To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird is a famous novel that was written by Harper Lee. Its driving force is the trial of Tom Robinson, a black man who is falsely accused of raping a white woman. Despite his...

In chapter 24, Atticus interrupts his sister's missionary circle and breaks the news of Tom Robinson's tragic death to Calpurnia, Miss Maudie, Alexandria, and Scout in the privacy of the kitchen....

In chapter seven, Jem and Scout write a note to the anonymous gift-giver who has been leaving small gifts in the knothole of the Radley tree. Although Jem never blatantly states his opinion on the...

In the 2002 Harper Perennial Modern Classics edition of To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus's lesson on real courage can be found towards the end of chapter eleven on page 128 when he says, "I wanted...

Miss Maudie is trying to explain that Boo Radley's father's idea of religion is just as destructive of family life as alcoholism. She says that some kinds of Christians--she calls them...

The men who show up in chapter 15 to speak with Atticus are concerned members of the community who do not want to have a lynching or anything crazy happen on the night before the Tom Robinson...

Because Scout presents this story from her own point of view, the details of her own appearance are quite limited. It would be a fairly awkward construction for her to reflect on her own...

Atticus shoots the mad dog in chapter 10 and surprises his children, who were under the impression that he was a talentless, boring person. Before the drama unfolds, Jem and Scout lament that...

Scout diffuses a potentially dangerous situation by talking to Walter Cunningham Sr. about ordinary, everyday matters. Mr. Cunningham is the head of a drunken, angry mob that's descended on the...

In chapter 3, Atticus invites Walter Cunningham to stay for dinner. We have previously met Walter in Scout's first-grade classroom when he shows up without a lunch but won't take a quarter from the...

In chapter three of To Kill A Mockingbird, Scout fights with Walter Cunningham. Jem makes a humorous comment after he breaks up the fight: Catching Walter Cunningham in the schoolyard gave me...

In Chapter 9, Scout tells her father what Cecil Jacobs said on the playground about him defending niggers, and Atticus elaborates on his unpopular decision to defend Tom Robinson. When Scout asks...

The main conflict between Scout and her first grade teacher concerns Miss Caroline's rigid teaching methods and Scout's advanced abilities. Scout is not a typical first-grader, and she already...

In the Harper Perennial Modern Classics edition of To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus speaks his famous line on page 103, just a few paragraphs into the novel's tenth chapter. Scout and Jem have...

When Tim Johnson, the "mad" dog, wanders into town, he presents a real threat. The dog has rabies, a deadly disease that is typically spread through the bites and bodily fluids of wild animals,...

1. After Atticus cross-examines Bob Ewell, he asks Bob to sign his name, which proves that he is left-handed. Atticus uses this information against Bob Ewell later on in the trial. After Bob signs...

When the children raid the Radley yard in hopes of looking at Boo through the window, they are forced to flee when Nathan Radley steps outside wielding a shotgun. Shortly after Jem leaps off the...

In Harper Lee's classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Judge Taylor appoints Atticus Finch to defend Tom Robinson in front of what will be a racist jury and audience. Judge Taylor recognizes Atticus...

Atticus catches Jem, Scout, and Dill trying to leave a letter on Boo's windowsill. He takes the letter and tells the children to stay away from Boo. He wants them to stop tormenting him. Atticus...

Bob Ewell is by far the most despicable man in Maycomb and ends up severely beating his daughter after he witnesses her kiss Tom Robinson on the evening of November 21. In order to conceal her...

Towards the beginning of the story, Scout subscribes to the unflattering rumors and legends regarding their reclusive neighbor, Arthur "Boo" Radley. Scout believes Jem's terrifying description of...

Atticus shoots and kills the rabid dog in Chapter 10. At the beginning of the chapter, Jem and Scout complain about their father's age and uninteresting occupation. Jem wishes that Atticus would...

In the 1950s, a young Harper Lee headed to New York to pursue her dream of becoming a writer. In New York, her childhood friend Truman Capote introduced her to Michael and Joy Brown. On Christmas,...

