To Kill A Mockingbird
Set in the Deep South in Maycomb, Alabama
Set in the 1930s
The Wall Street stock-market crashed in 1922
resulting in the Great Depression worldwide in the
1930s (pre world war 2 (1939) – thus the mention of
Hitler, near the end of the novel
The Deep South states lost the American Civil War in
1886 and so lost out economically to the banks and
big business in the North (e.g. New York,
Washington). This divide between North and South is
like England (but in reverse in terms of wealth) and
the Deep South still has great poverty and racism to
this day in 2006 (witness the black Americans
trapped without cars in New Orleans, victims of the
hurricane)
The South had wanted to retain black slaves to pick
cotton and tobacco. Their army was mainly made up
of farmers. These 13 states formed the Confederate
army and tried to break from the Union (i.e. the
United States of America) and set up their own
government in the South.
The North were richer, better equipped and known
as the Union army. They called the Confederates
“rebs” (rebels).
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The Confederates called the Northerners “Yankees”
as an insult. The president
leading the fight to abolish slavery was Abraham
Lincoln.
So, after the Civil War, the losers, the South, were
left in a poverty-stricken condition with small towns
surrounded by large, rural expanses; there was a
large, freed, poor and uneducated black slave
population and racism was very strong. Remember
that the slaves had only been freed for just over forty
years when the novel opens (1933). Also, remember
that the South still had segregation laws for schools,
churches (!), restaurants, buses, marriage, etc. up
until Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights
movement into the 1960s!
The South has also had a strong religious tradition –
as well as (ironically) being the base for white racist
groups such as the Ku Klux Klan. There are also
stereotypical ideas of Southerners being backward
farming types (like the Cunninghams) or “white trash”
like Bob Ewell engaging in heavy drinking of hard
liquor (think where “Southern Comfort” comes
from!!). There is also the idea of some mental
backwardness coming from the offspring of intermarriage of close cousins or even incest… “Atticus
was related by blood or marriage to nearly every
family in the town” (ch.1) and “she might as well kiss
a nigger. She says what her papa do to her don’t
count” (ch.19) (suggestive? ambiguous?)
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As well as being a story about childhood/maturity,
the novel can be seen as a satire on small town
America: the racism, sexism, snobbery, gossiping,
self-importance and general conservativism of the
small town mentality are satirised throughout the
novel - although the satire is often softened by the
gentle sense of humour used by Harper Lee.
SATIRE=mocking and criticising particular
establishments, professions, beliefs, ways of life.
“TKAM” satirises the education system of the time.
“TKAM” satirises the so-called “devout” Christian,
“aristocratic” women of the time (e.g. Mrs.
Merriweather) and their racist attitudes
“TKAM” satirises the typical “redneck” of the time
(Bob Ewell)
“TKAM” satirises the extreme religious sects of the
time (Miss Maudie and the “foot washers”)
“TKAM” satirises the legal system of the day (e.g. the
treatment of Boo and the juvenile vandals and, more
seriously, the whole jury system in the rape trial)
“TKAM” satirises conventional sexist ideas of being a
“girl”(through Scout, Jem, Dill, Uncle Jack and Aunt
Alexandra) and a “lady” (Aunt Alexandra, Miss
Maudie, Calpurnia, Mrs Grace Merriweather and her
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missionary circle, Miss. Caroline Fisher, Miss Gates,
Misses Tutti and Frutti)
Sometimes the satire is more gently poking fun but
at other times it is seriously criticising the
prejudices and shortcomings of society e.g. the small
town pageant with the children dressed as
vegetables and meat mocks the pretentiousness of
many small places such as Maycomb. It is mocked
by Scout appearing late and the whole idea dreamt
up by Mrs. Merriweather is a ludicrous one. The
hyperbole of the Latin motto “Ad Astra Per Aspera”
(to the stars through ambition) shows her
pretentiousness as we are talking about “Pork” here!!
But the snobbery of Mrs. Merriweather is hardly a
serious issue, in this instance.
Contrast this with her racism within the missionary
circle, which is a serious issue. Also, Miss Gates
condemns Hitler because she favours democracy but
Scout hears her leaving the trial: “it’s time somebody
taught ’em a lesson, they were getting way above
themselves, an’ the next thing they think they can do
is marry us” (ch.26) – this IS serious – especially
from a teacher of young people.
