Plot Overview

About the Author

The whole story is being narrated by Scout a small

7 year old.She has an older brother Jem. Her
father is Atticus a very successful lawyer in their
city of Maycomb.They all live together with
Calpurnia their servant who they love. First let me
say the Finches have this neighbor Boo Radley
who never goes out of home. The kids believed
Boo Radley had turned into some crazy destroying
beast.The point is the kids would entertain
themselves by making fun of the Radley family. So,
the narrator Scout goes on telling us her life, they
are growing up Atticus claims he is getting old, so
their aunt Alexandra came to live with them to
teach Scout how to be a lady because apparently
she was tomboy.They are growing up at a time
where there is much discrimination against
Negroes. Atticus is not against Negroes he even
tried to defend one so Jem and Scout dont have a
negative idea of Negroes.They don't support
discrimination and since the Finches like Negroes,
people judge them and even call them "nigger
lovers" but Atticus has taught them to ignore it. In
the story Atticus is assigned a trial to defend Tom
Robinson, a man who was accused of raping a 19
year old poor white girl. The "victim" was Mayella
Ewell she was daughter of Bob Ewell a widowed
man who had no job and was lazy. He was drunk
most of the time and left his oldest daughter
Mayella to do all the house labors.He even abused
and hit them. Most likely he hit them because he
was drunk he didn't have a clear head. So, point is
Tom is accused of raping Mayella Ewell who claims
he raped her. But it was all a setup of Mayella from
Mayella, she made up the story that he rpaed her
because he rejected her when she tried to kiss
him. Well, in ti time since the colored people didnt
have many rights, Atticus proved clear points that
Tom was innocent but since a negro's voice
compared to a wites had less value he got
accused guilty and ended up getting killed in
prison. At the end the kids also realize that Boo is
a great man with a great heart because he saved
Scout and Jem when they were getting attacked by
Bob Ewell.

She herself was born in Alabama so she saw how

Negroes got discriminated. She herself studied law,
but then decided to focus on a writing career. Since
she had some background knowledge on law and
politics, she wrote her story based on law and
politics. The author Harper Lee wrote this story for
many reasons. The main reason why she wrote this
story is because she wanted to teach the readers the
great suffering Negroes lived during that time due to
discrimination because of their skin color. She
wanted us to learn about the horrible ways that
Negroes were treated, they were made fun, called
dirty names, and how negroes had less rights
compared to the white people. Their words had little
to no value. They still had the right to go to court, but
when competing against a white, the white person
won no matter what. The death of a negro had no
effect on the lives of people, white people believed if
one Negroe dies, one less disturbance in the world.
But she didn't just write this to teach us how Negroes
suffered, she wanted us to get the message that
discrimination is bad and we should not discriminate
people based on their racial ethnic because it greatly
affects their lives.

Historical Context
The story takes place in the city of Maycomb,
Alabama in the years of 1930. There was a lot of
poverty and a lot of people did not have jobs. The
city of Maycomb, was a city where everyone knew
each other, they all knew the backstory of every
family. Depending on how you looked or acted,
people knew from what family you came from. But,
the major problem at this time of 1930, was that there
was a lot of discrimination against the Negroes.
White people were prejudice to the negroes. Many
negroes had hard jobs for little pay, they had little
rights and were not treated equally. Their word had
less value compared to even the poorest, baddest,
most laziest white person.So no matter what white
person it was their word still had more value than the
most noble, humble, hardworking, truthful negroes in
the word. During 1930 the african americans were
not slaves anymore which means they were free like
the white people, but the white people treated them
badly and unequally. They segregated blacks and
whites.This means they separated at many public
places like taverns, schools, theaters, restaurants,
and restrooms. There were even separate phone
booths for either a white or colored person.
Discrimination against african americans got to the

Novel Notes
To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee
Natalia Nava
Oct.9

