1.

0 Introduction
This coursework is assigned to fulfill the requirement of the course A Survey of British
and American Literature, BIS 3053. Student has to analyse two novels by comparing them in
terms of their plot and main characters. The novels which have been chosen are representing the
British and American literature respectively. They are To Kill a Mockingbird by an American
author, Harper Lee and another one is The Secret Garden by a British author, Frances Hodgson
Burnett.
2.0 Plot
2.1 The Secret Garden
The development of the plot in each novel is quite different in a way that the authors
apply their very own style of writing. For Frances Hodgson Burnett, she begins her writing by
introducing the main character, Mary Lennox to the readers. In the very first chapter also, Marys
parents are introduced which are Mr. and Mrs. Lennox; being portrayed as a respected couple
who lives in India, working under the English Government. The details about the Lennox family
are described including the abandoned Mary, the beautiful party-lover Mrs. Lennox and the busy
Mr. Lennox. Besides, the setting is also described that this scene takes place during the spread of
cholera disease in the hot and languid environment of India.
Then, the story develops when Marys parents and servants die of cholera and the British
army finds her alone in the house. After that, Mary is sent to her uncles house in Misselthwaite,
Yorkshire. He is Mr. Archibald Craven, a man who is described as a miserable hunch back who
uses to go abroad, leaving for places all over Europe. The rising action in this novel is when
Mary starts to feel curious knowing about the locked garden told by Martha. She begins to
explore the moor and the mansion as a whole to find the secret garden. Along her exploration,
she starts to build her character as a healthy, less foul-tempered and establishes relationship with
the world around her. At this point, Mary regards the robin, Ben Weatherstaff, Martha, Dickon
and Susan Sowerby as the people whom she likes. The story continues when Mary hears a cry
and she becomes curious about that but neither Martha nor Mrs. Medlock wants that cry to be
mentioned anymore.

When Mary succeeds in finding the key and also the door of the secret garden, her
character develops even better since it is stated that she feels as if she has found a world as her
own. She makes the garden lives again with the help of Dickon who knows a lot about
gardening. One night, Mary hears the cry again and she manages to find the source of the sound
from a room. It is actually Colin who is crying all this while. Mary and Colin become friends and
they know that they are actually cousins. Colins mind is actually indoctrinated with the idea that
he would become a hunchback and that he would die soon. Mary has firmly said to him that his
illness comes from his mind and only with positive thinking that he could survive and live a
good life. After the incident, Mary and Dickon start to bring Colin secretly into the secret garden
where they would spend their time together. The garden has functioned as the magic to bring
Colin his meaningful life as a happy and healthy child, just like what Mary has faced before.
The improvement of Colins health and appetite that he could walk, eat enormous amount
of food and laugh together with Mary and Dickon causes Susan Sowerby to write to Mr. Craven,
claiming that something has happened in Misselthwaite concerning Colin. Mr. Craven could feel
the air of the good news and decides to return to Misselthwaite. When he returns, he is delighted
with the unexpected change that Colin has undergone. Mr. Craven has never thought of Colin
becomes a healthy boy although he does hope so. The news spread to everyone in the mansion
and the relationship between a father and a son is reestablished.
2.2 To Kill a Mockingbird
Compared to Burnett, Harper Lee begins the story by using the element of flashback. In
other words, she starts the story by telling the effect of the whole story which is told to happen in
the next scenes of the novel Jems arm is badly broken at the elbow. Besides, Jem is said to be
nearly thirteen at this time but later, it is mentioned that Jem is four years older than Scout. Scout
in the story is about six. This type of introduction would enhance the readers interest to continue
reading the whole story. After that, the author goes on using the conventional way of starting a
story which is introducing the main characters, including the narrator, Scout Finch and her
family; and also the description about Maycomb, a town located in Alabama. The earlier scenes
picture that Scout has problem in school where her teacher could not accept that Scout is literate.
The introduction also describes the character of the mysterious Boo Radley as the centre of