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“TKAM” Welcome to the characters
(Harper Lee (the author is a WOMAN!))
Scout (Jean Louise Finch)
Jem Finch
Atticus Finch
Calpurnia (her son, Zeebo)
Uncle Jack (Finch)
Aunt Alexandra
Uncle Jimmy
Francis Hancock
Cousin Ike Finch -last Confederate alive in Maycomb
(Simon Finch and his daughters, past history)
Arthur (Boo) Radley
Old Mr. Radley
Mr. Nathan Radley (Boo’s brother)
Dill (Charles Baker Harris)
Aunt Rachel
Miss Maudie Atkinson
Miss Stephanie Crawford
Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose
Cecil Jacobs
Mr. Dolphus Raymond
Lula
Heck Tate
Mr. X Billups
Mr. Braxton Bragg Underwood
Little Chuck Little
Judge Taylor
Miss Caroline Fisher
Reverend Sykes
Miss Gates
Walter Cunningham
Mrs. Grace Merriweather
Mr. Cunningham
J. Grimes Everett (missionary)
Burris Ewell
Mrs.GertrudeFarrow
Mr. Bob Ewell
Tom Robinson
Mayella Ewell
Helen Robinson
Mr. Gilmer
Tim Johnson (the dog)
The Barber ladies – Misses Tutti and Frutti
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“TKAM” The Main Interest of Each Chapter
PART ONE
Ch1
 Maycomb history
 Boo Radley/Dill/childhood dares
Ch2.
 Miss Caroline/education system/Walter
Cunningham
Ch3.
 Walter for lunch/Cal+dignity
 Miss Caroline/Burris Ewell
 Atticus + Scout/Ewells/empathy
Ch4.
 Boo/the tree/childhood games
Ch5.
 Miss Maudie/religious bigotry/truth about
Boo
 Atticus+Jem/empathy for Boo
Ch6.
 Jem/Scout/Dill- the dare/Jem’s trousers
 Miss Stephanie/racism (“be it nigger,
dog…”)
Ch7.
 Jem’s repaired trousers/gifts in the tree
 The cemented tree/Mr.Radley’s lie to Jem
 Jem’s tears – a cathartic moment for Jem
Ch8.
 First snow/the Mr. Avery snowman
 Miss Maudie’s house fire/stoicism
 Boo’s blanket for Scout
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Ch9.
 Scout’s fight/Cecil Jacobs/Tom Robinson
 Atticus integrity/fairness; cousin Ike Finch
 Christmas/Aunt Alexandra/Uncle
Jimmy/past history of Simon Finch and his
daughters’ upbringing
 fight with Francis
 racism/lady stereotype/fairness
 punishment of Scout by Uncle Jack
 Atticus/honesty + listening/rearing children
Ch10.





“it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird”
Atticus shoots Tim Johnson/modesty
Miss Maudie/civilised/fairness
Jem/Scout discovery about own father
Jem: what it is to be a “gentleman”
(compare Pip, “Great Expectations”)
Ch11.
 Scout/guns/fighting vs. real bravery
 Mrs. Dubose/racism
 Atticus/Scout – the morality in defending
T.R.
 Jem’s reading to Mrs. Dubose
 Mrs.Dubose’s death.
 Atticus: “she was a great lady” and “the
bravest person I ever knew”
END OF PART ONE – a cathartic moment to
end Jem’s childhood – “I saw him fingering the
wild petals” (of the camellia gifted to him by Mrs.
Dubose) – symbolising his thinking of her and
the start of adult empathy.
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PART TWO
Ch12.
 Jem aged 12/superior attitude to Scout
 Jem/Scout/black church/poverty but
community/Lula’s racism
 another side to Calpurnia’s life/empathy
from Scout
Ch13.




Aunt Alexandra arrives to stay
History of Maycomb social class
Social status/snobbery/good breeding
Humour – Jem- Cousin Joshua jailed
Ch14.
 Aunt A. tries to get rid of Calpurnia
 Jem/Scout fight – Jem’s superior airs
 Dill the runaway/loneliness/empathy
with Boo
Ch15.
