outlook of sympathy and
understanding. The metamorphosis of her outlook into a grown
child marks the culmination of novel.

➢ Do you agree/disagree with the author’s point of view?

o The basic theme of the novel were the coexistence of good and
evil, importance of moral education and social inequality. The
childhood innocence with which Scout and Jem begin the novel is
threatened by numerous incidents that expose the evil side of
human nature, most notably the guilty verdict in Tom Robinson’s
trial and the vengefulness of Bob Ewell. As the novel progresses,
Scout and Jem struggle to maintain faith in the human capacity for
good in light of these recurring instances of human evil. The moot
point of view is that there’s always evil but we need to face it with
a positive perspective and not get jaded by it.

➢ Who according to you are the intended audience?

o The book is set in a Southern Gothic town which faced a great deal
of race inequality. At that time it would have been a classic on race
inequality plots. In general the appeal of the novel is to accept the
coexistence of good and evil. The audience rightfully are the
people who get jaded, injured or bruised due the contact with evil
in their life.
➢ Is there some particular area where you would complement the
author?
o A great thing about the book is the narration style which combines
narration from a child’s perspective as well as a narration which
seems to be from a grown up woman who judges people and
incidents. The tone of To Kill a Mockingbird changes over the
course of the novel from chatty and innocent to dark and knowing
as Scout loses a degree of her innocence. After establishing a tone
of folksy reminiscence, the narrative slows down to focus on the
trial of Tom Robinson, and the tone becomes serious and
foreboding.

➢ Will you recommend the book to your juniors and why?

o Yes it is one of the greatest classic to get hands on, I will
recommend it to my juniors. It instils a sense that we need to see
things from others perspective and there’s always coexistence of
good and evil. There are incidents in life when we come across evil
in life but we should not get injured or jaded by it.

➢ Out of 5 how would you rate your experience of reading the book?
o I would rate my reading experience as 4.