Mocking Bird by Harper Lee Basics

English Literature Notes-To Kill A Mockingbird
Plausible Questions:
“Maycomb has recently been told that it had nothing to fear but fear itself.” What do you think this
“fear” refers to? Discuss.
In To Kill A Mockingbird, Scout has many role models. Who are they? Explain how they have shaped
her.
Compare and contrast the relationship between Scout and Jem, and the relationship between Atticus
and Aunt Alexandra.
“I want to be a lawyer just like Atticus”. In what ways have Jem mature?
Lee chooses to tell the story of “To Kill A Mockingbird” from the perspective of Scout. What effects
does this bring about? Use two instances from the novel to justify your agreement.
Themes:
 Prejudice
 “Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a
mockingbird.”
 “we’re making a step—it’s a small step, but it’s a step.” Pg222
 Social
 The Radleys, or more specifically Arthur “Boo” Radley, the recluse.
 Terrifying- “Malevolent phantom”
 Stephanie Crawford’s spin-offs (neighbourhood legend)
 Did not participate in Maycomb traditions e.g. did not go to church, door of Radley
house were closed on Sundays, etc.
 “ When people’s azaleas froze in a cold snap, it was because he had breathed on
them”
 (Fear of the unknown) Wrong perception from children like Scout“a baseball hit into
the Radley yard was a lost ball and no questions asked.” And “ everything on the
Radley Place was poison”
 Radley game the children made “a melancholy drama little drama, woven from bits
and scraps of gossip and neighbourhood legend”. This game propagated the
prejudice Maycomb folks have on the Radleys.
 The Cunninghams
 Contrast with the Ewells
 Although they are poor, they are:
 Honest- “They took nothing they can’t pay back”, “No script stamps, church
baskets…”
 Proud of their heritage- has an entailment, “willing to go hungry to keep his land and
vote as he pleased.”
 Grateful and generous- Returns stuff eventually to the extent that Atticus comments”
that Mr Cunningham had more than paid him.”
 Shy- does not directly return the deed, but does it in secret
Copyright © 2009-2010 Theodore Lam Xin Rong
Revised 2010
 Despite all of this, they are not considered to be as cultured as the other Maycomb
folk. This is evident when Scout wanted to invited Walter Cunningham over to their
house for a meal. Aunt Alexandra objected to the idea as she felt that “they’re not
our kind of folks.” Furthermore, she feels that appearance does not make anyone in
Maycomb more respectable as she told Scout that “you can scrub Walter
Cunningham till he shines, you can put him in shoes and a new suit, but he’ll never
be like Jem.”
 “he-is-trash”
 The Ewells
 Looked down upon because of their father’s (Bob Ewell) actions and considered as
outcasts
 “none of them had done an honest day’s work”
 “They were people. But they lived like animals.”
 “members of an exclusive society”
 “No economic fluctuations changed their status”
 “Ewells lived as guests of the county”
 People despised them and hence become “blind” to some of their activities-“allowed
certain privileges by the simple method of becoming blind to some of the Ewells’
activities”
 Burris Ewell. Called Miss Caroline a “snot nose slut”, foreshadowing his father’s
behaviour and reveals about his upbringing at home. (or his lack of and Burris’ use of
language gains him the title of a “real mean one”)
 Bob Ewell (Rude, uncouth, drunk) seen from his use of language- likens Mayella to a
“stuck hog” refer to Bob’s testimony, pg176-184
 Mayella Ewell. Although she tries to be different, she fails at it. Not because she
cannot, but because she is a Ewell.
 She tried to be different- “Mayella looked as if she tried to keep clean” ,”red
geraniums, cared for as tenderly as if they belonged to Miss Maudie Atkinson”
 No friends, lonely- When Atticus asked her whether she had any friends she said
“You makin’ fun of me agin, Mr Finch”
 “she took offence into routine courtesy”
 Scout commented that Mayella “was even lonelier than Boo Radley” and that she
was sad as a “mixed child” pg198
 “white people wouldn’t have anything to do with her because she lived among pigs;
Negroes wouldn’t have anything to do with her because she was white.”
 Dolphus Raymond
 Rumoured to be drinking out of a bag containing whisky
 Although “he’s real good to those chillun” refer to pg 167
 “they (Maycomb) cound never, never understand that I live like I do because that’s
the way I want to live.”
 Folks think that “he won’t change his ways”, “He can’t help himself”
 Ironically, he comments that “Because you’re children and you can understand it,”
He feels that the children’s perception of things has not been marred by reality.
Therefore he sees them as innocent, upright and immaculate people that would be
able to understand the situation in an unbiased position.