 The Maycomb jail/small town mentality
and racism
 Atticus faces the lynch mob
 Scout and Mr. Cunningham (link to
Walter in Ch.2)
 Mr. Underwood ready to defend Atticus
Ch16.




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Mr. Underwood “despises Negroes”
Atticus/Aunt A. honesty with children
Aunt A. racism/conflict Atticus
Miss Maudie’s flowers and religious
puritans
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 Outside the courthouse/Dolphus
Raymond/mixed race offspring
 The courthouse history and small town
pretensions
 Judge Taylor and petty dispute of the
past due to Cunningham name misspelt
Ch.17.
 Heck Tate testimony
 Bob Ewell
testimony/racism/humour/language
 Contrast Ewell shack/Negro settlement
 Jem’s confidence in the verdict
Ch18.




Mayella Ewell’s testimony
Flowers to symbolise her “good” side
Racism/language
Victim as well as “white trash”
Ch19.
 Tom Robinson’s testimony
 Scout compares Mayella to Boo
 Mr.Gilmer racist language and
questioning
 Dill cries over Tom’s treatment
Ch20.
 Dolphus Raymond/Scout and Dill
outside.
 He only pretends to be the town drunk
 D.R. – the cruelty of people/racism/the
purity of children
 Atticus’ closing speech – the equality of
men under the law
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Ch21.
 Jem’s confidence in the outcome
 The verdict is “guilty”
 Reference to “mockingbirds” and
detailed parallels with the killing of the
dog, Tim Johnson, as the verdict is
given
CH22.
 Jem’s tears
 Gifts from the black community
 Miss Maudie/Jem: the value of fighting
the case
 Bob Ewell spits in the face of Atticus
Ch23.





Atticus empathises with Bob Ewell
Atticus/Jem the jury system
Atticus/Scout no women jurors
Scout/Jem class divides
Jem empathises with Boo
Ch24.
 The missionary circle tea party
 Racism/religion/hypocrisy –Mrs. Grace
Merriweather
 Helen Robinson needs forgiveness!!
 Tom Robinson shot dead by his prison
guards
 Miss Maudie/Aunt Alex. Atticus’
importance in the fight for equality
 Scout acts the “lady” to be supportive of
her aunt
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Ch25.




Jem spares an insect!!
Racism/Mr.Underwood speaks out
Comparison to slaughter of songbirds
threat from Bob Ewell
Ch26.
 not afraid of the Radley place anymore
 Miss Gates/Hitler/Democracy and her
racism about Tom
Ch27.
 “Tom Robinson was as forgotten as
Boo Radley”
 Bob Ewell’s harassment of Helen
Robinson and her employer’s(Link
Deas) support
 The Hallowe’en prank on Misses Tutti
and Frutti and their suspicion of
“Syrians”!!
Ch.28
 Miss Merriweather’s pageant. Small
town with inflated ideas of itself.
 “a solitary mocker..the sad lament of
Poor Will, Poor Will,PoorWill”(symbolic)
 the humour of the shambolic and
ludicrous pageant
 the attack on Scout and Jem
 Jem carried to safety by mysterious
stranger
 Bob Ewell found stabbed to death with
a kitchen knife
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Ch29.
 Scout re-tells the attack to Heck Tate
listened to by her mystery
saviour…Boo Radley
Ch30.
 Heck Tate protects Boo by saying Ewell
fell on his own knife
 Scout: “it’d be sort of like shootin’ a
mocking-bird, wouldn’t it?”
Ch31.
 Scout/Jem/Boo – Boo caresses Jem’s
head
 Boo: “in the voice of a child afraid of the
dark” (ironic)
 Scout escorts Boo home (ironic)
 “I never saw him again”
 evocative and poignant flashback
across the emotional events of the
novel
 Scout stands on the Radley porch –
seeing life from their perspective (both
physically and emotionally) for the first
time = empathy
 Stoner’s Boy from “The Grey Ghost” supposed to have messed up the
clubhouse, but no-one knew what he
looked like. When they finally saw him
he was innocent and “he was real nice”
= symbolic parallel with Boo. “Most
people are (nice) when you finally see
them” (Atticus) = when you see inside
them.Jem and Scout can now do this.