Chapter 23 of To Kill a Mockingbird involves a long and thoughtful conversation in the Finch house concerning the nature of justice and the events of the recent trial. When Atticus tells his family...

Foot washing is found in the New Testament book of John. Before He is betrayed and crucified, Jesus ended his final meal with his disciples by pouring water into a basin and washing their feet....

To Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird, being told she is “like a girl” by her brother Jem is one of the worst insults ever. Scout is a tomboy who despises wearing dresses (much preferring her old...

In the novel, unlike the movie, there is not a specific moment when we learn that Atticus has agreed to take Tom Robinson’s case. The first we learn of his involvement in the case is close to the...

A common word for father in Maycomb in the 1930s was "daddy." For instance, Cecil Jacobs tells Scout in the school yard, "My folks said your daddy was a disgrace," and "word got around that Scout...

The most compelling evidence that supports Tom's innocence relies on Mayella Ewell's testimony. She claims that Tom assaulted her and "had [her] round the neck" so that she couldn't escape. Heck...

Not much is said in To Kill a Mockingbird about Atticus Finch’s appearance. I would argue that the author would far rather that we focus on Atticus’s brave, wise, compassionate, and fair nature...

In the McIntosh and Otis, Inc. online edition of To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout runs into the middle of the mob surrounding Atticus and begins speaking to Mr. Cunningham in chapter 15, page 155....

Thanks to an accident earlier in life, Tom Robinson’s left arm is twelve inches shorter than his right arm. It is immediately apparent that the arm and “small shrivelled hand” are useless, which...

On page 93 of the online McIntosh and Otis pdf. version of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout and Jem are shooting their air rifles when Atticus tells them that it is a sin to kill a...

It is in chapter 7 that Scout and Jem figure out that Boo Radley is leaving gifts for them in the knothole of the tree. This is shortly after an incident when Jem, Scout and Dill had gone to sneak...

Burris Ewell epitomizes everything that's wrong with the most hated family in Maycomb. Lazy, dirty, ignorant, and disrespectful of authority, Burris very much takes after his old man, the odious...

Miss Gates, Scout's teacher, carefully goes over with her class the Nazi persecution of the Jews in 1930s Germany, calling it "prejudice" and condemning it as wrong. She is blind to the parallels...

Although Scout tries her best to control her temper, Cecil Jacobs provokes her by announcing to the entire playground that her daddy "defended n*****s." Scout is too young and naïve to understand...

The Ewell family consists of the most despicable citizens in Maycomb, who live behind the town's garbage dump in an old "Negro" cabin. Bob Ewell is the father of numerous children and head of the...

Tom is innocent of attacking and raping Mayella Ewell, which are the charges he legally faces. Heck Tate takes the stand first and describes Mayella's injuries on the evening in question. He...

At the beginning of the novel, Jem, Scout, and Dill are enthralled and fascinated with their mysterious neighbor Boo Radley. They become curious about him after hearing the various rumors...

In chapter 17, Bob Ewell is testifying on behalf of his daughter Mayella. His testimony is filled with derogatory slang due to his uneducated and disrespectful background. Since men, women, and...

Jem, Dill and Scout do go onto the Radley property at night to see if they can catch a glimpse of Boo. Jem thinks he sees Boo because he says, "Ar-r" but changes his mind to say "chickens" (52)....

The quote refers back to what Scout and Jem were told when they got air rifles for Christmas, not to shoot a mockingbird. A mockingbird doesn't do anything but sing many bird songs and harms no...

The mistake that Tom made was feeling sorry for a white woman, when whites are supposed to be superior to blacks. By feeling sorry for Mayella, Tom put himself above her. This is the ultimate...

In Chapter 25, Scout mentions that Mr. Underwood wrote in his editorial that he felt that it was a sin to kill cripples. Mr. Underwood likened Tom's death to the senseless slaughter of songbirds....

Boo Radley begins to leave little gifts for the children in the knothole of a tree on his property. This is a very significant moment in the novel, because Lee is characterizing Boo through his...