Don Honorio Ventura Technological State University

Bacolor, Pampanga

To Kill a Mocking Bird

Prepared by:
Jayson G. Ocampo
BSCE 3A
 I. Setting: The story was set in Maycomb, Alabama, in 1930.

II. CHARACTERS
Major Characters:
a. Atticus Finch
- Protagonist of the novel. He is the father of Scout and Jem. Atticus is a man who
stands for his beliefs regardless of the thoughts and reaction of other people.
Atticus is also a courageous man who is not easily threatened by external
influences.

b. Scout Finch
- The narrator and the protagonist of the novel. She is the young daughter of
Atticus. Scout is emotional and often engages in fights even she is a girl. She acts
like a tomboy, choosing to wear shirts instead of dresses; and always hanging out
with boys.

c. Arthur “Boo” Radley

- He is known as Boo Radley. The children thought that he is a haint. He is a
mysterious character in the novel and slowly reveals himself throughout the
novel. Boo Radley is a very quiet, reclusive character, who doesn't actively
present himself until Jem and Scout's final interaction with Bob Ewell. Every
children were afraid of him, but he is actually a good person.

d. Bob Ewell
- The antagonist in the novel. He is the father of Mayella. He is a father of eight
who’s always drunk. He is an irresponsible father. He is also violent not only to
his children but also to the Finch siblings. He’s the one who harassed her daughter
Mayella, but he accused Tom Robinson. And he seek for revenge after he was
humiliated at the trial.

e. Tom Robinson
- A black man who is married to Helen. He is a helpful man. Tom Robinson is a
black person who is being defended in court by Atticus Finch. He is innocent but
was accused of raping a white girl Mayella Ewell, Mr. Ewell's daughter.

Minor Characters:
a. Jem Finch
- He is the son of Atticus who is portrayed to be one who wishes to follow in his
father’s footsteps. Jem shows leadership and maturity in the story.
 b. Mayella Ewell
- Bob Ewell’s abused, lonely and unhappy daughter. She accused Tom Robinson of
rape. She’s searching for love and affection that;s whyshe seduced the black man
who’s always helping him.

c. Dill Harris
- He is a friend and playmate of Scout and Jem.

III. Summary:
The novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” takes place in Alabama during 1930, and is narrated
by the main character, a little girl named Jean Louise "Scout" Finch. Her father, Atticus Finch, is
a lawyer with high moral standards. Scout, her brother Jem, and their friend Dill are intrigued by
the local rumors about a man named Boo Radley, who lives in their neighborhood but never
leaves his house. Legend has it that he once stabbed his father in the leg with a pair of scissors,
and he is made out to be a kind of monster. Dill is from Mississippi but spends his summer in
Maycomb at a house near the Finch's.
The children are curious to know more about Boo, and during one summer create a mini-drama
they enact daily, which tells the events of his life as they know them. Slowly, the children begin
moving closer to the Radley house, which is said to be haunted. They try leaving notes for Boo
on his windowsill with a fishing pole, but are caught by Atticus, who firmly reprimands them for
making fun of a sad man's life. Next, the children try sneaking over to the house at night and
looking through its windows. Boo's brother, Nathan Radley, who lives in the house, thinks he
hears a prowler and fires his gun. The children run away, but Jem loses his pants in a fence.
When he returns in the middle of the night to get them back, they have been neatly folded and
the tear from the fence roughly sewn up.

Atticus decides to take on a case involving a black man named Tom Robinson who has
been accused of raping a very poor white girl named Mayella Ewell. The Finch family faces
harsh criticism in the heavily racist Maycomb because of Atticus's decision to defend Tom. But,
Atticus insists on going through with the case because his conscience could not let him do
otherwise. He knows Tom is innocent, and also that he has almost no chance at being acquitted,
because the white jury will never believe a black man over a white woman. Despite this, Atticus
wants to reveal the truth to his fellow townspeople and encourage them to imagine the possibility
of racial equality.
The trial pits the evidence of the white Ewell family against Tom's evidence. According
to the Ewells, Mayella asked Tom to do some work for her while her father was out, and Tom
came into their house and forcibly beat and raped Mayella until her father appeared and scared
him away. Tom's version is that Mayella invited him inside, then threw her arms around him and
began to kiss him. Tom tried to push her away. When Bob Ewell arrived, he flew into a rage and
beat her, while Tom ran away in fright. According to the sheriff's testimony, Mayella's bruises
were on the right side of her face, which means she was most likely punched with a left hand.
Tom Robinson's left arm is useless due to an old accident, whereas Mr. Ewell leads with his left.
Given the evidence of reasonable doubt, Tom should go free, but after hours of deliberation, the
jury pronounces him guilty. Scout, Jem and Dill sneak into the courthouse to see the trial and sit
in the balcony with Maycomb's black population. They are stunned at the verdict because to
them, the evidence was so clearly in Tom's favor.
Though the verdict is unfortunate, Atticus feels some satisfaction that the jury took so long
deciding. Usually, the decision would be made in minutes, because a black man's word would
not be trusted. Atticus is hoping for an appeal, but unfortunately Tom tries to escape from his
prison and is shot to death in the process. Jem has trouble handling the results of the trial, feeling
that his trust in the goodness and rationality of humanity has been betrayed.

