Key Facts
full title · To Kill a Mockingbird
author · Harper Lee
type of work · Novel
genre · Coming-of-age story; social drama; courtroom drama;
Southern drama
language · English
time and place written · Mid-1950s; New York City
date of first publication · 1960
publisher · J. B. Lippincott
narrator · Scout narrates the story herself, looking back in retrospect
an unspecified number of years after the events of the novel take place.
point of view · Scout narrates in the first person, telling what she
saw and heard at the time and augmenting this narration with thoughts and
assesments of her experiences in retrospect. Although she is by
no means an omniscient narrator, she has matured considerably over
the intervening years and often implicitly and humorously comments
on the naïveté she displayed in her thoughts and actions as a young
girl. Scout mostly tells of her own thoughts but also devotes considerable
time to recounting and analyzing Jem's thoughts and actions.
tone · Childlike, humorous, nostalgic, innocent; as the novel progresses,
increasingly dark, foreboding, and critical of society
tense · Past
setting (time) · 1933–1935
setting (place) · The fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama
protagonist · Scout Finch
major conflict · The childhood innocence with which Scout and Jem begin
the novel is threatened by numerous incidents that expose the evil side
of human nature, most notably the guilty verdict in Tom Robinson's
trial and the vengefulness of Bob Ewell. As the novel progresses,
Scout and Jem struggle to maintain faith in the human capacity for
good in light of these recurring instances of human evil.
rising action · Scout, Jem, and Dill become fascinated with their mysterious neighbor
Boo Radley and have an escalating series of encounters with him.
Meanwhile, Atticus is assigned to defend a black man, Tom Robinson
against the spurious rape charges Bob Ewell has brought against
him. Watching the trial, Scout, and especially Jem, cannot understand
how a jury could possibly convict Tom Robinson based on the Ewells'
clearly fabricated story.
climax · Despite Atticus's capable and impassioned defense,
the jury finds Tom Robinson guilty. The verdict forces Scout and
Jem to confront the fact that the morals Atticus has taught them
cannot always be reconciled with the reality of the world and the
evils of human nature.
falling action · When word spreads that Tom Robinson has been shot while trying
to escape from prison, Jem struggles to come to terms with the injustice
of the trial and of Tom Robinson's fate. After making a variety
of threats against Atticus and others connected with the trial,
Bob Ewell assaults Scout and Jem as they walk home one night, but
Boo Radley saves the children and fatally stabs Ewell. The sheriff,
knowing that Boo, like Tom Robinson, would be misunderstood and
likely convicted in a trial, protects Boo by saying that Ewell tripped
and fell on his own knife. After sitting and talking with Scout
briefly, Boo retreats into his house, and Scout never sees him again.
themes · The coexistence of good and evil; the importance of
moral education; social class
motifs · Gothic details; small-town life
symbols · Mockingbirds; Boo Radley
foreshadowing · The Gothic elements of the novel (the fire, the mad
dog) build tension that subtly foreshadows Tom Robinson's trial
and tragic death; Burris Ewell's appearance in school foreshadows
the nastiness of Bob Ewell; the presents Jem and Scout find in the
oak tree foreshadow the eventual discovery of Boo Radley's good-heartedness;
Bob Ewell's threats and suspicious behavior after the trial foreshadow
his attack on the children.