 The Finches
 Finch children were taunted as their father, Atticus “defended niggers”
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 Had to Keep their head about certain things like how Atticus was a disgrace
 Francis, Aunt Alexandra’s grandchild, said, “he’s turned out a nigger-lover we’ll never
be able to walk the streets of Maycomb agin.”
 “He (Mr Braxton Underwood) gave a snort and looked away” when he found Scout
sitting in the coloured balcony
 “The Other”
 Miss Caroline Fisher
 Wants to introduce a new teaching method, hence viewed as an outcast
 “looked and smelled like a peppermint drop”. This foreshadows that she will
bring something new as her resemblance to peppermint, which is known to be
refreshing, indicates that she is going to bring something new.
 From “North Alabama”, land indigenous to “other persons of no background”,
therefore the class “murmured apprehensively”
 The classed did not even speak to her. For example, they kept quiet about Walter
Cunningham’s situation and urged Scout to tell Miss Caroline.
 Miss Tutti and Miss Frutti
 Considered alien as they are not Maycomb native- “migrated from Clanton,
Alabama, in 1911”
 “Their ways were strange to us(the Maycomb residences)”
 Social Classes
 E.g. Aunt Alexandra discriminates against others
 Considers herself “not from run-of-the-mill people” and product of “several
generations of gentle breeding”
 Angered when she found out that Scout followed Calpurnia to church
 “There was indeed a caste system in Maycomb”, White folks like the Finches followed
by the white farmer like the Cunninghams and the “trash of the society” like the
Ewells and the Blacks
 “Everybody in Maycomb, it seemed, had a Streak”
 During the trial, the jury was afraid of vindicating Tom Robinson as they were afraid
of being ostracised by the white people in Maycomb.
 Racial
 Blacks
 Lowest in Maycomb’s “hierarchy”
 Blacks were not given titles like “Miss” or “Mr” instead they are called by their
name or “nigger” or “boy”. This shows the lack of respect the whites have for the
black community in Maycomb.
 Scout comments that Calpurnia is “supposed to go around in the back” when she
was going to inform the Radleys that Tim Johnson, the mad dog, was on his way
there. This shows that racism is entrenched into the minds of the Maycomb
locals, even the most innocent of people—the children.
 Definition of “nigger-lover”- “ignorant, trashy people use it when they think
somebody favouring Negroes over and above themselves. It’s slipped into usage
with some people like ourselves, when they want a common, ugly term to label
somebody.”
 Whites do not have respect for the black- “Negroes worshipped in it on Sundays
and white men gambled in it on weekdays.” Sacrilegious men.
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 Scout commented that there was a “warm bittersweet smell of clean Negro
welcomed us”. Probably scared and shy because it is the first time she goes to a
black church.
 Even the blacks try not to associate themselves with the whites, unless they
were close to them like Atticus. As Lula said, “You ain’t got no business bringin’
white chillum here”
 During the Lynch mob, “sullen-looking, sleepy-eyed men who seemed used to
late hours” and who “talked in near-whispers” wanted to stop Atticus from
defending Tom Robinson really badly and prevent the trail so as to not expose
the truth. This shows that they want Tom Robinson to be guilty instead of Bob
Ewell (Racial Prejudice).
 The jail was only “full of niggers”, also it was covered to make it look less like a
jail for blacks.
 Aunt Alexandra thinks that one should not say things demeaning to a black in
front of one-“you said Braxton Underwood despises Negroes right in front of
her.”
 “Around here once you have a drop of Negroes blood that makes you all black.”
 The courtroom is segregated into two parts: the main congregation in front of
the room and the coloured balcony
 Bob Ewell claimed that there no need to call a doctor to check on Mayella after
she was allegedly raped as it would have cost five dollars. However, the real
reason why it is not needed is because many whites have the “evil assumption”
(the blacks are always guilty) so with the presence of a Black man, Tom
Robinson, no other evidence is needed.
 Prejudiced because of the “Maycomb disease”- the “evil assumption”, “all
Negroes lie, that all negroes are basically immoral beings”
 “Now don’t you be so confident, Mr Jem, I ain’t ever seem any jury decide in
favour of a coloured man over a white man…” This line is said by Calpurnia. This
shows that in a case this Tom Robinson’s, the chances of him winning is
negligible because he is black. Hence this shows racial prejudice and that it is
ingrained in the minds of the people. (Even the Blacks are pessimistic that Tom
Robinson would be vindicated)
 “There’s something in our world that makes men lose their heads—they couldn’t
be fair if they tried. In our courts when it’s a white man’s word against a black
man’s. The white man always wins. They are ugly, but those are the facts of life.”