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“TKAM” Examination notes (Page 1)
1. You have to choose one question from two.
2. You only have 45 minutes to write the essay.
3. Depending on the question, try to base your
answer on about 4/5 key extracts.
4. Circle any key words in your chosen question.
5. Quickly (5 minutes) jot a paragraph/section
plan/sequence for your essay in the answer booklet.
Use one or two words to describe the focus for each
paragraph/section.
6. Keep a close eye on the plan and your watch!
7. Your essay should have about seven to ten
paragraphs; keep them fairly short – about 4/5
sentences in each, then a new point.
8. Mention a key word from the question in every
paragraph to remind the examiner (and you!) which
bit of the question you are answering.
9. Everything you say needs textual evidence. This
could be an actual quote, or your description of an
action or paraphrasing of something said by a
character.
10. Proof-read each sentence after you write it.
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“TKAM” Examination notes (Page 2)
11. Comment about the WRITER’S METHODS
regularly after you have discussed the ideas
(themes) and characters which the question will
focus on. Nearly all questions will ask you HOW the
writer conveys ideas – not just WHAT the ideas are.
Even if the question does not explicitly mention
“methods”, introduce it into your answer.
E.G. Lee uses an effective simile/metaphor here (say
what it is and why Lee chose it. Explain the effect on
the reader).
E.G. Lee uses a very short sentence here in order
to…
E.G. The writer adopts an ironic tone with the words
“……”. This adds humour to the scene.
E.G. Lee ends this chapter on a note of suspense by
using a cryptic sentence: “……”. This makes the
reader wonder if….
E.G. Lee imitates the accent/dialect with words such
as, “….” and “….”. This adds to the realism of the
scene and the colloquial phrases are humorous
when used in the formal court setting.
E.G. The author has juxtaposed a humorous
passage about…. with the more serious action
concerning…..This provides some light relief for the
reader but also magnifies the importance of the more
serious passage.
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WRITER’S METHODS (page 1)
It will depend which bits of the novel you refer to
but most of these LANGUAGE FEATURES and
STRUCTURAL aspects can be brought into
most essay topics. You MUST discuss some
examples of some of these for higher marks.
A) SIMILES (like/as) and METAPHORS
Often very humorous. Often rural images – SO,
they are appropriate because the novel has a
semi-rural setting.
If the simile or metaphor is hyperbolic
(exaggerated) then the effect is humorous –
even if you do not find it funny!
The similes or metaphors may simply be
insulting in order to amuse the reader but also to
belittle the character being described
(sometimes because Lee is satirising the
character and what they represent)
Think what you would say about Lee’s
comparisons in these examples:
“stiff as a stork” (also alliteration, for emphasis) Aunt Alexandra
“a red little rooster”/“he crowed” - Bob Ewell
“like a stuck hog” – Bob about Mayella
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WRITER’S METHODS (page 2)
“when stalking one’s prey” – Scout about Francis
Hancock
Walter looked like he had been raised on fish
food
“bovine” (like cows) noises of the Christian
“ladies” of the missionary circle
“the pink cotton penitentiary (jail) closing in on
me” – Scout feeling pressured to be a lady
Some metaphors are more serious but help to
create fear, suspense, sadness, disgust, etc. in
the reader:
The slow motion of the shooting of the dog, Tim
Johnson, is compared to watching Atticus move
“like an underwater swimmer”. (The same image
is used when waiting for the trial verdict. How
are the two events similar?)
Handing Boo to the law would be “like shootin’ a
mocking-bird” – Scout. Why?
B) SHORT SENTENCES
Any discussion of sentence types (or word
order) is a discussion of the writer’s SYNTAX.
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WRITER’S METHODS (page 3)
They often appear at the start or end of a
chapter (this relates to STRUCTURE). Why?
They are unusually short to bring our attention
to them. Why?
It could be to shock the reader.
It could be to create suspense.
It could be to create pathos (sadness)
It could be a cryptic comment (a comment with
some sort of important double meaning)
It could be an ironic comment (some sort of
sarcasm may be involved)
Think about the following examples:
“It was Jem’s turn to cry.” (opens Ch 22 and
follows the guilty verdict)
“A nightmare was upon us.” (near the start of Ch
15 – the lynch mob)
“Our father didn’t do anything.” (i.e. he was
useless!) (near the start of Ch 10. – the shooting
of the dog)
“Someone in the house was laughing” (ends
Ch4.)