Meanwhile, Mr. Ewell threatens Atticus and other people connected with the trial
because he feels he was humiliated. He gets his revenge one night while Jem and Scout are
walking home from the Halloween play at their school. He follows them home in the dark, then
runs at them and attempts to kill them. Jem breaks his arm, and Scout, who is wearing a
confining ham shaped wire costume and cannot see what is going on, is helpless throughout the
attack. The elusive Boo Radley stabs Mr. Ewell and saves the children. Finally, Scout has a
chance to meet the shy and nervous Boo. At the end of this fateful night, the sheriff declares that
Mr. Ewell fell on his own knife so Boo, the hero of the situation, won't have to be tried for
murder. Scout walks Boo home and imagines how he has viewed the town and observed her, Jem
and Dill over the years from inside his home.

IV. PLOT:
a. Exposition
In the beginning of the novel, Scout, daughter of Atticus, introduces her family,
maid and neighborhood, friends, schoolmates and teacher –her world. . In this little
world of Maycomb, Alabama, Scout explains that there is a "haint," Boo Radley.
The inciting incidents of the stressful day that Scout has with her new teacher and
the inconsiderate games revolving around Boo Radley that Dill devises for Scout
and Jem indicate how different points of view about people can lead to conflicts.

b. Rising Action
Atticus Finch, a lawyer in the town, accepted an appointment to defend a black
man who was falsely accused of raping a poor white woman Mayella Ewell. To the
disapproval of the town’s white community, Atticus and his children, Jem and
Scout, were continuously harassed by other people in the town. They were called
named such as “nigger-lover”. Atticus representing Tom Robinson in court brought
a lot of of troubles to his family. However, despite all the prejudices the whites had
against the blacks, especially Tom Robinson, Atticus was dedicated to ensuring that
Tom would get the fairest trial possible under the circumstances. (Man vs. Society)

c. Climax
In the trial, Atticus showed the jury and everyone watching that it was Bob Ewell
who maltreated his daughter Mayella Ewell after he caught her taking advantage of
Tom Robinson. Because of of Atticus intelligent questioning he made the Ewells
contradict their own testimonies. He delivered a great speech that made people with
 conscience do the right thing, to set Tom Robinson free. But all the white jury
decided against Tom Robinson. They convicted him because of the simple reason
that he was black, but there’s no evidence that could have proven Tom’s guilt.

d. Falling Action
Despite Atticus assurance that they had a good chance in appeal, Tom loses his
faith because of the justice system, that’s why he attempted to escape from prison
but it leads to his death. Although, they send the innocent black man to jail, Bob
Ewell was mad at Atticus. He felt so embarrassed because Atticus proved to the
whole town that Bob Ewell and his daughter are liars. Due to the frustration of Bob
Ewell, he threatened Atticus that he will ruined his life. Bob Ewell also harassed
Tom’s wife, Helen because of his frustration. And lastly, he attacked Jem and
Scout, children of Atticus.

e. Resolution/Denoument
When Bob Ewell attacked Jem and Scout, Boo Radley came to rescue them. He
stabbed Bob Ewell with a kitchen knife and carried Jem and Scout back to the
Finch’s house. Boo Radley stabbed Bob Ewell, and it causes the death of Bob
Ewell. After that incident, Jem and Scout could move on from the sad things they
have encountered. And finally they already saw Boo Radley or whom they called
“haint”. They realized that Boo Radley is a good person.

V. THEME:
The theme in the novel is racial discrimination. The novel is about Atticus Finch a white
man defending a black man Tom Robinson, who was accused of raping a white woman Mayella
Ewell. Throughout the story, the white people don’t agree by the fact that Atticus will defend the
black man. Because of this, people in the town bashed Atticus and his children. The whites did not
want the idea of one of them defending a black man, though Tom is also also a citizen of their
State that has the same rights to them regardless of skin color.
In the story, the whites were so harsh to the black that they despised Tom Robinson even
though they knew nothing about what happened the night he allegedly raped Mayella. The trial of
Tom Robinson demonstrated how lowly the whites treated the blacks. Other than trial, different
parts of the story would show how some of the white characters do not want to be associated or
acquainted with the black characters. The novel is a great example of how the white people unjustly
discriminated the black people as a class lower than them.
VI. Reaction:
My favorite part is probably the trial when Atticus gives his speech on equality. He said so
many points that needed to be said, but what I found interesting is his choice of timing and the fact
he said it to other white men. He didn’t hesitate to defend a black man, I also love the way he asked
questions to the Ewells.
Before I read the novel I was curious about its content and why the author (Harper Lee)
entitled it “To kill a mockingbird”.
After I read it I felt so sorry for black men like Tom Robinson who had been discriminated
by the whites. I also learned that we must not judge another man unless we put ourselves in his
own shoes. There should be also an equality to all people, despite their differences. I also realized
the negative effect of discrimination in the world. Discrimination is a huge problems that needs to
be resolved.

VII. Recommendation:
I will recommend this book to others because this book teaches many valuable lessons
about family, friendship, forgiveness and standing up for what is right—even if the others are
against you. It's an awesome book and it has quite a good message. It also focused on what is right
and wrong. This book will inspire people a lot.