Transcript To Kill A Mockingbird

Revision of
Between 1861 and 1865
 Slavery was legal in the southern states of the
US
 Forced to recognise the legal equality of black
and white people
 Attitudes did not change
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Wall Street stock market crash of 1929
 Poverty on an international scale affected the
southern states
 No real improvement until WW2
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Blacks were still treated as 2nd class citizens
 Beginning of black consciousness in late 1950s
 Reverend Martin Luther King Jr and the Civil
Rights movement
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Set in Maycomb, Alabama (southern US),
1930s
 Narrated by Jean Louise Finch , aka ‘Scout’
 Scout, Jem & Dill want to see Arthur Radley
(‘Boo’)
 Scout & Jem’s father, Atticus is a lawyer
 Calpurnia, their Negro cook
 Members of the community
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Jem rolls Scout in a tyre into Boo Radley’s
front garden
 Presents are left for them by Boo Radley
 Jem’s pants which were stripped off in his
escape from the house were repaired and left
for Jem
 The children build a relationship with the
recluse which dawns on Jem as time goes on
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Self-contained scenes: scene in school, fire,
first encounter with snow, family Christmas at
their aunt’s house, shooting of a rabid dog,
Jem’s punishment
 The children learn important lessons about
life
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Image of Atticus: intelligent, wise, moral
 Atticus has to defend a negro, Tom Robinson,
who has been accused of raping a white girl,
Mayella Ewell
 Atticus’ decision polarises the community
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A group of men come to see Atticus at his
house and he decides to spend the night
outside the jail where Tom is held
 The children follow him and get caught in the
middle of a lynch mob
 The children attend the trial and see the
evidence that Tom Robinson is innocent but is
still found guilty.
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Jem is unable to come to terms with what has
happened.
 Miss Maudie Atkinson, their neighbour,
consoles Jem
 Bob Ewell, father of Mayella, decides to have
revenge on Atticus
 Tom is shot and killed while trying to escape
from the jail
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On their way home after Scout’s Halloween
pageant, Scout and Jem are attacked by Bob
Ewell
 Jem’s arm is broken
 They are saved by Boo Radley
 Bob Ewell is killed in the scuffle
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Atticus is convinced that Jem killed Bob Ewell
 Sheriff convinces him that it was Boo Radley
 He spreads news that Bob Ewell fell on his
own knife
 Scout and Jem are maturing and learning
about the world
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Education
 Growing up
 Courage
 Law & Justice
 Prejudice
 Mockingbird motif
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2 forms of education: through school & through
observation of life
Scout finds that school education is limited,
boring & useless
She can already read & write, and this is seen as a
handicap
Scout learns valuable lessons outside of school:
behaviour from Calpurnia, tolerance from
Atticus, calmness & dignity from Aunt Alexandra
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Concept of maturity
Jem, being older, matures much faster than Scout in
both behaviour & understanding
Atticus teaches them tolerance, understanding, and
seeing things from the viewpoint of other people
Jem sympathises with Mrs Dubose and Boo Radley
Scout feels sympathy for Mayella
Both Scout and Jem begin to use their powers of
reason far more than their emotions
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Jem: childish courage of accepting a dare, real courage
of staying with his father to face the mob, physical
courage of defending his sister against attack
Atticus: moral courage in taking on the unpopular
case, physical courage in facing the mad dog and mob
in the jail
Scout: moral courage to turn away from fights in
response to Atticus’ request
Bob Ewell’s lack of courage
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Atticus & Judge Taylor believe in the law, but are
unable to make sure that justice is done
Law is only as good as the jury
Heck Tate, the sheriff, has to uphold the law, makes a
ruling based on commonsense, natural justice &
decency
Emphasis through the eyes of a young child whose
view is clear & unbiased
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Racialism is so entrenched in the society that no one
seems to notice how prejudiced they are
Aunt Alexandra is prejudiced against people because
of their families
Boo Radley as victim of prejudice due to his lack of
conformity
Atticus is the embodiment of tolerance, ignores race
or family
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Idea that it is wrong to attack innocents for no reason
Boo Radley and Tom Robinson as human versions of
the mockingbird
Innocence of childhood and justice itself are destroyed
by what happens in court
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Atticus
Scout
Jem
Calpurnia
Miss Maudie Atkinson
Heck Tate