“She was a pretty little thing.” (Miss Caroline
Fisher) (ends Ch 2.)
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WRITER’S METHODS (page 4)
“I never saw him again.” (final Ch. Scout/Boo)
“You can just take that back, boy!” (starts Ch 9.
with direct speech. Why? Effect?)
C) ROLE OF THE ADULT NARRATOR/IRONIC
TONE/EUPHEMISM/EUPHEMISTIC
LANGUAGE
The adult Scout is re-telling her story and the
narrator creates humour by describing the
childhood mistakes and actions in ironically
formal and adult vocabulary. Think of it as a
gentle sarcasm, smiling at her innocent and
childish ways. Here are some examples of such
elevated language to mean something much
more ironically ordinary:
Miss Fisher might “Harbour her share of the
peculiarities indigenous to that region” = she is
likely to be a weirdo!!
“a gesture of cordiality” = Miss Maudie pushes
out her false teeth as a sign of friendliness!!
Aunt Alexandra conceived Francis “in a burst of
friendliness” (= a euphemism for sex)
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WRITER’S METHODS (page 5)
The crawling children were “obliged to dodge the
unforeseen” (= euphemism for avoid the
chicken s***!)
“meditating upon my crime” (ironic, her crime
was being able to read!)
Mr.Ewell only took “yearly lavations”
(euphemism for “having a bath”, ironic to use
such grand language to refer to him)
D) SLANG/COLLOQUIAL LANGUAGE AND
VULGAR LANGUAGE
This is the opposite to C), above.
It adds a realistic feel to the dialogue with the
Deep South accent and some amusing local
dialect phrases:
Walter talks in terms of a “field size child at
home” to describe the child’s age (old enough to
work in the field)
The “cooties” (head lice)
“their paw’s right contentious”/ “ain’t got no
mother” (about the Ewells) (accent)
“Ain’t no snot-nosed slut of a schoolteacher”
(vulgar language/uneducated/ double negative
used)
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WRITER’S METHODS (page 6)
“I sawed who he was”/ “I seen that black nigger”/
“ruttin’ on my Mayella” (= having sex but like an
animal – stags have a rutting season)/ “I knowed
who it was”/ “yonder in that nigger-nest”
E) REPETITION
Sometimes to mock.
Sometimes for more serious effect.
Bob Ewell: “I most positively…I most positively”
etc.
Mrs. Merriweather: “that darky’s wife”/ “a sulky
darky”
Mrs. Merriweather: “J. Grimes Everett… J.
Grimes Everett…” etc. etc.
“Summertime…summertime…summertime”
(perhaps to evoke a sadness about the lost days
of summer and their childhood innocence)
Mr. Gilmer, “Boy…boy…boy”
F) IRONIC SITUATIONS
Some of the irony is light hearted, some is
bitter irony:
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WRITER’S METHODS (page 7)
The most “devout” Christian “ladies” are racists
and vicious gossips
Bob Ewell accuses the black population of
devaluing his property
The terrifying Boo saves Jem and Scout
Jem accuses Scout of getting more like a girl
every day
Miss Caroline accuses Scout of reading
Miss Gates espouses democracy but is a racist
Mrs. Dubose is really a brave “lady”
Tom Robinson was trying to help Mayella and
this leads to his death
Boo is like a scared child who is led home safely
by Scout
Dolphus Raymond is only pretending to be the
town drunk
B.B.Underwood is supposed to despise Negroes
but he slams the injustice of Tom’s death in his
newspaper
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WRITER’S METHODS (page 8)
Scout and Jem think that Atticus is dull and does
little – they learn about his power with a gun –
and his power with words in court
The more serious irony helps to reinforce the
theme that people often are not what they might
appear, sometimes the reality is different to the
surface appearance – as with Stoner’s Boy –
and as with Arthur Radley.
The lighter ironies include the children’s
misunderstanding of the meaning of “Dewey
Decimal” system, the Egyptian’s inventing toilet
paper (instead of paper!!), Boo might have died
and been stuffed up the chimney (!), Dill and
where babies come from, snow = the end of the
world (!), the fear of the cursed chewing gum.
