To Kill a Mockingbird (Lee)
Short Summary
Maycomb, Alabama, 1930s. A young girl lived with her older brother and widowed father, a lawyer.
The children's peaceful life was disrupted when Atticus agreed to defend a Black man, Tom Robinson, accused of raping a white woman. As the trial approached, the children faced hostility from some townspeople.
Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy... They don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.
Despite clear evidence of Tom's innocence, the all-white jury found him guilty. Later, Tom was killed while attempting to escape prison. Bob Ewell, the accuser's father, remained bitter despite winning the case and threatened Atticus.
On Halloween night, Bob Ewell attacked Scout and Jem as they walked home from a school pageant. Jem's arm was broken in the struggle. The mysterious recluse Boo Radley, whom the children had long been curious about, emerged from his house to save them, killing Ewell in the process. The sheriff decided to report Ewell's death as an accident to protect Boo's privacy, recognizing that exposing the shy man to public attention would be like killing a mockingbird.
Scout walked Boo home and finally understood him after years of childhood fascination. Standing on his porch, she saw her neighborhood from his perspective and realized that most people were nice when you finally saw them clearly.
Detailed Summary
Summary sections do not match original text structure.
Childhood Adventures and the Radley Mystery
The story began in Maycomb, Alabama, where Jean Louise Finch (Scout) lived with her older brother Jem and their father Atticus, a respected lawyer. When Scout was six and Jem was ten, they met Charles Baker Harris (Dill), who visited his aunt in Maycomb each summer.
The children became fascinated with the mysterious Radley Place and its reclusive inhabitant, Arthur 'Boo' Radley. Local gossip painted Boo as a malevolent phantom, and the children spent their summers trying to lure him out. They acted out dramatizations of his life story, wrote notes inviting him to come out, and even attempted to peek into the Radley house, despite Atticus's warnings to leave Boo alone.
Their housekeeper Calpurnia maintained strict discipline while caring for them with motherly affection. She served as a bridge between the white and Black communities of Maycomb, later taking the children to her church and showing them a different perspective of their town.
Atticus Takes the Case
Atticus Finch, a respected lawyer in his fifties, was appointed to defend Tom Robinson, a Black man accused of raping a white woman, Mayella Ewell. Despite knowing the challenges and potential backlash, Atticus was determined to provide a vigorous defense.
Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win... It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and see it through.
The case brought changes to the Finch household. Aunt Alexandra came to live with them, hoping to provide a feminine influence for Scout. She tried to make Scout more ladylike and was concerned about the family's reputation. Meanwhile, Scout struggled with school, where she faced criticism for being able to read before starting first grade and for her father's role in the Tom Robinson case.
You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.
The Trial and Its Impact
The trial revealed that Tom Robinson, a hardworking man with a crippled left arm, had been helping Mayella Ewell with chores. She had attempted to seduce him, and when her father Bob Ewell discovered them, Tom fled. The Ewells accused him of rape to cover up Mayella's actions.
Despite Atticus's skilled defense and clear evidence of Tom's innocence, the all-white jury found him guilty. The verdict deeply affected Jem's faith in justice and humanity. Tom was sent to prison to await appeal, but was later shot dead while allegedly trying to escape.
There's something in our world that makes men lose their heads... In our courts, when it's a white man's word against a black man's, the white man always wins. They're ugly, but those are the facts of life.
Consequences and Resolution
After the trial, Bob Ewell, humiliated by Atticus's exposure of his lies, began a campaign of harassment against the Finch family and others connected to the case. He spat in Atticus's face, stalked Tom's widow, and attempted to break into Judge Taylor's house.
The tension culminated on Halloween night when Scout and Jem were walking home from a school pageant. Scout was wearing a cumbersome ham costume that limited her vision and movement. In the darkness, Bob Ewell attacked them. He broke Jem's arm and attempted to kill Scout, but Boo Radley emerged from his house and saved them, killing Ewell in the process.
Most people are, Scout, when you finally see them... As I made my way home, I thought what a thing to tell Jem tomorrow. He'd be so mad he missed it he wouldn't speak to me for days.
To protect Boo from unwanted publicity, Sheriff Tate decided to report that Bob Ewell fell on his own knife. Scout, showing her growing maturity, understood the decision, likening the persecution of Boo to the 'sin' of killing a mockingbird - harming something that only brings beauty to the world. The experience taught her valuable lessons about justice, compassion, and the complexity of human nature.