 Sometimes referred to as ‘darky’
 Mrs Merriweather says that “the cooks and field hands are just dissatisfied, but
they’re settling down now – they grumbled all next day after that trial.”(Black are
unhappy about the verdict) but feels that their grumbling is uncalled for as she
thinks that Tom Robinson is guilty just because he is black.
 THE ASSUMPTION: ‘Typical of a nigger’s mentality to have no plan, no thought
for the future, just run blind first chance he saw.’ This shows the ingrained racism
in the white people as they also do not care for the Blacks.
 Tom Robinson
 Although he was honest- “denied it three times in one breath, but quietly, with
no hint of whining in his voice”
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 He was discriminated and guilty because of his colour- “scared I’d hafta face up
to what I didn’t do.”
 Referred to by Mr Gilmer as “boy”
 Wrong to say that “I felt right sorry for her” as Blacks are considered to be worse
off then the whites. Therefore, it is taboo for a Black to feel sorry for a white.
 “Mr Finch if you was a nigger like me, you’d be scared, too.”
 Still lost even though it was evident that Tom was in the right as the Ewell’s
claims were incoherent
 After the trial, he was considered a dead man and had “seventeen bullet holes in
him” when he was trying to escape from prison, when he could have been killed
by using only a bullet.
 Mixed Children
 “they’re real sad”
 “don’t belong anywhere”
 “Around here once you have a drop of Negroes blood that makes you all black.”
 Jem comments that “you just hafta know who they are”. This implies that one is
not born prejudiced against another, but one chooses to be. (Can be applied
towards all forms)
Gender
 Scout suffers acutely from the stereotypes imposed upon her because of the rigid sexism
and gender rules that govern the southern life. Scout hates to wear dresses and finds the
accusation that she “acts like a girl” highly offensive. Although the characters do not
explicitly deal with gender issues. Lee does offer several characters, Miss Maudie and
Miss Stephanie and Aunt Alexandra to illustrate the broad spectrum of the southern
womanhood that lies beneath the simplistic southern belle stereotype.
 Maycomb is a patriarch society; therefore females are expected to behave in a certain
fashion.
 Expectations of a southern woman: “I could not possibly hope to be a lady if I wore
breeches”
 Scout gets insulted for being a girl. For example, when Scout refuses to peek into the
Radley place with Jem and Dill, they called her angel may, a term associated with girls
(the fairer sex).
 Atticus was considered unmanly because of his age and the fact that heretofore never
participated in activities that were considered manly. For example, he “was feeble”,
“never too tired to play keep-away”, perceived by his children to have not “do anything”,
“worked in an office” and did not “do anything that could possibly arouse the admiration
of anyone.”
 Although Jem meant no harm, he told Scout to “hold your (Scout’s) head high and be a
gentleman” when Mrs Dubose was throwing insults at them. This shows that Jem treats
Scout more like a brother rather than a sister, hence this shows gender prejudice.
 Aunt Alexandra insist that Scout should dress up like a girl, much to Scout’s disapproval
 Girls are not allowed to listen to the rape trial- “Mr Jem you better take Miss Jean Louise
home.”
 “Miss Maudie can’t serve on a jury because she’s a woman—“
 Growing Up (Jem and Scout)
 Influences
 Atticus
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 Calpurnia
 Miss Maudie
 Aunt Alexandra
 Uncle Jack
 Characteristics at start, contrast with it at the end (Also can be used for their
characterisation)
 Jem
 At the beginning of the novel (he isn’t that immature as he is of an older age
compared to Scout)
 Proud. “had never declined a dare.”
 Calculative. “Jem thought about it for three days.”
 Practices blind courage. “I(Scout) supposed he loved honour more than his
head”
 Cares about siblings. Comforts Scout and tries to educate her.
 More mature than any other child in the book. He shows this when the tales care
of his sister, Scout, and when he tells her about life. The only time that Jem was
childish was when he, Dill and Scout made up games about Boo Radley and
poking fun at him. One instance when Jem took Scout to aside to help her
understand was when he told her about people like Walter Cunningham and
how they were poor and had no money. Jem is highly protective of Scout,
especially when her ordered Scout to spot out the chewing gum she found from
the Radley knot-hole.
 Respects Atticus. The night the children visited the Radley Place and tried to see
Boo, Jem left his pants behind in a wired fence as he had trouble getting
through.Before this event, Jem promised Atticus that he would not bother Boo
Radley. Atticus had considerable respect for Jem, and he had no intention of
losing his trust. Hence this depicts the difference in maturity between him and
Scout as Scout thought that when Jem might be “licked” by Atticus, she took it as
a physical pain and told Jem that “it would not last”, which she knew was indeed
better than getting shot by Mr Nathan. On the other hand, Jem was more
concerned over the trust Atticus had for him and he valued it so much that he
was willing to risk his life to maintain that trust. Thus this shoes the growth in his
maturity when he makes the discussion to get his pants back.
