To Kill A Mockingbird
Harper Lee
To Kill A Mockingbird is a novel by the American Pulitzer Price winning author, Harper Lee (born in 1926), published in 1960.
Summary
The story takes place in Maycomb : a fictional small rural town in Alabama, USA, during the Great Depression (1930-1945). It was a period of huge poverty and unemployment. Banks, factories and companies were shut down; causing the biggest economic crisis the World had ever known.
This story revolves around the trial of a black man, Tom Robinson, accused of raping a white woman.
The Main Characters
The main characters of the novel are Scout, Jem and Atticus Finch.
Jean-Louise “Scout” Finch
Jean Louise “Scout” Finch is the narrator and main character of the novel. At the beginning of the story, she’s a 6 years old rebellious tomboy: "I was born good but had grown progressively worse every year”. She’s smart and very intelligent: she knew how to read even before going to school.
She’s also quite innocent and childish: despite the presence of evil people, she has hope and faith in humanity, even after the unfair trial.
Jeremy Atticus “Jem” Finch
Jeremy Atticus “Jem” Finch is Scout’s elder brother and playmate. At the beginning of the story he’s ten. Jem is extraverted, kind, playful and, at the end of the book, he displays a very mature behavior for a twelve-year-old teenager; especially during the injustice of the trial.
Atticus Finch
Atticus Finch is Jem and Scout’s widowed father. He raised his children teaching them morality and justice, as well as being tolerant towards the black community.
“I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.” (Chapter 11, Atticus Finch).
He’s the lawyer of Tom Robinson:...