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Tom Robinson
Boo Radley
Bob Ewell
Mayella Ewell
Miss Stephanie Crawford
Aunt Alexandra
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Courageous, honest, moral man who tries to bring
up his children well
He tries to show them by example how to live their
life, not by just telling them what to do
He hides nothing, is always courteous, listens with
respect, truthful, good humoured, calm
Embodies Christian virtues: faith in the law, hopes in
his fellow man, charitable to all
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Insists on good manners & correct behaviour
Brave both morally & physically
Respected by all
Tolerant to a fault, tries to instill this in his children
Able to see the other person’s point of view
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Tomboy who enjoys rough games & fighting
Matures & develops as the story unfolds
Open & friendly
Depends more on an emotional response to
problems
Sensitive to other people’s feelings
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Initially lacks consideration for Boo Radley
Believes in many childish superstitions which he
dispenses with later
Grows a little patronising towards his sister
Reads a lot, thinks & argues a lot, takes things to heart
More self-centred than Scout
More sensitive to the feelings of others & less easy to
provoke
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Comes to resemble his father
Generous & compassionate
Perseverance
Fighter and wants to improve the system rather than
ignore it
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Mother figure to the children: looks after them, scolds
them when necessary, teaches them correct
behaviour, shows them the Christian way of life,
supports Atticus
Aware of the differences between black & white
societies
Highly respected for her character & judgment by
Atticus
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Voice of reason
Supports Atticus in all he does
Recognises Jem’s new status as a thinking adult
Optimist
Loyal to her friends
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Voice of the law without prejudice
Genuine & honest
Dispenses justice where the law has failed to do so
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Victim of prejudice
Pity for and generosity towards Mayella are not liked
by the white people in the court
Intelligent & tactful enough not to repeat the error
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Cocky and arrogant
Enjoys his moment in the spotlight
Cowardly, attacking Helen Robinson & children
Racially prejudiced
Slight suggestion that he may have sexually abused his
daughter
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Hypocrite
Goes around ‘doing good’ but has a vicious tongue & is
uncharitable
Responsible for the children’s early lurid view of Boo
Radley
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Strength & dignity that carries her through most crises
First appears as cold and harsh
Real love for Atticus becomes clear
Shows concern for Jem and Scout
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Ms Maudie: Your father’s right. Mockingbirds just make
music. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in
corncribs; they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts
out. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.
(page 3)
Atticus: There’s something I’d like to ask. If you’ll do it,
you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds. You see, you
never really understand a person until you consider
things from his point of view.
(page 15)
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Atticus: And I hope you can get through what’s coming without
catching Maycomb’s usual disease. Why reasonable people go
start raving mad when anything involving a Negro comes up is
something I don’t pretend to understand.
(page 20)
Ms Maudie: If your father’s anything, he’s civilised.
Marksmanship like that’s a gift of God. I think maybe he put his
gun down when he realised God had given him an unfair
advantage.
(page 29)
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Atticus: So a quiet, respectable Negro man who had the unmitigated
temerity to feel sorry for a white woman is on trial for his life. He’s
had to put his word against his two white accusers. I need not remind
you of their conduct here in court – their cynical confidence that you
gentlemen would go along with them on the assumption – the evil
assumption – that all Negros lie, that all Negroes are basically
immoral, an assumption one associates with minds of their calibre.
However, you know the truth – and the truth is, some Negroes lie,
and some Negro men are not to be trusted around women – black or
white. And so with some white men. This is a truth that applies to the
entire human race, and to no particular race.
(page 78)
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Atticus: I’m no idealist to believe so firmly in the
integrity of our courts and in the jury system – that’s no
ideal to me, it is a living, working reality. But a court is
only as sound as its jury, and a jury is only as sound as
the men who make it up.
(page 79)
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Refer to email.
Approach me for answers to sample questions.