Remember that Scout is only 6 at the start of the
novel and they live in a rural backwater in the
1930s – with no TV!
The lighter humour provides relief for the
reader and helps to balance the more serious
themes of poverty, social injustice and racism.
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“TKAM” STRUCTURE (page 1)
1.The novel is in two parts:
 the childhood world of innocence/the
fantasy world surrounding Boo
 the adult world of the trial and harsh
social realities illustrated by Tom’s
trial/death
2 The novel is unified (linked together) in
various ways:
A) Scout as an adult narrates the whole
story and the ironic adult voice is a
consistent style throughout
B) The opening chapters of the novel have
ironic links with major events in the second
part. The violent language of Burris
prepares the reader for his father’s coarse
language and violent behaviour later on.
The invitation of Walter Cunningham for
lunch is a key factor later in the novel in
saving Tom from the lynch mob outside
Maycomb’s jailhouse. The legend of Boo
stabbing his father with scissors is mirrored
in Boo’s stabbing of Bob Ewell at the end of
the novel.
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“TKAM” STRUCTURE (page 2)
C) The theme of EMPATHY pervades the
novel from beginning to end:
“what Mr.Radley did was his own business”
“I tried to climb into Jem’s skin and walk
round in it”
“you never really know a man until you
stand in his shoes”
“you children last night made Walter
Cunningham (senior) stand in my shoes”
Jem is made to empathise with Mrs.
Dubose – a cathartic moment for him right
at the end of Ch11. – the first section. The
younger Scout mirrors this development at
the end of the novel when she stands on
the Radley porch and she is able to “finally
see them” – for what they are –not the myth.
D) There are SYMBOLIC links between
some key events and characters in the
novel helped by the use of the mockingbird
motif in both halves:
Boo/the dog Tim Johnson/Tom Robinson
are all linked as victims. Atticus tells the
children not to kill the mockingbird because
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“TKAM” STRUCTURE (page 3)
it is harmless – like Boo and Tom (and
maybe like Tim Johnson if he were not
diseased).
When Tim the dog is shot “the
mockingbirds were silent” and Atticus
moves like an underwater swimmer. When
Tom’s life is effectively ended by the court,
Harper Lee repeats details from the killing
of the dog including “when the mockingbirds
were still”.
The motif reminds us of their innocence
and it is as if the mockingbirds are
expressing sympathy with the victims
(Harper Lee is using pathetic fallacy, here.
The idea that nature is alive and can
empathise with humans)
The dog could also symbolise Bob Ewell
as they are both dangers but also victims
of a disease. Bob suffers from the madness
of racism and needs to be shot down by
Atticus – but in this case “the gun was
empty”. So, the metaphor of the gun links
the two incidents. (Both halves of the novel
therefore contain a “mad dog”).
(Mayella, too, is a victim (of her father,
poverty, upbringing, etc.) but also a very
dangerous person. Some sympathy is
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“TKAM” STRUCTURE (page 4)
created for her when she is compared to
Boo Radley in her isolation and loneliness)
Mr. Underwood compares Tom’s death to
“the senseless slaughter of songbirds”
(notice alliteration for effect) which links to
the mockingbird motif.
Jem and Scout talk of Boo just before the
attack and “a solitary mocker” pours out
“the sad lament of Poor Will, Poor Will, Poor
Will”, linking Boo to the “victim” theme.
At the end of the novel Scout comments
that handing Boo to the authorities would
be “like shootin’ a mockingbird”.
(A more subtle link between Tim and Tom
is when Miss Crawford says that Mr. Radley
will shoot anyone on his land, be it “dog,
nigger” – thus linking Tom with Tim’s fate).
There is a neat irony and poetic justice in
the fact that one victim of prejudice – Boo
– gains revenge on the “killer” of another
victim of prejudice – Tom Robinson. So,
this links the first half of the novel, focused
on Boo, with the second half, focused on
Tom. Thus, the two plot lines and the
“victim” theme are neatly intertwined at the
end of the novel.
c
All notes copyright S.CARNEY 2006. Not for reproduction/distribution outside the purchasing organisation.