attraction to the three children; Jem, Scout and Dill, a friend from Meridian who comes to live in
Maycomb during summer.
Later, Jem and Scout find that someone has put some presents in a knot hole of an old
tree on the Radley place. When summer comes to its end, they find even more presents in the
knot-hole which include small sculptures and a watch. However, their frustration burst out when
the knot-hole is being sealed up with cement. Then, the plot of this novel continues with several
events including Scout getting to know that Atticus is going to defend a nigger, both Jem and
Scout read for Mrs. Dubose, Calpurnia bringing Scout and Jem to the black church and the
collection for Helen Robinson by the church.
Above all, the main part of this novel is when it comes to the trial of Tom Robinson in
which Atticus has clearly revealed that Tom is not guilty and that Mayella and her father, Bob
Ewell are telling lies. This scene is considered as the most important scene since at this point, the
characters conscience about justice and truth is fully tested. This is due to the decision of the
judge that Tom is found guilty of raping Mayella despite the fact that everybody knows it is Bob
Ewell who should be sentenced. After this event, Bob seems to seek revenge because of the kind
of humiliation he feels from Atticus claim during the trial. The element of suspense is inserted to
continue the plot when Bob threats Atticus and harasses Helen Robinson before attacking Jem
and Scout.
The ending or resolution of the novel is quite ironic since the target of Bob is not Atticus
but his children. Also, the ending brings the readers back to the introduction of this novel where
Jems arm is injured. At this point, the readers could relate the event of Scout and Jem being
attacked by Bob and of Jems injury at the beginning of the novel. Besides that, the character of
the mysterious Boo Radley is also revealed at the ending part where he saves Jem and Scout
from being harmed by Bob during the attack. This is to conclude that the character of Boo who is
described as a monster; eating cats and squirrel is actually a person who is also compared to a
mockingbird; causing no harms to no one.
To sum up, Burnett writes The Secret Garden by developing the plot smoothly, parallel
with the transition of the main characters of the novel. She focuses the novel to the story of Colin
and his father after resolving the story about Mary being a spoiled child who has turned healthier

and happier than before. The same goes to Lee but Lee seems not to be focused on only one story
but she creates some minor stories which convey the same issue. For instance, there are stories
about school, church, the Cunninghams, the Ewells, the sick Mrs. Dubose and also the trial.
In conclusion, both writers manage to develop the plot of the novels intelligibly but the
ways they create the path towards the resolution part are different. This is clearly depicted since
Burnett chooses to end the story during the climax where Mr. Craven finds Colins condition has
changed a lot better than before, while Lees choice is to end the story with the conclusion part
where the main character, Scout becomes more matured in term of her view about the existence
of evil is balanced by faith in the essential goodness of humankind after what has happened in
front of her eyes during the trial.
3.0 Main Characters
Main characters have influenced the development of both stories from the very early
stages until the ending parts of the novels. To be specific, the main characters play significant
role as the medium for the authors to convey the themes and also issues which are being
highlighted in the novels.
3.1 Mary Lennox vs. Jean Louise
Referring to the novels, it is obvious that the authors make us of the children as the main
characters. Mary Lennox plays the role as the protagonist in The Secret Garden while To Kill a
Mockingbird exposes Jean Louise Scout Finch as the main character as well as the narrator of
the story. These two characters are comparable in terms of their ways of upbringing, their
curiosity and their personality development throughout the novels.
3.1.1 Ways of Upbringing
Firstly, this discussion is focusing on the character of Mary Lennox. She was born
into a family who is prominent to the society in which they are leaving in. His father is
described as a very busy man, holding the position under the English Government in
India. Meanwhile, her mother is portrayed as a great beauty who has never wanted a child
at all. Based on these details, it is possible to relate Marys appearance as the most
disagreeable looking child with the lifestyle of her parents and the way they raise Mary