Essential Quotes
" 'Mockingbirds dont do one thing but make music for us to
enjoy. They dont eat up peoples gardens, dont nest in
corncribs, they dont do one thing but sing their hearts out for us.
Thats why its a sin to kill a mockingbird (Lee 90).
" 'But there is one way in this country which all men are created
are equal -there is one human institution that makes a pauper
the equal of a Rockerfellor, the stupid man the equal of an
einstein , and the ignorant man the equal of any college
president' " (205).
Add Work Cited Here:
Sustar, Lee. Blacks and the Great Depression. Social
Worker.org 8 June, 2012. International Socialist Organization. 5
October, 2015. http://socialistworker.org/2012/06/28/blacks-andthe-great-depression
Shepard, Arica and Stonaker, Brielle. Segregation.
kawvalley.k12.ks.us Brown vs.Topeka Board of Education 21
April,2014. n.p. 5 October,2015.
http://www.kawvalley.k12.ks.us/brown_v_board/segregation.htm

point where the Klu Klux Klan killed many african

americans because they didn't want them to exist,
they didnt want black people as part of their society.
African Americans were treated very unfairly.

Character Analysis

Themes

Motifs and Symbols

Scout ( real name =Jean Louise Finch) She is a

young little 7 year old girl who understand a lot of
stuff for her age. Her summers are full of fun and
mischief like making fun of Boo because Atticus
puts her no limits she is not a bad girl but she
needs more rules because she is getting in the
habit of doing whatever she wants. As she grows
up she learns to control herself.At her young age
she doesnt really understand why negroes are
treated unfairly but she does know it's not right and
all people are equal. She lives through humiliation
of others because her father defends negroes she
is pretty violent and wants to fight people that say
bad things about her dad but she learns to go with
it and control her anger as she grows up.
Jem Finch brother of Scout he really loves her and
cares for her. He is older so he grows and matures
faster but he always stands up for his sister and
watches for her. As he grows, he learns there is a
lot of cruelty and discrimination in this world, he
experiences this by seeing prejudism. He sees
white people discriminate negroesHe is brave
because he saved Scout when Bob tried to take
them both. As he grows, he learns there is a lot of
cruelty and discrimination in this world, he
experiences this by seeing prejudism. He sees
white people discriminate negroes.
Atticus father of Scout and Jem.He is a widow. He
is old yet holds many talents. He was a good
aimer and he is a great lawyer . Best in town! He
really loves his kids and tries to raise them good
and mostly, gives them much love. He defends
negroes because he believes we are all equal.
Dill a friend of Scout and Jem. He used to visit
them every summer and they used to play games,
and do mischief together like run and touch the
Radley home, try to send a note to Boo Radley
and made plays about Boo Radley.
Aunt Alexandra Atticus's sister who came to live
with them so that she could help raise two lovely
educates kids. She had a big heart, but she had
some bad ideas of how they had to act just
because they were Finch.
Calpurnia was a negroe woman who worked for

Growing up : The story starts with little playful Scout

and Jem. They play and laugh all day. As they grow
up they learn the hard way that theres cruelty in the
world. People start to judge their dad Atticus by
calling him "nigger lover " or " 'Your father's no better
than the niggers and trash he works for' "(102). From
hearing others talk about her dad like that , she
learned people didn't love negroes and had a great
hate on them . Not only did Jem and Scout physically
grow they were mentally growing and changing their
ways of thinking from a little kid mentality to a mature
reasoning.They started realizing that people can be
mean, and treat others unfairly due to how they look.
But, as they grow they also understand its not right
to treat negroes like that just because they are white.
They know its wrong to judge, and that we are all
equal.
Discrimination On race: The whole reason the story
took place is because during this time there was a lot
of discrimination against the Negroes they were
thought less of and had less rights than the white
people. The story portrays the message that negroes
were valued less.They had bad harsh jobs for little
pay, got less opportunities and their word had less
value than a white person's. They had to hold church
in white people's ugly worn out casinos.In the story
discrimination takes place when Tom unfairly gets
accused of raping Mayella. There's evidence that
Tom didnt rape Mayella, but just because he's black
his word had no worth in the trial.
Courage - in the story Atticus could be portrayed as a
character with much courage because he stands up
for what he believes in. He believes that we are all
equal regardless of our racial features or ethnicity. He
must've been really brave to stand up and say he
believes we are all equal .He shows we are all equal
because he defends a negro when he unfairly gets
accused. And he is brave because this is a time when
negroes are greatly hated and their rights have
declined, imagine a white man defending these
people. All the white people will hate on him, even try
to kill him or his family, for helping these negroes
that supposedly dont deserve his help but he is
brave enough to stand up for his beliefs regardless