 However, his acts of blind courage (e.g. the Radley game, touch their house,
trying to sneak into their house) is considered to be immature as he fails to
realise what true courage is.
 Naïve. Thinks that the law is always impartial. This is evident during the trail
when he believed that the jury would set the innocent Tom Robinson free, but
they did not. This made his face streaked with angry tears as he was unable to
comprehend the injustice that had just occurred as it conflicted with his belief
that the law is always impartial.
 Whilst growing up…
 Jem learns the truth about Boo Radley when he realises Boo had put the blanket
around Scout, while Scout has no idea what was going on. “Jem seemed to have
losing his mind...Toward me… Thank who… ‘Boo Radley’.” This is where Jem
shows signs of growing up. He begins to understand that Boo Radley is not
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harmful at all. Here, it begins to show that Jem’s maturity is faster than Scout’s,
because she cannot understand and still thinks that Boo is dangerous. This is
where Jem and Scout begin to “part company”.
 Understands why Atticus does not show off his skills in front of anyone. This
shows that Atticus is a gentleman and humble even though he is a person with
great skill. This is evident as Miss Maudie explains that “people in the right
mind” do not show off their skills purposely and only do if it is needed. This is
observed when Atticus shot Old Tim Robinson. Initially, Jem was ashamed of his
father for not being like all the other fathers in Maycomb County, including the
fact that Atticus did not play Jem’s favourite sport—football. However, his
understanding of Atticus’ humility comes to life when he sees that his father is
recognised as the “one-shot Finch” for his superior marksmanship but did not
tell his children or boast about it. It is also evident that Jem matures as Jem
thought differently as compared to Scout, who was ever ready to tell everyone
about their dad’s capabilities that Jem knew if “Atticus wanted them to know, he
would tell them”. Jem is proud of his father’s humility.
 Learns the true meaning of true courage. (Through Mrs Dubose) Atticus
explained to him that Mrs Dubose had aimed to “die free, beholden to nothing
and nobody”, and also called her a lady despite having different view from
Atticus, like being prejudiced against black. Jem understands the kind of courage
exhibited by Mrs Dubose by not making things easier for oneself and challenging
the harder route, such as Atticus describing it as “knowing you are going to get
licked before, but you still do it anyway,” and standing your ground for what you
believe in.
 Relationship between Jem and Boo changes. Initially, Jem thinks that Boo, as the
rumours made by Miss Stephanie Crawford, is a “malevolent phantom” that
feeds on squirrels. He thought that Arthur was a beast to fear, as seen when he
was hesitating when Dill dared him to touch the Radley Place. However he soon
realises that Arthur had been caring for them and “he (Arthur) would never
harm us(the children)”. Jem, therefore, understands that Arthur is harmless and
kinds, when he realises that Arthur was protecting Scout from the cold by
putting his blanket in her, Thus, we can see Jem maturing as he comes to accept
Arthur, unlike majority of Maycomb’s inhabitants.
 “Jem was twelve. His appetite was appalling and he told me so many times to
stop pestering him that I consulted Atticus: ‘Reckon he’s got a tapeworm” Atticus
said no, Jem was growing. I must be patient with him and disturb him as little as
possible.” Jem was beginning to change in his attitude, adding to Scout’s
confusion. As one can see, Jem’s maturity begins to separate him and Scout.
 Jem is starting to mature physically as time goes by. As he is starting to change
his beliefs. Scout commented that “Jem had acquired an alien set of values and
was trying to impose them on me”. He even tries to educate Scout and makes
Scout think that “he had acquired a maddening air of wisdom.”
 Even Calpurnia is starting to realise this as she addresses Jem as “Mister Jem”.
This shows that Jem is growing up as people are starting to treat him with the
respect given to adults.
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 Throughout the novel, Jem remains unbiased towards any race. This can be seen
during their trip to Calpurnia’s church when Jem likens Calpurnia’s preacher to
theirs.
 Jem tries to salvage the relationship between Scout and Aunt Alexandra by trying
to get Scout to not cause any trouble that might disappoint Aunt Alexandra. For
example, after Scout’s row with Aunt Alexandra about her desire to go to
Calpurnia’s home, Jem told Scout, “Try not to antagonise Aunty, hear?” This
shows that Jem is trying to mediate the situation and shows that Jem is maturing
for doing so. Furthermore, Jem tells Scout to “take up sewing or somethin’” in
order to not make Aunt Alexandra upset with Scout.