up. This is worsened by the fact that Mary is being placed by her mother in a room in
which nobody could see her because Mrs. Lennox is ashamed to have such an ugly
daughter.
Mary is not only being described as having sour expression but also she behaves
very rudely to the others. For instance, she calls one of her servants by the word pig,
the worst insult of all for the native Indian servant, and she even calls Martha with such
name too. Her spoiled characters are the results of her parents ignorance about her thirst
for parental love. Mrs. Lennox leaves Mary under the care of Ayah and the Ayah is
ordered to just obey Marys every whim. In simple words, Marys parents do not
contribute much to provide a meaningful upbringing for her to grow up as a normal,
happy and healthy child.
In contrast, Scout Finch in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird is being raised up in a
happy family despite the fact that her mother died when he was two. She lives with her
father, her elder brother and their black cook, Calpurnia. While Mary in the novel The
Secret Garden is neglected by both her parents, Scout receives much love from her
family, especially her father, Atticus. Although he is a lawyer who is also very well
known to the people of Maycomb, he manages to fulfill his duty as a father that Scout
and Jem do not really feel distracted by the fact that their mother has passed away.
In fact, it has been mentioned in the novel that both Jem and Scout find their
father satisfactory. Such rating is given to Atticus for his ability to spend his time with his
children; he plays with them, reads to them and treats them with the same courteousy he
shows to everyone else in Maycomb. It is Atticus parenting style that introduces Scout to
his first letters until she is able to read even before she starts schooling. Besides Atticus,
Calpurnia the cook has also done much to build Scouts personality as an intelligent,
confident and thoughtful child. Calpurnia has contributed much on Scouts behavior;
asking the little girl to behave and instills her with good manners. In conclusion, the way
Atticus has raised her up has nurtured her mind, conscience and views about things
happened in her surrounding without being spoiled by the social hypocrisies in
Maycomb.

3.1.2 Being Curious, Thoughtful and Critical

Reviewing the novels at a glance, there is no doubt to claim that both stories in
the novels have been developed as the result of the main characters being curious about
things which are unclear. In other words, Mary and Scout have mutual curiosity in the
issues being aroused in the novels. As for Mary, she is portrayed as being curious at first
when Martha, her servant in Misselthwaite tells her about Dickon. Dickon is Marthas 12
years old brother who can tame animals. That is the first time ever in Marys life that she
cares to know about something and she decides to go out, exploring the moor. Her
curiosity becomes obvious when she asks Martha about the garden which has been
locked for ten years. Mary does not have a clue about which garden door is locked and
where the location is but she continues to find it by herself by staying out of doors nearly
all day, provided no one would care about what she is doing in the mansion.
She is being critical about the story of Mr. Craven and his beloved wife, and about
the garden itself. Only then she cannot stop thinking about how the garden which has
been locked for ten years would look like. Furthermore, she could not help asking critical
question about the reason why Mr. Craven hates the garden so much. Because of that,
Martha tells the story to Mary despite the fact that Martha herself knows that everything
that is related to the locked garden should not be mentioned at all. Another example to
portray Marys curiosity is the crying sound that she hears from somewhere in the huge
mansion. The first time she hears the sound, she has already knew that it is a sound of
someone who is crying. In fact, she does not believe it when Martha stubbornly says it is
the sound of the wind; for Marthas strange and awkward manner makes Mary gives her a
hard stare.
In another scene, it is during Mary is exploring the mansion to find the library told
by Martha that Mary hears the crying sound for the second time. She has been caught by
Mrs. Medlock but insists that she hears someone is crying. Mrs. Medlock seems to feel
irritated and she ignores Marys claim by warning her to go back and stay in her room or
else she would be locked up in her room; not being able to walk the mansion freely
anymore. At last, Marys thoughtful mind and her curiosity bring her to discover Colin,
the one who cries all this while and whose cries have been claimed by Martha as the

wuthering sound of the wind. As Mary establishes a relationship with him, she finds that
he is such a pessimist and spoiled boy since he believes that he would die. Mary is being
critical towards him by saying that if she was in his situation, she would not easily put her
trust to other peoples claim, especially about dying. Marys view about living is
associated with ones courage and positive mind set to live should be enough for Colin to
stop talking about dying and starts living.
As compared to Scout, the main character in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, she
is also a girl who plays the role as the narrator of the story. Her voice is heard the most
throughout the story and that is how the author has wanted to convey life from a child
perspective. Scout is described as having mutual qualities with Mary (The Secret
Garden); Scout has high curiosity for something which is not clear, being thoughtful and
critical in some issues happening within her circle of life. A little bit of her appearance,
Scout is portrayed as not having the qualities of a lady, especially in terms of her dressing
style. Compared to Mary who appears in dress, Scout hardly wears dresses since she has
always been pictured in overalls.
Back to the issue of Scouts curiosity, the example to support this claim is when
Francis, her cousin called Atticus a nigger-lover. Although Scout herself is not sure about
what does the phrase exactly means, she seems to be thoughtful that it is not a good
connotation based on the way Francis says it to her. That is why she could not help from
asking Atticus about the meaning of the phrase when Mrs. Dubose, their neighbor, refers
Atticus to the phrase as well. Another scene which shows Scout as a curious child is
when she follows Calpurnia to First Purchase, the church attended by the blacks in
Maycomb. There is a scene at the church where a collection is made for Tom Robinsons
wife, Helen. It is stated clearly in the novel during this scene that Scouts curiosity bursts.
She begins to ask questions about Helens incapability to work and earn a living, the
reason why the folks would not hire Helen, about Mr. Ewell, and also about the meaning
of the word rape.
In the novel The Secret Garden, Mary has been very critical about Colin whose
mind is indoctrinated by the claim that he would grow up being a hunch back and die. To
compare her with Scout in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout could be seen

