


However, Boo Radley comes to the rescue and kills him. One night, as Scout and her brother are walking home, he attacks them, wounding Jem. The story climaxes when Bob Ewell, the man who framed Tom, seeks out Scout to take revenge for Atticus making a mockery of him in court. Boo ends up being a major symbol in the novel, and the source of two valuable lessons learned by Scout later on. She also believes that one night when she’s not watching he puts a blanket over her while she stands and watches a neighbor’s home on fire. Engrossed with Boo, Scout thinks he leaves them gifts. Atticus catches them one day, insists that what they are doing is wrong, and asks the children to consider life from Boo’s perspective. His reclusive lifestyle sparks the imaginations of Scout, her brother Jem, and their friend Dill, and they often act out what they think Boo is like. Through hearsay, the reader learns Boo Radley is an extreme introvert, and lives in an eerie, haunted home on their street. Scout, Atticus’ young daughter, also at this time has a fascination with the Radley home. While most of the town shuns the Finch family, the black community begins to embrace them.
#TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD SUMMARY TRIAL#
During the novel, the reader gets to see the trial through the eyes of a youngster, free from the prejudices’ that adulthood brings. With his choice to defend Tom Robinson, Atticus's family are exposed to the pressures of racism and hatred. To Kill a Mockingbird is a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Harper Lee, published in 1960. Although Atticus clearly proves his client is innocent, the all-white jury still convicts the defendant.Ītticus is raising his two young children, Scout, and Jem. Atticus, the father, a prominent lawyer, takes a case defending an innocent black man. Set during the Great Depression, in Maycomb, Alabama, the story centers around the Finch family. This classic story has touched generations since it was written in the late 1950s. Is it okay that Justice is not always fair?.Should people be able to have opinions that harm others?.

What are the different ways a person can show courage?.It’s being afraid and not letting that fear stop you.Essential Questions for To Kill a Mockingbird It’s having lost all hope and carrying on anyway. Real bravery is facing an impossible challenge and having the determination to keep going because you know it’s the right thing to do. Of course, no list of lessons from To Kill a Mockingbird would be complete without the famous line that gave the novel its title! It’s a beautiful reminder that hurting the innocent is the worst crime of all.Ĭourage is not letting the odds stop you:Ĭan anyone say ‘toxic masculinity’? Thankfully we have Atticus, who is firm in explaining that an act of violence is not an act of courage. Their only aim is to get a reaction, so patience and restraint are your greatest allies. And secondly, that the only way to stop a bully (or an internet troll) is to let what they say slide over you. There are actually two lessons to be learned here – are we cheating? Firstly, Atticus is teaching Scout that responding to violence with more violence never achieves anything: two wrongs don’t make a right. And so Miss Maudie teaches Scout a vital lesson here: we are defined by the way we treat others, and beliefs – religious or otherwise – can never justify cruel behaviour. There’s no shying away from the fact that religion has been used throughout history to defend awful acts. With our world more divided than ever, Atticus’s words remind us to reach out to others, to try and see the world from their perspective before passing judgement. Atticus’s advice to Scout echoes throughout the novel as we encounter various characters, from Mr.