 Able to empathise with grown-up and understands how they feel. This can be
seen when Dill ran away from home and ended up in their house, Jem told Dill
that “You oughta let your mother know where you are,” and “Dill, you’ve got to
stop goin’ off without tellin’ her,” and he continues that “It just aggravates her.”
 Jem wants to protect his family as he cares for them. This is observed during the
lynch mob when Atticus commanded Jem to bring the children home. But Jem
refused and stood there.
 Strong sense of justice. Feels that Atticus have done a good job defending Tom
Robinson and that he will probably win the trail. However, he fails to realise that
racism exists in this world which will destroy the life of an innocent black man.
Furthermore, “his hands were white from gripping the balcony rail, and his
shoulders jerked as if each ‘guilty’ was a separate stab between them. Even after
the trail, he feels that Tom Robinson is innocent and asks Atticus whether there
would be an appeal. Also, Jem starts to debate with Atticus about justice and
even feels that “He didn’t kill anybody even if he was guilty, He didn’t take
anybody’s life.”.
 After the trial, Jem becomes more pessimistic and thinks that very little people in
Maycomb actually wanted to help Atticus. This can be seen during his
conversation with Miss Maudie when he told her “Who in this town did one
thing to help Tom Robinson, just who?”. Furthermore, he is unable to see the
optimism in Dill’s decision to become a clown as he told Dill that “Clowns are
sad, it’s folks that laugh at them.”
 Treated differently from the other children- When Miss Maudie gave the cakes to
the children, there was a big cake and two little ones then she “cut from the big
cake and gave the slice to Jem”. This shows that she treats Jem like an adult as
the big cake is only meant for grown-up, so the fact that Miss Maudie decided to
give Jem a slice of the big cake shows that she treats him like an adult. Atticus
treats Jem as an adult and thus he does not shield him from the world anymore.
This can be seen by the countless discussions that they have about justice and
fairness in the Maycomb society.
 Jem also becomes confused and disturbed, even to the extent that he thinks that
“rape shouldn’t be a capital offence”.
 Jem’s impression of the world has changed. “If there’s just one type of folks, why
can’t they get along with each other? If they’re all alike, why do they go out of
their way to despise each other? Scout, I think I’m beginning to understand why
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Boo Radley’s stayed shut up in the house all this time… it’s because he wants to
stay inside.”
 When Scout asked why she could not kill the insect, Jem replied that “Because
they don’t bother you,”. This is because Jem feels that this action would be
similar to the conviction of Tom Robinson. (Destruction of the innocent)
 In chapter 26, Jem and Scout continue to separate from one another. “our
routines were so different”
 In chapter 27, Jem is growing up and does not want to be seen as a child. – “Jem
considered himself too old for Halloween anyway; he said he wouldn’t be caught
anywhere near the high school at something like that.”
 In chapter 28, whilst returning home with Scout, he felt that something was
amiss (Mr Bob Ewell was trying to kill them), he merely told Scout that “Its just
old Cecil,” said Jem presently, “He won’t get us again. Let’s don’t let him think
we’re hurrying.” This shows Jem concern for his sister and his maturity as it
reveals that Jem cares for his sister and does not want her to worry. Therefore he
lies to her.
 Scout
 As immature
 Views Calpurnia as a “tyrannical presence” and even asked Atticus to fire her.
“She likes Jem better’n she like me”
 Considers Boo Radley a “malevolent phantom” and is scared of being near the
house or even discuss about it
 Quick to anger. Started to beat up Walter Cunningham when he got her in
trouble with Miss Caroline Fisher.
 Tom-boyish- “rubbing his(Walter Cunningham’s) nose in the dirt”
 “Reading was something that just came to me, as learning to fasten the seat of
my union suit without looking around” shows her immaturity as she compares
stuff with her underwear. This shows that she thinks being a women is
disadvantageous.
 Sensitive- “Had her conduct been more friendly towards me, I would have felt
sorry for her.”
 Promises Atticus not to tell Miss Caroline that they were reading illicitly and to
go to school if Atticus would continue reading with her.
 She eats things she finds on the floor and takes stuff without permission.
 Hates school become she is unable to read and write freely
 Gets upset when Jem and Dill insults her for being “girly” even though she is a
girl
 Tries to tell Jem to get ‘licked’ by Atticus instead of going out to retrieve his pants
from the Radley Place. Unable to understand that this licking has more
implications like breaching the trust and tacit bond Jem shares with Atticus.
 When Mr Nathan Radley plugged the tree hole with cement, Scout merely
thought that it is just the termination of the gifts that they were receiving.
