to kill a mockingbird book
The book To Kill a Mockingbird was published in 1960. It won a Pulitzer Prize in 1961. The book is the only published novel by its author Harper Lee. Incidentally, the first time I read this book when I was at school I always assumed that the author was a man. It was only much later when I once again came into contact with the To Kill a Mockingbird book that I discovered she was a woman!
A brief summary of the story follows:
The story is set in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression of the 1930s. The story is told from the perspective of its narrator six-year-old Jean Louise (Scout) Finch. She lives with her older brother, named Jem, and their widowed father Atticus who is a middle-aged lawyer.
Scout and her brother become friends with a boy called Dill who comes to visit the town of Maycomb and stays at his aunt's house during the summer. The three of them spend time thinking about and discussing a reclusive neighbor named Boo Radley. He is a mysterious character which helps to fuel the children's imaginations. They fantasize about how to make him leave his house. After a couple of years, they start to find presents left in a tree outside the Radley house. These are from Boo to the children however they are sad that he never comes to meet them in person.
Jem and Scout's father, Atticus, is appointed by the local court to defend a black man called Tom Robinson. He was accused of raping a local white woman, Mayella Ewell. Many of the town of Maycomb's citizens disapprove that Atticus has agreed to defend Tom. Other children say to Jem and Scout that their father is a "nigger-lover".
During the trial, Atticus shows that it is the accusers, Mayella Ewell and her father, Bob, are lying. It also becomes apparent that it was Mayella who was making sexual advances towards Tom. Then her father found out. Even though there is significant evidence that Tom is innocent, the jury convicts him. Jem's faith in justice is terribly shaken. Rather than accept being wrongly convicted, Tom tries to escape from prison and is shot and killed.
This is not the end of the To Kill a Mockingbird book. However, for those who have not yet read it I shall avoid giving the ending away. The story is one that many of us encounter for the first time during our school years. It addresses a variety of themes including racism, class, gender roles and justice. It is a very powerful piece of literature and one that we can all benefit from reading more than once. Why not read the To Kill a Mockingbird book today?
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This is definitely one of the best articles to be written for IB...It is informative, and well written...keep it up!
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