To kill a mockingbird – book summary
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is the novel that tells about the lives of characters under the extraordinary circumstances in the Southern United States in the 1930s. The first publication of the novel took place in 1960, and since that time it was translated into many languages. There were numerous different covers of this iconic novel that render the overall spirit of the story greatly. The synopsis provides brief notes and summary of the main evens that takes place throughout the story. Sparknotes provides a detailed summary of the whole book and the profound analysis for dummies.
This plot summary is a brief synopsis of the most crucial events needed to grasp the main idea of the story.
As far as plot summary is concerned, it is significant to say a few words about the main characters. In the center of the story, one may see the family of Finch, one of the oldest families in the district. The family consists only of three people. One of the main heroines is Scout Finch, a girl from Maycomb, Alabama, who lives together with her brother Jem and their father, Atticus. Scout’s mother died when Scout was only two years old. Since those times, her father raises his children alone. Also, Calpurnia, a housekeeper of color, helps the father to raise the children and keep the house clean. Even though Calpurnia is a very strict woman and children are afraid of her sometimes, she is kind and sincerely wants to help the family. The Finchs lives in a small house on the main street in Maycomb. The head of the family, Atticus, is a lawyer who works in the court and has his law firm. Talking about the girl, from the early childhood Scout prefers the company of boys and cannot understand why society requires her to act like a lady. Besides, the heroine does not see the point in formal education, and her primary source of knowledge is nothing else but her street. There is also some neighbors who puzzle the family the most. One of those neighbors is Arthur Radley, and everyone calls him simply Boo. The neighbor never comes outside. The Radleys is generally an unsociable family. The senior members of this family very rarely leave the house, and no one has seen their son for a long time. There are a lot of legends about the family, and their house is considered to be even damned.
However, everything has changed in the year when Jem broke his arm. One day, Scout and Jem’s father has to represent in court a black man named Tom Robinson. Tom is accused of assaulting a white woman. Atticus cannot refuse to represent the man as he believes in the innocence of his defendant. However, the local citizens have a biased attitude toward men of color. Atticus faces a lot of racial slurs and insults directed against him. Consequently, it negatively affects the children who cannot bear how others abuse their father. During the trial, children’s aunt Alexandra comes to live with the family, trying to change family rules. The aunt tries to enforce own control and even to dismiss Calpurnia. However, Atticus prevents her from doing this. As the court comes till the end, Tom is convicted although Atticus does his best to prove that Tom has never committed the crime. Due to the political situation and societal prejudice of those times, there are reasons to believe that court’s final decision was in many ways a foregone conclusion. In reality, it was the white woman who tried to get Tom’s attention. When Bob Ewell, the woman’s father, noticed it, he hit his daughter and blamed the man of color.
In a while, after the trial, Tom Robinson was killed in his escape attempt. Everything changes in Maycomb, and Scout and Jem shift their attention from Boo Radley to Bob Ewell. The man wants revenge and threats Atticus and his children. After the Halloween, Scout in her ham costume and Jem walk back home. The children hear odd noises and discover that Bob Ewell tries to attack them. Thankfully, both children stay alive. Jem only breaks his arm, and Scout’s ham costume saves her life. However, children come back home only due to the help of an unknown man. The man kills Bob Ewell and carries Jem who has lost his consciousness back to the home. After the event, the sheriff arrives to announce that Bob Ewell is dead under the tree where Scout and Jem were attacked. Scout discovers that the unknown person is Boo Radley, the strange neighbor who eventually saves their lives. Sheriff refuses to press any charges against Boo, and Scout persuades her father why this decision is correct.