evidently as being critical during she hears the trial of Tom Robinson. At her age of about
six, she could be considered as being able to do critical thinking. This is based on her
thought that she understands it very well about Atticus intention of revealing the fact
about Bob Ewell is a left-handed. She can critically digest the message that it is Bob who
could have beaten Mayella up, considering that she is beaten mostly on the right side of
her face. At the same time, Scout could even imagine a person facing her and concludes
that he might have held her with his right hand and beat her with his left. In short, Scout
manages to conclude that Atticus knows his message to prove that Bob is guilty has been
clearly revealed and understood by those who are watching the trial.
3.1.3 Personality development
The stories in both novels develop parallel to the development of Marys and
Scouts characters. As for Mary, she is introduced to the readers as an ugly little girl who
has always been ill. She is an unloving creature who is not loved by anyone. She has
always felt too hot and languid to care much about anything while she is in India. Her
governesses in England keep on changing since they too could not bear teaching such a
fretful child that they quit their job quickly. Mary has also behaved in a disrespectful way
towards her native Indian servants by calling one of them pig and kicks her for not
being able to obey her whim. When Mary is later sent to Misselthwaite, England, she
gradually changes from a girl who has never cared about anything around her into a girl
who starts to open her mind, thinking of things.
It is after she has been sent to Misselthwaite that she begins to explore life within
her circle. She starts questioning things about the moor, the garden, Mr. Cravens family
and also about Marthas siblings. At the same time, she grows healthily and finds the
people and thing she could say that she loves who are Susan, Martha, Ben, Dickon and
also Robin redbreast; the bird. Marys transition of personality is enhanced by Marthas
story about Mr. Craven and the locked garden. Because of that, Mary decides to explore
the big house until she manages to find the garden. Again, it is clearly portrayed that she
begins to feel interested about something when she starts gardening in the secret garden
despite the fact that she has never done or knew anything about gardening. Towards the
end of the story, Marys personality becomes more interesting since she plays her role as

the source of Colins courage to be positive about living life. What is more, she has been
able to reestablish the relationship between Colin and his father, showing that to live or to
die; it depends on what the mind believes.
In contrast, Scout in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird has not really changed in
appearance. She is different from Mary who changes a lot healthier as the story
progresses because Scout, from the early parts of the novel is not a spoiled girl anyway.
However, they are comparable in terms of their ways of interpreting the events happening
within their lives. Referring to the early chapters of the novel by Harper Lee, the readers
could notice that Scout is such a nave girl who describes things the way they are seen
and the way they are being rumored by the people in Maycomb. For instance, she
describes Boo Radley as a malevolent phantom; a monster that is about six feet tall,
eating cats and squirrels. Besides that, she does not understand why her teacher says that
children of Scouts age who are in their first grade should not be able to read as yet. What
is more, irritates Scout seems irritated when her teacher warns her to tell Atticus not to
teach her to read anymore since it could intervene her lesson at school.
Besides the fact that Scout is literate at a very early age, she has also been
punished by Miss Caroline, the teacher, merely because Scout has been trying to explain
her teacher about the exact picture of Walter, one of the poor Cunninghams. As the story
develops until the scene of Nathan Radley cutting off the tree which is used by Boo to
keep his presents to both Scout an Jem, Scout still has not reach the mature perspective of
the grownups. She only feels disappointed merely because that incident marks the end of
the presents but not the signal of injustice towards Boo, whose medium for him to have a
connection with people has ended. Later in the novel, Scouts personality transition enters
a new phase when she finds that her father is defending a black man, Tom Robinson. She
begins to become curious, concerned and also critical about the case; asking lots of
questions to Calpurnia and Atticus himself besides making a thoughtful interpretation of
what he witnesses during the trial. Towards the ending, she learns a lot about viewing the
world in other peoples perspective. As Atticus says to her,
You never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them,

