To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel, written by Harper Lee, mainly about growing up in the 1930s in

the Southern United States during the Great Depression. The plot takes place over the course of
three years, during which the lead characters experience noteworthy changes and learn
important lessons. Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, the protagonist, is raised alongside her brother
Jeremy “Jem” Atticus by their widowed father, Atticus Finch, and resides in the fictional town of
Maycomb, Alabama. Maycomb is a small, close-knit town, and each family has its own social
station based on where they live, who their parents are, and how long their ancestors have
lived in the town.

Atticus is a well-known lawyer who instills in his children the values of empathy and justice. He
specifically teaches them that killing a mockingbird is "a sin," implying that the birds are
innocent and harmless. He works hard to raise his children on his own with the assistance of a
black housekeeper named Calpurnia and a few kind friends.

Scout and Jem take on a fascination on their neighbour, Arthur “Boo” Radley

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When one of the town's Black residents, Tom Robinson, is wrongly accused of raping Mayella
Ewell, a white woman, amid threats from the mob, Atticus promises to protect him. He is
confronted with a mob bent on lynching his client at one point, but he refuses to desert him.
Scout manages to defuse the situation unintentionally.

Despite Atticus's efforts to provide a more believable interpretation of evidence—that Mayella

was harassed by her father, Bob Ewell—Tom is convicted, and he is later killed while attempting
to flee custody. His death is compared to "the senseless slaughter of songbirds" by one
character.

Meanwhile, the kids engage in their own miniaturized drama of bigotry and superstition as they
become intrigued by Arthur ("Boo") Radley, a reclusive neighbor and local legend. They have
their own opinions about him and can't fight the temptation to trespass on the Radley estate.
Their speculations thrive on the dehumanization of their elders.

Boo makes his existence known by a series of good deeds before interfering as Bob Ewell
threatens Jem and Scout. Boo kills Ewell, but the sheriff, Heck Tate, thinks it's best to assume
Ewell died because he falls on his own knife, avoiding unwelcome exposure for the timid Boo.
Scout accepts, stating that it would be "sort of like shootin’ a mockingbird" to do otherwise.
Scout and Jem have an almost instinctive understanding of their neighborhood and town's
dynamics and machinations. The only neighbor who perplexes them is Arthur Radley, also
known as Boo, who never comes out. As another neighbor's nephew, Dill, begins spending
summers in Maycomb, the three kids embark on an obsessive — and often perilous — search to
tempt Boo outside.

Scout is a tomboy who likes to hang out with boys and resolves her conflicts with her fists. She
seeks to make sense of a society that expects her to be ladylike, a brother who criticizes her for
behaving like a girl, and a father who respects her for who she is. Scout despises school and
prefers to learn from her father and in her own pace.

Scout and Jem learn of their father's plans to represent a black man named Tom Robinson who
is convicted of raping and beating a white woman not long after the story begins. Scout and
Jem are suddenly subjected to a torrent of ethnic remarks and insults as a result of Atticus'
involvement in the courtroom. Scout has a hard time resisting the urge to violently compete
with other children at this time, a habit that gets her in trouble with her Aunt Alexandra and
Uncle Jack. Even Jem, the more mature and level-headed of the two, loses his cool from time to
time. Jem is sentenced to read to Mrs. Dubose every day after school for one month after
reacting to a neighbor's (Mrs. Dubose) verbal assault by killing her trees. Scout and Jem
eventually learn a valuable lesson about courage from this lady. When the trial approaches,
Aunt Alexandra moves in with them under the pretext of supplying Scout with a feminine
influence.

Tom is charged and imprisoned during the last summer of the book, despite the fact that
Atticus proves that Tom may not have done the offense for which he is accused. Atticus
unintentionally assaults and offends Bob Ewell, a nasty, lazy drunkard whose daughter is Tom's
accuser, when presenting Tom's event. Despite Tom's arrest, Ewell swears vengeance against
Atticus and the judge for tarnishing his already tarnished reputation. The jury's decision to
convict perplexes all three children; Atticus attempts to justify that the jury's decision was in
many respects a foregone conclusion.

Scout attends one of her aunt's Missionary Society meetings shortly after the hearing. Scout
learns important lessons that day about pursuing the ideal of womanhood and persevering in
the face of hardship.
Scout and Jem notice that Boo Radley is no longer an all-consuming fascination as things
eventually return to normal in Maycomb. The tale seems to be coming to a close as Bob Ewell
begins to carry out his threats of vengeance. Scout is performing as a ham in the school's
Halloween pageant. Jem promises to drive Scout to school while Atticus and Aunt Alexandra are
now too exhausted to go. Scout decides to keep her ham costume on for the walk home with
Jem after humiliating herself on stage.

The kids hear strange sounds on their way home, but they tell themselves that it's from another
friend who frightened them on their way to school that evening. Suddenly, there is a scuffle.
Scout is unable to see outside of her outfit, but she hears Jem being pulled backward and
senses strong arms pressing the chicken wire of her costume against her skin. Jem's arm is
seriously broken during this assault. Scout catches a glimpse of a stranger taking Jem back to
their house through the gap in her outfit.

The sheriff appears at the Finch house to inform them that Bob Ewell has been discovered dead
under the tree where the children were killed, having been stabbed with his own knife. Scout
knows at this point that the stranger is none other than Boo Radley, and that Boo is the one
who killed Ewell, saving her and Jem's lives. Despite Atticus' protests, the sheriff declines to file
charges against Boo. Scout agrees with this decision and informs her father of her thoughts.
Boo sees Jem one more time before asking Scout to take him home, but instead of escorting
him like a child, she has Boo escort her to his house like a gentleman would. Scout returns to
Jem's place, where Atticus is waiting, now that Boo is safe. He reads her to sleep and then waits
for his son to wake up at Jem's bedside.