"To Kill a Mockingbird" Summer Reading

The setting of this novel is a huge factor that controls the story and overall outcome, the novel takes place in a gloomy town, with the name Maycomb (Fictional town), located in Alabama. Also, this had taken place during the time of the “Great Depression”, during the 1930’s. The setting is odd, it seems it is non-existent to the rest of the world. It Is a very sluggish and rainy town as suggested on page 5, it states “In rainy weather streets turned to red slop.”

Boo Radley, a character in the novel who plays a big role, Boo was internally hurt by his father at a young age and grew to have a rather creepy personality. Boo Radley is perceived by the citizens of Maycomb as a secured and reserved outsider, who never steps foot outside his house.

One word that I would describe Scout Finch is smart. I chose this word because in chapter 2 on page 19, it says she is literate, while no one else in her grade was, “…, she discovered that I was literate and looked at me with more faint distaste.”

A time when my perception of a person changed as a result of getting to know them better, was once in school, he seemed very reserved and calm, he was in most of my classes so we spent a lot of time together, after we worked together on projects I found out that he was actually a very outgoing, and brave person then we became great friends.

Walter Cunningham and Burris Ewell are similar because they both come from poor economic backgrounds, on page 22 it states “he didn’t forget his lunch he didn’t have any”, which was referring to Walter suggesting he could not afford lunch. Walter Cunningham is much more active, even though he might be poor he still has figured out a way to keep up his dignity and respect while Burris Ewell has failed to do so and is lazy and doesn’t work hard, he has built a bad name for himself in Maycomb. As stated in page 33, “…Ewells had been the disgrace of Maycomb for three generations. None of them has done an honest day’s work.”

The event where the kids sneak into the Radleys Backyard was a heart stopping occasion, what was a walk that Dill had asked for had turned into Dill and Jem peer pressuring Scout into them sneaking into the Radleys backyard. First, they ducked under the fence, helped Dill to get up high enough to peek through the window, then a mysterious shadow had appeared, they ran away fast, in the midst of chaos Jem loses his pants in the fence, and then BANG! They heard a gunshot. One time that I did something bad was that I lied about taking out the trash, and I thought I got away with it because they wouldn’t notice but my parents found out anyway.

To me the most significant treasure found in the knot-hole in the tree was the pocket watch that can’t run, since it relates to me because for my 13th birthday my parents gave me an expensive apple watch which I treasure, and I am thankful to have it.

The Mockingbird symbolizes purity, as Atticus says “it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird”, which I think relates to the characters Boo Radley and Tom Robinson Because they have done no wrong.

The lesson that Jem and Scout learn from spending time with Mrs. Dubose is that to not judge someone without getting to know them. Atticus says that Mrs. Dubose is the bravest person he ever knew because she was fighting against her addiction of Morphine overdose, and Jem and Scout seem to be mad at themselves because the were arrogant to her but they never knew about her condition until she died.

Harper Lees purpose of the church scene with Lula is to open the readers eyes as to the troubles negroes had to go through to be educated, and how much Discrimination is affecting people. Beyond Religion the church acts as a helping hand to help Tom Robinsons’ Family while his wife is having trouble taking care of the baby.

The main female influences that Scout had before Aunt Alexandra had come to visit was Calpurnia. The impact that Calpurnia had on scout was that she helped build Scouts’ character and kept her safe and thought her from right from wrong. An important adult figure in my life that influenced me to be the person I am today is my mom, she was always strict but I always listened because I knew it was for the better.

The scene at the jail was an unforeseen moment in the novel and kept the readers hooked. It jeopardized Jem and Scouts lives because they followed Atticus, and tried to look into his business, which he was meeting up with mysterious men about the trial. Four cars had driven near the jail and parked there, a group of men walked out and started talking to Atticus, Scout comes out of hiding and runs toward Atticus, Jem and Dill also come out of hiding. The men threatened the kids and gave Atticus 15 seconds to make them leave. This situation was resolved because of Scouts connection with Mr. Cunningham’s son and he was part of the group of men that approached them, Scout talked to Mr. Cunningham about legal entailments and his son, Mr. Cunningham had gotten ashamed asked his men to back down and they cleared out. This shows that Jem is interested about his fathers’ situations and wants to help out and shows that Jem is becoming more mature in making new relationships with other people.

