To Kill a Mockingbird
Concluding Notes
Historical Background
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The incidents in the novel occurred in the United States at a time of
economic hardships and widespread racial prejudice against AfricanAmericans.
Following the crash of the stock market in 1929, the Great
Depression began. As conditions became worse, millions of people
were out of work, and many were living in near starvation.
When Franklin D. Roosevelt became president in 1933, he set up
a variety of programs to provide employment and relieve the people
of their terrible suffering.
Times were particularly hard in the southern part of the United
States, a section that had not fully recovered from the aftermath of
the Civil War (1861-1865)
Historical Background
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The Civil War began when the southern states seceded from the
Union, primarily over the issue of the right to own slaves, which was
the basis of the South’s economic prosperity.
In 1863, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation,
freeing all slaves living in Confederate territory.
Historical Background
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At the time of To Kill a Mockingbird, the ‘Negro’ is no longer a slave
of the large cotton plantations in the South.
The Civil War brought defeat to the South, and freedom to the
slave, but it left the black man as a symbol
of that defeat, turning him into a social
outcast, a subjugated and mistreated
scapegoat for much of the Southerner's
dissatisfaction.
Many people in the South considered African-Americans inferior and
continued to demand that they be segregated in separate schools
and on trains and buses.
To Kill a Mockingbird: The Story
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Set in the 1930’s, it is the story of “Maycomb” – a quiet southern
(Alabama) town, similar to the town where the author grew up. Life
is settled and unhurried and there is little that can happen to disturb
the social hierarchy.
Fundamentalist religious sects flourish, the atmosphere was close
and ‘gossipy’ and almost everyone there is related to one another.
The town is almost an island – isolated and narrow in viewpoint.
To Kill a Mockingbird: The Story
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In the 1930’s – after the crash of 1929, nearly everyone was poor.
Americans were not only not concerned about what was happening
in the rest of the world – but they didn’t know what was going on in
their own country. No one was concerned with civil rights for
‘Negroes’ – people only wanted to recover from the depression and
mind their own business.
At that time the South was completely segregated – whites didn’t
allow ‘Negroes’ into their social institutions (churches, schools,
clubs). The ‘Negro’ was a complete social outcast.
To Kill a Mockingbird: The Story
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This is the story of Scout Finch, a little girl growing up in
Maycomb, who tells the story of her childhood when she witnessed
the trial of a ‘Negro’ falsely accused of raping a white woman. The
‘Negro’s lawyer is Scout’s father, Atticus Finch. He defends the
‘Negro’ vigorously, although he expects to lose the case.
In addition to being the story of childhood, it is also the story of the
beginning of the civil rights struggle of the American Negro and a
study of the qualities of a true hero and the place of moral values in
determining one’s life choices.
Plot
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The novel To Kill a Mockingbird mainly revolves around a small family
of three; Atticus Finch, an attorney, and his two children, Scout and
Jem.
As the novel proceeds, certain characters are linked with the three
main characters to form a dramatic story of events, attitudes,
prejudices and values.
Plot
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The novel is set in the quiet town of Maycomb; but the serenity is
only superficial.
The town is comprised of three communities: the white folk, the
‘white trash’, and the black community.
Outwardly there is peace among the three, but underneath prevails
a combination of hostility, racial prejudices, and friendlessness.
Plot (Structure)
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To Kill a Mockingbird is divided into 2 parts.
The first part extends from Chapter 1 to Chapter 11, and the second
part from Chapter 12 to Chapter 31.
Part 1 and Part 2, though connected with events and actions, have
separate identities.
Part 2 is concerned mostly with Robinson’s trial and is well
unified.
Part 1 contains several episodes that are relevant to the issue dealt
with in Part 2.
Plot (Structure)
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Part 1 mainly deals with the
characters of Jem, Scout and
Atticus, and the innocent
reactions of the children to the
racial prejudices prevailing in
their town.
Scout is surprised that
Walter Cunningham has
learnt no table manners, yet,
the fact that the family invited
him for dinner exhibits their
sense of equality.
Jem’s growing admiration for
his father is also depicted in
the first few chapters.
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Part 2, which is longer than
Part 1, focuses on the novel’s
main theme: racial prejudice,
still prevalent in the South,
which denied equal status to
the blacks and the whites.
It entirely consists of the Tom
Robinson trial.
The trial begins from the
middle of Chapter 16 and ends
in Chapter 21.
However, reference to the
case is made before and after
these chapters too.
Theme(s): Racism and Acceptance
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Nothing more pervades the novel than the ideas of racism and
acceptance.
Atticus built a whole value system around the idea that a person
must examine and respect who people are and where they come
from. This includes the most unsavory characters like Bob Ewell
and Mrs. Dobose. When others would rather forget about these
people, Atticus takes the time to understand them.
This is a value Atticus passes onto his own children as well.
Atticus believes that all human beings must be accepted and
treated equally.
But Atticus must also live these beliefs, not just voice them, which
is why he takes the case of Tom Robinson. When no one in the
town will stand by Tom, Atticus defends him to the best of his
abilities. Tom is an African-American in a small Southern town and
very few people would act as Atticus does.
Theme(s): Racism and Acceptance
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Racism is cultural and runs very deep in the town of Maycomb.
Even those who believe in Tom’s innocence will not stand up for
him. It would be against the social mores of most people to defend
a black man, especially in a case that contradicts the word and
honour of a white woman.
But Atticus stands for what he knows is right, and his children
learn from this. We watch them mature into people who look into a
person’s soul and life and don’t make judgements based on race or
social status.
When Scout wishes to invite Walter Cunningham to dinner, we
see that she has gained a new knowledge of acceptance. But Aunt
Alex, a model of archaic Southern manners, doesn’t believe an
individual of Walter’s standing should associate with them. She
also disagrees with the way Atticus sees Calpurnia as part of the
family. Alex cannot accept the presence of an African-American
woman that transcends servitude in her home.
Theme(s): Racism and Acceptance
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In the end, Scout and Jem become like their father. Although still
young, they have become tolerant and accepting of all people and
share their father’s discerning eye for looking deep into people
before making a judgement upon them.
The Symbol of The Mockingbird
The idea of the mockingbird arises several times during the
novel:
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When the children are given air rifles for Christmas, they are told
that it is a sin to shoot the bird.
Miss Maudie explains that the mockingbird’s function in life is to
make beautiful music for our enjoyment. (Hence why it is a sin to
kill it).
The Symbol of The Mockingbird
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Tom Robinson and the mockingbird share many characteristics.
He is a gentle person who has never done any harm and only tried
to help someone who he thought needed help. He is gentle and
innocent, just like a mockingbird.
Boo Radley and the mockingbird also share many characteristics.
He is shy and gentle, lives quietly and harms no one. His action of
saving the children from Bob Ewell is similar to that of a
threatened animal instinctively defending its young.
The cruel treatment of Tom Robinson and Boo Radley is similar
to the killing of a mockingbird. It is sinful.
The Symbol of The Mockingbird
The mockingbird is symbolic of other things in the novel as
well:
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Justice, just like the mockingbird is fragile. Justice is sinfully killed
by the all white jury, who wrongfully find Tom guilty of a crime for
which he is obviously innocent.
The fragility of childhood (Scout, Jem, Dill). The innocence of the
children’s lives is destroyed by the knowledge that the world is often
cynical and cruel. Their lives and outlook are changed forever; their
trust and confidence in adults is killed.