3.2 Archibald Craven vs. Atticus Finch

Besides Mary and Scout, there are another two characters representing each novel as the
main characters. The characters of Mr. Archibald Craven and Atticus Finch are considered as
being very significant since both of them aid the progress of the stories; displaying the messages
which are intended to be conveyed by the authors. To compare these two characters, the things
to be considered would include their views about life and how they deal with certain
circumstances. Basically, both of them are single parents who have got their own child and
children. However, it is obvious that the character of Atticus is more positive than that of Mr.
Craven.
In terms of social status, both Mr. Craven and Atticus are in high position; being
respected by the people around them and do not depend on others to make a living. Mr. Craven is
the master of Misselthwaite Manor who lives in a huge mansion, fully equipped with rooms,
gardens and servants. He is described as suffering from a crooked spine and has not been in the
best health. He has always travelled abroad to Europe as the way of escapism from the misery he
bears after his wifes death. In addition, he refuses to take care of his son, Colin because Colin
would remind him to his beloved late wife. In order to get rid of all the memories between Mr.
Craven and his wife, he buries the key of the garden in which his wife used to spend her time
with him. Implicitly, these scenes convey that Mr. Craven is afraid of his own fate and he has
been very pessimist about Colin. He actually loves Colin but the fact that Colin is believed to
become a hunch back and is going to die reminds him of his wife whom also he loves but leaves
him at last.
Discussing about Atticus Finch, he is quite in the same position as Mr. Craven in term of
social status. He is highly respected by the people of Maycomb regardless of colours and social
classes. As what has been stated in the novels, he likes Maycomb, he is Maycomb County born
and bred; he knows his people and they know him. He has also lost his wife and is helped by
Calpurnia in the upbringing of his children. Unlike Mr. Craven, Atticus shows his great love and
care towards both his children by spending his time reading and playing with them. Besides, he
has never hesitated to practice the ethic of sympathy and understanding that he preaches to Scout
and Jem and never holds a grudge against the people of Maycomb. Referring to the case of Tom
Robinson as the cause of Atticus being labelled as a nigger-lover, Atticus does not feel offended

at all although he knows that Jem and Scout would be the target of the whites unpleasant feeling
towards Atticus. Also, even though he knows that he is not going to win the trial, at least he has
tried his best to reveal the truth; showing great respect and honour towards his career as a lawyer.

In fact, Atticus manages to explain everything about being able to recognize that people
can have both good and bad qualities, and he is determined to admire the good while
understanding and forgiving the bad. This is the moral lesson that he instills in Scouts and Jem so
that their innocence would not be destroyed by contact with evil. This is the thing which can
easily compare Atticus and Mr. Craven since Mr. Craven has never tried to show good example
to Colin or encourages him to continue living. In opposite, it is Colin who opens his fathers eyes
to learn about living with the aid and support from Mary and Dickon.
4.0 Conclusion
After analyzing both novels, it is clearly discussed that both of them are written by
authors from different literary base which are the American and British literature but in some
ways, they do share some similarities. For example, the plots of both novels are conventionally
started by the introduction to the characters and setting involved. Then, the stories develop with
the same pace as the development of characters, meaning that the characters could be said as the
medium in which the messages and issues are being portrayed throughout the plot. To sum up,
the correlation between plot and characters should be studied deeply in order for the readers to
understand the issues which are intended by the authors.

Bibliography
Burnett, F.H. (1995). The secret garden. Great Britain: Penguin Popular Classics.
Lee, H. (2010). To kill a mockingbird. New York : Grand Central Publishing.
Shmoop Editors. (2011). Three-act play. Retrieved on February 5, 2011 from
http://www.shmoop.com/to-kill-a-mockingbird/three-act-play.html
SparkNotes Editors. (2002). SparkNote on the secret sarden. Retrieved on February 4, 2011
from http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/secretgarden/
The Best Notes Staff. (2008). Notes on to kill a mockingbird. Retrieved on March 4, 2011 from
http://thebestnotes.com/booknotes/To_Kill_A_Mockingbird_Lee/