However, she fails to realise the sadness behind this, which Jem figures out, that
Mr Nathan is depriving his brother from any social interaction outside the house
and goes through a catharsis.
 Uses expletives like “morphidite”, “whore-lady” and “nigger lover” without
realising true meaning of these words.
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 Thinks that Atticus is unmanly as he is “never too tired to play keep-away” and
said he “didn’t do anything that could possible aroused the admiration of
anyone”.
 Wanted to tell her school mates that Atticus has a flair for shooting, as she wants
to be normal and have a father that has something that could arouse the interest
of someone. However, she was stopped by Jem who understood why Atticus did
not take pride in it and told Scout not to tell anyone in school.
 Feels that Jem is becoming odd as he mature and describes him as having a
“maddening air of wisdom”
 Asked Calpurnia why she talks “nigger-talk” to her folks even though she knows
it’s not right.
 When Aunt Alexandra refused to allowed Scout to go to Calpurnia’s house, she
defiantly replied, “I didn’t ask you!”
 Naïve- Believes that babies were dropped down from the chimney by God
 When a group of men gathered outside the house she “wondered who had
died”.
 During the lynch mob, she spots Mr Cunningham and tries to converse with him
without realising the tension and severity of the situation she is in.
 Does not understand the trail completely.
 Feels “vindicated” when Jem was scolded by Calpurnia (when Jem was scolded
by Calpurnia she said “I was exhilarated”) as she thinks that Calpurnia shows
favouritism towards Jem.
 Naïve- “I toyed with the idea of asking everyone below to concentrate on setting
Tom Robinson free” feels that these childish and superstitious methods would
help Tom Robinson become a free man.
 Remains impartial- “I think there’s just one kind of folks. Folks.”
 Unable to fit into the society of ladies- Scout is not used to things related to
being a lady. “Ladies in bunches always filled me with vague apprehension and a
firm desire to be elsewhere, but this feeling was what Aunt Alexandra called
being ‘spoiled’.”
 She also struggles to act like a lady. During the tea party, “I(Scout) sat quietly,
having conquered my hands by tightly gripping the arms of the chair, and waited
for someone to speak to me.”. This also shows her desire to become a lady as
she would even go to the extent go resisting her urge to be physically active to
learn to be a lady.
 Scout still torments and tries to ‘kill’ the innocent. This can be seen by the roly-
poly incident.
“A roly-poly had found its way inside the house; I reasoned that the tiny varmint
had crawled up the steps and under the door. I was putting my book on the floor
beside my cot when I saw him. The creatures are no more than an inch long, and
when you touch them they roll themselves into a tight grey ball. I lay on my
stomach, reached down and poked him. He rolled up. Then, feeling sad, I
suppose, he slowly unrolled. He travelled a few inches on his hundred legs and I
touched him again. He rolled up. Feeling sleepy, I decided to end things. My
hand was going down on him when Jem spoke.”
Revised 2010
 In chapter 25, Scout feels that “Jem was the one who was getting more like a girl
every day,” and becoming soft as he prevented her from killing an insect.
 Scout does not feel comfortable with Jem’s maturity and the new ways people
are treating him. When the adults were discussing something important, she
thought, ”Oh foot, he’s old enough to listen,”
 Scout is naïve to think that Jem’s changing personality is temporary. This reveals
that she is childish as she is unable to see that maturing is an irreversible
process.
 When growing up…
 Relationship with Calpurnia changes. “meddling in my business had faded to
gentle grumblings of general disapproval” and sometimes Scout went to much
trouble “not to provoke her”.
 The relationship with Calpurnia changes for the better. This can be seen in
Chapter 24 when she “was wearing my pink Sunday dress, shoes, and a
petticoat, and reflected that if I spilled anything Calpurnia would have to ash my
dress again for tomorrow. This had been a busy day for her. I decided to stay
out.” This shows that she empathises with Calpurnia’s situation and tries to avoid
giving her any additional tasks.
 Gains more insight about Boo from Miss Maudie
 Took Atticus’ advice and tried to walk in Jem’s “skin” by leaving him alone.
 Taught to fight with her head for a change. “try fighting with your head for a
change… it’s a good one, even if it does resist learning.” She practiced what
Atticus had preached by walking away from Cecil Jacobs when he insulted her.
 “Promise you won’t tell Atticus about this. He –he asked me one time not to let
anything I heard about him make me mad, an’ I’d ruther him think we were
fightin’ about somethin’ else instead. Please promise…”
 “when I was well into the second grade at school and tormenting Boo Radley
became passé” Accepts Boo and knows who he really is – a nice person.
