To Kill a Mockingbird

Harper Lee

Publisher, year: J. B. Lippincott & Co., July 11, 1960

Setting: Maycomb, Alabama in early 1930

Plot:
To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama. The protagonist
is Scout Finch, a six-year-old girl who has a brother Jem Finch and they are raised by their
father, Atticus Finch. He is a lawyer who had to defend town’s black resident Tom Robinson
in court, because he was falsely accused of raping Mayella Ewell (a white woman). Although
Atticus shows some good evidence that Mayella was actually attacked by her father, Bob
Ewell, Tom still gets convicted. Later Tom Robinson was killed while trying to escape from
jail. Meanwhile the children are playing in their backyard and they notice a scary looking
house across the street. They become interested in Arthur (Boo) Radley, a neighbour who
lives in that house and is a local legend. They have their own theories about him and cannot
resist to go explore and trespass on Boo's property. They don't find anything interesting, but
they think that Boo Radley noticed them while he was looking out the window. Boo makes
his presence felt indirectly through a series of acts, such as leaving presents for the kids. One
day while Scout and Jem were walking home Bob Ewell tried to kill them to get revenge on
Atticus, because Atticus embarrassed him in court and factually accused him of beating up his
own daughter. Boo then intervenes and kills Ewell, but Heck Tate (Town's sheriff), believes it
is better to say that Ewell’s cause of death is that he fell on his own knife, helping the shy Boo
to not get any unwanted attention. Scout agrees and says that to not help Boo is like to kill a
mockingbird.

Main character:
Jean Louise (Scout) Finch-is the central protagonist of the story and the book is told from her
point of view. She has a brother and a father but her mother died when she was two years
old. Scout is six at the start and at the end of the book she is nine, although she is telling the
story at the age thirteen. She is curious but also brave, for example her idea was to explore
Boo Radley's house which is quite brave for a child of that age. She is also very intelligent
because she knew that Tom Robinson was convicted only because of the colour of his skin.

Recommendation:
I think that the book is excellent and very interesting. The book has won the Pulitzer prize in
1961. The novel also brought fame to the author. Some would say that To Kill a Mockingbird
could be one of the best novels in the last century. I would certainly agree and it is one of the
best books I have ever read. I would recommend it to everyone because as I already said it is
very interesting for me and that's because it was a start for the civil right movement for black
people. Although the novel talks about some very serious topics, it has some funny moments
which are always nice. Also the plot is not complicated and the book is quite easy to read.
Because it has a lot of pages you can read it for some time and you will not get bored.
10 new words:
Tranquility-the quality or state of being tranquil, calm
Mockingbird-North American bird that copies the sounds made by other birds
Reverend-used as a title or form of address to members of the clergy
Screen door-he outer door of a pair, used for protection against insects, weather, etc.
Switchblade knife-a pocketknife having the blade spring-operated so that pressure on a
release catch causes it to fly open
Liver spot-a small brown spot on skin exposed to sunlight, of a type associated with ageing
Antagonize-cause someone to become hostile
Swivel chair-a chair with a seat able to be turned on its base to face in any direction
Baton-a thin stick used by a conductor to direct an orchestra or choir
Gullet-the passage by which food passes from the mouth to the stomach, the oesophagus

Favourite quote:
‘’I think there's just one kind of folks. Folks“