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Title: To Kill A Mockingbird

Author: Harpor Lee

Date of publication: July 11,1960

Genre: Southern Gothic

Your names: Megan Sisco

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To Kill A Mockingbird was first published in 1960, a time of prejudice and segregation. Blacks and whites had different schools, parks, even fountains. Everything was separated. This book was written about the racism from the point of view of a child, whose innocence proved noteworthy.

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Born in Monroeville, Alabama, Harpor Lee was a direct descendant of Robert E. Lee; a famous southern general of the Civil War. Her father was a newspaper editor and proprietor, as well as a practiced lawyer in Monroeville. While in college, Lee was a part of the literary honor society and the glee club. She lived a hard life but did not give up her dream of writing. She moved to New York and met friends that helped her move up the latter and publish her book.

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Southern Gothic novels usually focus on shortcomings in the American South. (Typically between the 1940s and 1960s). They usually have a grotesque character, which in the case of To Kill A Mockingbird, is Bob Ewell.

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Scout Finch, who is only six years old, lives with her brother Jem and her widowed father Atticus Finch. One summer, Scout and Jem find Dill, a soon-to-be best friend, who would be there the whole summer. While Jem and Scout were very adventurous kids, Dill had an imagination that couldn't be controlled. He soon started making up stories to tell Jem and Scout of the scary house across the street, and the tenant of the house, Boo Radley. When Dill left for the school year, the kids started finding random objects left in a tree in Radley's yard. In the meantime, Atticus decides to defend a black man, Tom Robinson, in court; whom was falsely accused of raping Bob Ewell's daughter. Scout and Jem eventually stop paying attention to Boo Radley's house and focus on other things. Jem becomes infatuated with football and Scout doesn't want to become a lady. Scout see's the racism in Tom's court case, but it only confuses her. When Tom decided to try and run rather than face the inevitable future, he gets shot. Bob Ewell, of course, becomes angry and threatens Atticus for defending Tom. Later on in the year, Ewell attacks Scout and Jem in the dark. Although Scout gets crushed in a ham suit and Jem was knocked out, the two kids made it out okay. Boo Radley had come to save the day.

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While To Kill A Mockingbird is written with an 8 year old perspective, Lee makes it obvious that it's an adult telling about her childhood. The dialogue in the book shows very clearly the style and the culture at that time. While Atticus, a lawyer, talked very sophisticated; Tom, a black man, uses phrases such as "yessuh" and "chillun." She distinguishes the cultures and the ages and even the backgrounds so swiftly. Even Bob Ewell, a drunk in Maycomb, slurs his words and always curses.

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"You never really understand a person until you consider things from their point of view... until you climb into his skin and walk around in it."

. - This was wise words from Atticus to Scout. The importance of these words are illuminated throughout the book. For example- Tom Robinson is a good family man, but gets convicted of rape because he is black. Walter Cunningham is dirty from his toes up, but he is an absolute gentleman. At the end of the book, Scout gets a full understanding of Atticus' words when she puts herself in Boo Radleys posistion.

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"I never figured out how Atticus knew I was listening, and it was not until many years later that I realized he wanted me to hear every word he said."

.     -Scout was trying to listen in on Atticus and be sneaky, but in reality, Atticus wanted her to hear every word. Atticus wanted her to be fully aware of all the dangers that lie ahead and he wanted her to be prepared for it.

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"Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men's hearts Atticus had no case. Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed."

. -This shows the racial segration the whole book illuminates. Tom Robinson was going to lose the case even if he had the best defendent in Alabama. His skin color led people to immidiately regard him as evil. Even though Tom one of the most innocent characters in the book, he was shamed and ridiculed because he was black.

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Jean Louise Finch- Known as Scout;   Scout is the six year old narrator of the story. She is a very outspoken, intelligent tomboy. Throughout the time covered in the book, (three years) Scout realizes the corruption and prejudice in the world. She loses some of her innocence when she see's all of this evil, but she knows that you always have to stand back and look at the situation through someone else's eyes before judging.

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Jem Finch- Brother of Scout; Although Jem is four years older than Scout, they had a tight bond that could not be explained. Jem is independent, strong, and very opinionative. He often questions his father's morals, but he likes the justice his father demands.

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Atticus Finch- Father of both Scout and Jem;  Atticus agrees to defend the black man, Tom Robinson, and is faced with judgment from everyone in Maycomb. While Atticus is very intelligent, he tries to let his kids figure things out for themselves. He's very protective, strong, and good-natured.

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Calpurnia- Maid of the Finch Family; She practically raises Scout and Jem. While as a young child Scout hates how strict Calpurnia is, she soon grows to respect her. Cal is kind, smart, and loving.

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Tom Robinson- Tom Robinson is a black man that was falsely accused of raping Bob Ewell's daughter. Tom decided to run from the court case and was shot. Although the readers were aware that Tom was innocent, he did not get a fair case.

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Bob Ewell- Drunk in maycomb; Father of the the Ewell kids who come to school the first day and dont come back; Ewell spends all of his money on booze and didnt like Tom Robinson. He and his daughter claimed that Tom raped Ewell's daughter. Ewell attacked Scout and Jem out of frustration for Atticus.

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Walter Cunningham- Poor kid that goes to school with Scout; Although Cunningham is poor, he has manners and is often referred to as a gentleman. He is a mix between all characters. He is poor, but has good manners. He is white, but still gets ridiculed.

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The setting is in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama. The town is filled with white people that are easily pursuaded on accusing black people. There is a town drunk, whom is filled with anger. He is an antogonist of the story, Then there's a lawyer that knows right from wrong. Small towns were 'stuck in their ways' of racism.

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Mockingbird- THIS IS THE BIGGEST SYMBOL that stands out to me. Atticus once told Scout that it was a sin to kill a mockingbird, because they do nothing wrong. Later in the book, Scout says, "It's kinda like shootin' a mockingbird." Now, there are two characters in the book that could very well represent a mockingbird; Tom Robinson or Boo Radley. Both characters have done nothing wrong, and neither of them deserved bad treatment.

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Boo Radley himself could be a symbol. He is like a child, filled with innocence. He is not strong enough to face the evil in the world. That is why he stays in his house. When Scout and Jem needed help, Boo was there, but he wanted to retreat to the darkness at all times. Being in the light meant that he had to see. He had to see all of he inevitable evil. He had to face the undeniable fact that there is so much bad, that it will never be gone.

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The book opened in media res while an eight-year-old Scout talked about Jems broken arm. She then went to the very beginning of the story, having to do with a new-found friend, Dill. She also described the background of Maycomb, a small tired old town.

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There was a significant amount of change in maturity of Scout. She seems older and less innocent. She realizes all of the evil in the world but she knows not to assume the worst in situations. At the end, Scout has (for the majority part) accepted that ever person sees the world differently, but everyone is the same. That is the signifcance of the entire book.

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Racial inequality- A good portion of the book shows the racism of the time period it was in (1960s). This was a time of the civil rights movement.
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Good and evil- Scout has a constant battle throughout the book of good and evil. She starts out as an innocent six year old child, but as the time goes on, she is faced with the fact that are is inevitable evil. This should potentially corrput her, but her childhood innocence stays strong as she realizes that some people are too good for the evil in the world, such as Tom Robinson or Boo Radley.

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"Racism In The 1960's." Racism In The 1960's. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2015.

"HarperLee.com." HarperLee.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2015.

Lit, American. SOUTHERN GOTHIC (n.d.): n. pag. Web.