 When Atticus asked her whether she would like Aunt Alexandra to stay with
them, she agrees as she now believes that “one must like under certain
circumstances and at all times when one can’t do anything about them.”
 “Dill asked if I’d like to have a poke at Boo Radley. I said I didn’t think it’d be nice
to bother him.”
 Lies to Jem about being able to see his chest hair to make Jem feel better. She
said it “looked lovely, but I didn’t see anything”.
 Her relationship with Calpurnia is changing for the better.”I was wearing my pink
Sunday dress, shoes, and a petticoat, and reflected that if I spilled anything
Calpuirnia would have to wash my dress again for tomorrow. This had beena
busy day for her. I decided to stay out.” This shows that she is maturing because
she does not want to be a burden to Calpurnia by dirtying her clothes.
 In chapter 24, she sees Aunt Alexandra as a role model as starts becoming a lady
as she said “if Aunty could be a lady at a time like this, so could I.”. This shows
that she is maturing and trying to become a lady as she has found the true
meaning of becoming a lady to remain unfazed even in the toughest of
situations.
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 She is unable to understand the change that is occurring in Jem as she wants it
to stay the same.- When Jem prevented Scout from killing the insect, she
thought “it was probably a part of the stage he was going through, and I wished
he would hurry up and get through it.” As she thinks that the trial has
emotionally affected Jem, but only thinks that this change is only temporary.
 In chapter 26, Scout shows more signs of growing up. “The Radley Place had
cease to terrify me”, “I sometimes felt a twinge of remorse, when passing by the
old place, at ever having taken part in what must have been sheer torment to
Arthur Radley”(Scout is maturing and practices empathy). She is also able to
differentiate between reality from fantasy as she is able to recognise that dream
to see Boo Radley is “only a fantasy”.
 Scout loses track of time. “I hushed then and there. At the same time I marvelled
at Atticus, This was the first he lad let us know he knew a lot more about
something than we thought he knew. And it had happened years ago. No, only
last summer –no, summer before last, when … time was playing tricks on me. I
must remember to ask Jem.”
 Scout is not easily frighten. “we entered the black seventh-grade room and were
led around by the temporary ghoul in residence and were made to touch several
objects alleged to be the component parts of a human being. ‘Here’s his eyes,’
we were told when we touched two peeled grapes on a saucer. ‘Here’s his heart,’
which felt like raw liver. ‘These are his innards,’ and our hands were thrust into a
plate of cold spaghetti.” This shows that she is mature as she indentifies the
“body part” as inanimate objects, indicating that she is not afraid of it.
 She is able to sense Jem’s feelings as she “knew he was not joking” we he asked
her to remain quiet when he felt that something was amiss. Furthermore, when
Jem tries to convince her, quite unconvincingly, that Cecil Jacobs was trying to
pull a prank on that she followed his orders and “wondered how long he (Jem)
would try to keep the Cecil myth going.” This indicates her maturity in thought as
she knows that Jem is lying and trying to comfort her by doing so.
 Atticus’ teachings have been etched into Scout’s mind- “but I brought my arm
down quickly lest Atticus reprimand me for pointing. It was impolite to point.”
 Able to empathise with Boo and makes him feel comfortable. “Come along, Mr
Arthur, I heard myself saying,” you don’t know the house real well. I’ll just take
you to the porch, sir.” This shows that she treats Boo with respect and tries to
make him feel comfortable.
 Scout understands why they were trying to over-up the situation (to protect Boo)
and adds that “it’d be sort of like shootin’ a mockingbird”.
 In chapter 31, Scout is able to empathise with Boo Radley. This can be seen as
she was” beginning to learn his body English. His hand tightened on mine and he
indicated that he wanted to leave.” Furthermore, “I slipped my hand into the
crook of his arm.”, “He had to stoop a little to accommodate me, but if Miss
Stephanie Crawford was watching from her upstairs window, she would see
Arthur Radley escorting me down the sidewalk, as any gentleman would do.”
Scout understands that a lady should no escort Arthur home. Therefore she
makes it look like Arthur is escorting her somewhere.
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 “I had never seen our neighbourhood from this angle.” She sees the world from
Boo’s point of view (literally). This also indicates that she now sees the world
from a different angle, figuratively.
 Scout is conscious of the fact that her education on life and how to cope with it
is completed and all that’s left to learn is academics. “there wasn’t much else left
for us to learn, except possibly algebra.”
 At the end of the novel, she pretends to be listening to Atticus when she actually
fallen asleep.