The tree by the Radleys home. This tree symbolizes that

Boo(Arthur ) Radley is real and alive. In the story, Scout
and Jem believe that Boo Radley is a rare creature being
that is alive, but does not live a life. He never goes out and
has no life, we just know he is alive.Well, to prove that Boo
is alive and very well aware of his surrounding, in the
beginning of the book, Jem and Scout find a tree with little
trinkets in it. They find gum wrappers, and they even found
a watch in there. All these things were a mystery to hem
on whose they were. Regardless of that, every time they
passed the tree to go to school, they collected what was in
it and decided to save it until they found the owner. Well,
every morning they would walk by and collect a small
surprise inside the tree holw. To our surprise Boo was the
one putting these little gifts for them, but Nathan Radley
his oldest brother covers the hole with cement when he
finds out what Boo had been doing. The point is the little
surprises in the tree signify that Boo Radley was alive and
well aware of who and what was going on in his
neighborhood. He was not some lunatic living in his home.
Mockingbird(symbol) - Mockingbirds dont do one thing
but make music for us to enjoy. They dont eat up peoples
gardens, dont nest in corncribs, they dont do one thing
but sing their hearts out for us. Thats why its a sin to kill a
mockingbird (90). I needed to include this quote to
support my point that in the story the mockingbird is the
greatest symbol that represents Tom Robinson. Just like i
the quote it says mockingbirds just make music for us to
enjoy and its a sin to kill the. It represents Robinson's life,
he did not deserve to die because all he was trying to do
was be a good man and help Mayella out because he felt
sorry for her. He was simply living his life trying to help
Mayell about to make her life easier and then he gets
killed and that is a sin because Mayella who was
benefiting from this mans hard work was the reason why
he went to jail and got killed. He did not deserve to die, he
deserved to keep living his life as a humble, helpful man
not to mention he had a wife and children whom he had to
care for.

the Finch family. She was considered part of the

family.
Tom Robinson was a Negro Man who all he did
was help a poor white girl Mayella. He was married
had three kids and was a very kind and humble
man . He didn't deserve to die just because he
rejected Mayella.
Bob Ewell a very poor man who is widowed. He is
lazy and doesn't get a job. He is the father of
Mayella. He is an abusive father and hits his kids.
He Hates Negroes.
Mayella Ewell oldest daughter of Bob Ewell. She
must do all work at home and care for her younger
siblings. She accused poor Tom Robinson of
having raped her. She is very selfish yet feels very
lonely. She had no friends and was so lonely that
this white girl tries to get comfort from a negroe
man, the only person that cared somewhat of her.
She tried to find comfort in Tom Robinson by trying
to kiss him but he denied her so she got mad a
negore denied her so she accused him of the rape
to get revenge.
Boo(Arthur) Radley Throughout the beginning of
the story the kids believe Boo is a creature that just
walks around he's a man but doesnt live like
one .He is very skinny and zombie looking due to
not eating well.. The night Jem and Scout were
getting attacked by Bob Ewell, Boo heard their
screams and so he went out to save Jem and
Scout that night. This helps the kids see Boo is
just a simple man with a great heart who is willing
to give a helping hand.

of the consequences. Some other consequences

may be getting attacked by whites or simply getting
called names for being a helper or defender of
negroes.