To Kill A Mockingbird
A summary of the novel by Harper Lee
Doris Griffin
Colorado Technical University Online
June 23, 2012

Author Note This paper was prepared for LITR240-1202B-09, Phase 5 IP, taught by Professor Daniel Lambert.

Abstract Harper Lee wrote only one novel in her life. To Kill A Mockingbird, in a research done by the Book-Of-The-Month Club in 1991 ranked second to the Bible. The novel still draws a million new readers each year. The novel contains two stores, the innocence of childhood as told by Scout and the story of her father who was asked to defend a Negro who was accused of raping a white woman. (Shields, C., 2006) Two of the themes of the novel are justice and tolerance. The two are joined together when Atticus explains to Scout how to understand all kinds of people by walking around in their skin. (Shields, C., 2006) To Kill A Mockingbird is a story to learn a life’s lesson from. The innocence of a child is genuine and they are taught racism and hate by their elders. Children at a young age do not see black or white, rich or poor, or understand what racism means. They are just children who believe that everyone is good and they trust with all their hearts.

To Kill a Mockingbird The story is set in and old town in Alabama, Maycomb. The town is described as a quiet and dull town in the 1930’s. Scout is one of the main characters in the story. She is naïve and innocent as children are. She has an older brother, Jem, that she admires. Their friend, Dill, comes to stay with his aunt during the summer months. The main attraction for the three children is a recluse, Boo Radley, who lives a few houses down from the Finch house. The three sneak around the Radley house during the night to try to get a look at Boo. But to no avail. When summer is over, Scout has to start school. Scout has been reading since she was a small child. She would sit in her father’s lap as he would read at night and he taught her to read in this way. Scout’s first grade teacher made her feel ashamed that she could read, when in turn she should have been proud that she could read at such a young age. This is one of the facts that show how small minded the people were in the town. When Atticus, Scout and Jem’s father, was asked to defend a Negro that had been charged with raping a white woman, Atticus agreed. The judge knew that Atticus would dedicate himself to the trial of Tom in spite of what the people in the town thought of him. He asked his children, especially Scout, not to fight anyone, no matter what they said about him or the defense of Tom Robinson. Scout agreed and walked away from another child that was taunting her about the trial. Boo Radley is befriending the two children, Scout and Jem, by leaving them little gifts in a hole in a tree, gifts such as chewing gum, a broken watch, and two characters carved out of soap that resemble the two children. I believe Harper Lee wanted the world to see how unfair some people can be. The prejudice that was rampant back in the 30’s is still alive today. Not as much outspoken as then but still instilled in the minds of many children. The court systems are supposed to render justice to the innocent as well as the guilty. Being classified in a social stance shouldn’t be. We all come into the world the same way, and we all leave the same way. We are born and we die. What we do between these events are influenced by the people around us. Reading this book has reinforced my way of living. I do not treat people the way they treat me, I always treat someone the way I want to be treated. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. This novel brought back some memories that I had long forgotten. When I was small, the local doctor’s office that we went too was in a small town. He had two doors that went to his office. On one door it said white and on the other door had black on it. I had no idea what it meant as a child, we always went in the door on the right, the white side. I went to this doctor after I had gotten married and somehow just opened the door on the left and walked in. The elderly black ladies sitting in the waiting room looked at me like I was crazy. It was then, for the first time, I realized that the doctor’s office was separated. Through reading, short stories, novels, and poetry, people can see the similarities of their own lives. As you are reading a piece, deep in your mind you can see how you and the character in the story are alike. I catch myself comparing things that happened to me to the things that I read in a book. It is like seeing yourself in a mirror with the character on the other side looking back at you. Sometimes it gives me comfort, and sometimes it scares me. I can use the lessons learned from a book to help to resolve a situation that is happening in my own life. There are different forms of literature. There is poetry, short stories, and novels. You can use any form of these to portray a message to the readers. They can teach life lessons, give advice or just make someone feel good. A person can compare their life to some of the characters or events happening in a story. They may find the same outcome for a problem as the characters they are reading about. Or they may learn a lesson by the characters and think twice before they dome something out of the ordinary. The short story we read “What You Pawn I Will Redeem” stuck in my mind. It wasn’t just that the character was homeless and spent any money he would get ahold of on something to make him drunk, but the lesson that through all the events he endeavored he did not give up hope. His mission for 24 hours was to retrieve a family relic that had belonged to his grandmother. No matter what he did to earn the money to buy it, his friends and comrades always got a share of what he had, no matter how little. And he returned in the 24 hours to see if the pawn shop owner would sell him back his family heirloom, with the same amount of money he had the day before. After the shop keeper asked him if it was the same five dollars and he said no, he sold it back to him for the five dollars. Even though it was a great loss to himself.

References
Lee, H. (1960). To kill a mocking bird. New York, London, Toronto, Sydney: Harper Perennial Modern Classics
Shields, C. (2006), Mockingbird A Portrait of Harper Lee, New York, Henry Holt and Company, LLC, Retrieved June 24, 2012 from Barnes and Noble Website, www.barnesandnoble.com
Why Did Harper Lee Write “To Kill A Mockingbord” (n.d.) Retrieved June 23, 2012 from http://www.writeawriting.com/write/harper-lee-write-kill-mockingbird/