It is important that Atticus has been appointed to Tom Robinsons case because this was at the time where discrimination was a major factor, and Atticus is white trying to defend Tom an African American man. This reveals that no matter what Atticus loves and tries his best to help everyone no matter the circumstances. I did not want to do Homework, but I did it anyway because my grades would go down.

The Layout of the courthouse was described by Scout As whites sit on the first floor and African Americans sit in the Balcony above. The Significance of Jem’s and Scout’s seats was that they sat in the balcony with the African Americans, in a time where discrimination is enforced, because they were white it showed courage.

The inconsistency in Mayella Ewells testimony to Tom Robinson is, that Atticus had asked her if that she remembers being beat up in the face at first, she says no then afterwards yes, also another inconsistency is that when Atticus had asked her if it was Toms first time visiting, she jumped and then answers suggesting she was unsure or trying to tell a lie.

Dolphus Raymond’s purpose of lying was to change peoples’ perspective about him, acting like a drunk man so most people will judge him by that and not his actual personality and lifestyle. One time I bent the truth was to keep my friend safe from people who made fun of him near me, and he asked what they said and I said nothing to worry about just talking about some homework.

The Black Communities reaction to the verdict was that they had given more respect to Atticus Finch, due to him defending Tom Robinson. Bob Ewells reaction to the verdict was rather simple, he got aggravated and vengeful toward Atticus and devoted his life to stop him. Jem’s reaction was expected, he was clearly in shock that Tom is guilty, he had his hopes up towards Atticus’s favor. My personal reaction was similar to Jem’s I was just in shock, because Tom proved himself but no one believed him

Tom Robinson had tried to escape from prison he made a run for it and tried hopping the fence, and got shot 17 times in the back. Since Tom is a cripple he would have had a better chance with two good arms which makes Mr. Underwood’s description of Toms death symbolic he said it was a sin to kill cripples, which relates to Atticus saying it’s a sin to kill mockingbirds, they only bring joy and are pure and don’t bother us.

Two ways Scout has changed as the novel progressed is that she has gotten more mature, caring for family and maintaining her respect and also, she has gotten wise as she encounters many hardships, and learns that you must respect everyone and not judge anybody by their color.

The irony in Mrs. Gates lesson to her class is that she is racist towards the blacks in her own community while also criticizing Hitlers anti-Semitic policies. This reveals that at this time, discrimination had played a huge role in the events that occurred in this time period. Like so, currently many children have to face up against racial discrimination at school if you appear to be of brown color you would be perceived as a terrorist or an African American is automatically judged as a school shooter.

As Jem and Scout are walking home from the pageant, the feel like they were being followed, suddenly the got attacked by a mysterious man. Both were terrified but the sincerity of scout narrating this scene made it believable and vivid as her emotion suggests in her choice of words.

Atticus is a lawyer and all throughout the novel he shows that he is a firm believer of justice and fairness. When he was appointed to the Tom Robinson case he could not turn down the opportunity or else his reputation amongst the citizens of Maycomb would lose trust in him, and his face cannot be seen in town, but he is determined to gain Tom’s Justice and defends him in trial.

Scout had finally realized something Atticus had said in the beginning of the book, that you have to put yourself in someone else’s shoes to understand them, and she has done just that when she took a look from Boo’s porch and realized what he might’ve thought peering through the windows all the time.

Works Cited

1. Lee, H. (1960). To Kill a Mockingbird. Harper Collins.
2. Jones, C. M. (1993). Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird: New Essays. Scarecrow Press.
3. Johnson, C. (2009). Understanding To Kill a Mockingbird: A Student Casebook to Issues, Sources, and Historic Documents. Greenwood.
4. Mancini, C. (2013). Racism and Prejudice in To Kill a Mockingbird. Greenhaven Publishing.
5. Murphy, M. (1998). Scout, Atticus, and Boo: A Celebration of Fifty Years of To Kill a Mockingbird. Harper Perennial.
6. Nelles, W. (2011). Understanding To Kill a Mockingbird: A Student Casebook to Issues, Sources, and Historic Documents. Greenwood.
7. Petry, A. L. (2013). Student Companion to Harper Lee. ABC-CLIO.
8. Shields, C. J. (2002). Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee. Henry Holt and Co.
9. Tyson, L. (2007). Critical Theory Today: A User-Friendly Guide. Routledge.
10. Zeigler, B. M. (2018). Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird: A Literary Reference. Cavendish Square Publishing.