To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill A Mockingbird

By: Harper Lee

This story took place in Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression. Most of the action in this book takes place in the town of Maycomb. Even though the people of Maycomb were going through a depression, the story emphasizes the slow-paced, good-natured feel of life in Maycomb. The story took place between 1929 and the late 1930's. Maycomb is a small southern country-like town. The author often intentionally puts side by side the small-town values and Gothic images in order to examine more closely the forces of good and evil.

The main character was a young girl named Jean Louise Finch. Even so, she was referred to as "Scout" in the book. She is also the narrator of the story. She is intelligent and, by the standards of her time and place, a tomboy. Scout has a combative streak and a basic faith in the goodness of people in her community. As the novel progresses, this faith is tested by the hatred and prejudice that evolves throughout the town. Scout eventually develops a more grown-up perspective that enables her to appreciate human goodness without ignoring human evil.

The story was basically about Scout's childhood during the depression and how life was back then and events that occurred and what she learned from them. Scout's goal was to differ between the coexistence of good and evil. This goal was an important one for Scout to have a reality check of how the world is and can be. By living in a small town, everyone basically got along well, therefore blinding Scout to the evilness that lies about the outside world. The climax of the story was when Boo Radley intervened when Scout and her brother Jem were being attacked by Bob Ewell and everyone sees Boo from a different point of view.

The message of this story was to not judge someone without knowing who they really are and that rumors are just rumors. The author got this message across by first describing Boo Radley with a Gothic tone and making the reader believe the rumors about him. Then at the climax of the story, Boo becomes a hero and the reader realizes that they were judging Boo without knowing that he was a nice, caring person on the inside. Boo rescued Scout and Jem from when they were being beaten by Bob Ewell.

This book was at first boring, but then after a few