 Courage
 Physical Courage
 Touching the Radley place (Jem)
 Jem touched the Radley place when Dill dared him too. Initially, Jem was terrified by
the idea. However, since “he loved honour more than his head” he eventually
accepted it.
 This incident showed how the children perceived courage to be some kind of dare,
with the absence of fear.
 Shooting the mad dog
 When old Tim Johnson, the mad dog, was approaching the Radley place, Atticus, also
known as “one-shot Finch”, was pressured by Mr Heck Tate into shooting the dog
because of his adept shooting skills
 This shows courage as he did something no one wanted to do as it was too difficult –
shoot the dog. Similarly, Atticus will take up Tom Robinson’s case with moral courage.
 Moral Courage
 Atticus
 Takes up the trial even though he knows that he is fighting a losing battle
 Atticus tells Scout to “try fighting with your head for a change… it’s a good one, even
if it does resist learning.”
 When Atticus greets Miss Dubose, Scout comments“It was times like these when I
thought my father, who hated guns and had never been to any wars, was the bravest
man who ever lived.”
 Reasons with Scout that he took up the case because it is something “that goes to
the essence of a man’s conscience—Scout, I couldn’t go to church and worship God if
I didn’t try to help that man.”- This shows that Atticus took the case up because of
moral reasons
 “Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for
us not to try to win” shows that Atticus wants to make history by aiding a black man
and exemplified moral courage by wanting to do so.
 “It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you
see it through”
 Mrs Dubose
 A morphine addict, “but she was too contrary” and wanted to “leave this world
beholden to nothing and nobody.”
 So she tried to abstain from morphine.
 Eventually, she died as free “as the mountain air”
 Atticus even said that “she was the bravest person I ever knew”
 Jem
Revised 2010
 Wanted to retrieved his pants much to Scout’s disapproval when they went to the
Radley place one night
 REASON: Does not want to get a “lickin’” as this will affect the relationship Jem has
with Atticus, making Atticus distrust him.
 Goes to Mrs Dubose, apologises to her and promises to read to her every day for a
month.
 Although he does not want to, he does it anyway.
 When Atticus is confronted by the mob, he demanded that Jem and Scout to go
home. Jem refused.
 This shows that Jem cares for his father and refuses to go home to protect his father.
Hence, this indirectly shows the courage within Jem.
 Scout
 On Scout’s first day of school, Miss Caroline Fisher offers to give Walter Cunningham
three quarters. Scout stood up and told her that she was shaming him as Walter
“haven’t got a quarter at home to bring you”.
 This incident revealed that Scout had showed courage as she was the only one who
dared to stand up for Walter by telling Miss Caroline the reason.
 Scout “walked away from a fight” when Cecil Jacobs taunted her
 This is because she took Atticus’ advice to “try fighting with your head”.
 She diffused the mob by using her innocent responses to make Mr Cunningham
embarrassed
 She told him that “entailments are bad”, hence shaming Mr Cunningham, as he feels
that his “dirty laundry” is exposed to the public, and making him empathise with
Atticus.
 Hence she showed courage by trying to help his brother and father diffuse this
matter.
 Justice and Fairness
 Scout and Uncle Jack pg91-92
 When Francis and Scout has a dispute, Francis accused Scout of using the term “whore-
lady” on him
 Uncle Jack intervenes and censures Scout
 This made Scout feel a sense of injustice as she said “I’ll never speak to you again as long
as I live! I hate you an’ despise you an’ hope you die tomorrow!”
 Scout then tells Uncle Jack when she calmed down that “When Jem and I fuss Atticus
doesn’t ever just listen to Jem’s side of it, he hears mine too”
 This shows the theme of justice and fairness as Scout was punished without a proper
“trail” and also shows that Atticus is just and fair to his children.
 The Trial
 Atticus tries to fight for Tom Robinson- “Simply because we were licked a hundred years
before we started is no reason for us not to try to win”
 Atticus managed to prove that the Ewells were lying by tricking them e.g. making Bob
Ewell write to discover that he was left-handed, Mayella’s inconsistent testimony.
 Atticus believes that “all men are created equal”
 And believes that the court is a leveller- “courts are the great levellers, and in our courts
all men are created equal.”
 However even with all the evidence against the Ewells, Tom Robinson was still deemed
guilty, simply because “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.”
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After the trial

 Jem starts to debate with Atticus about justice- “It ain’t right. He didn’t kill anybody even
if he was guilty. He didn’t take anybody’s life.” (Jem has developed a great sense of
justice and injustice)
 Learns that people are comfortable with the law right now and adamant to change it.
When Jem asks Atticus to change the law he replied, “You’d be surprised how hard that’d
be. I won’t live to see the law changed, and if you live to see it you’ll be an old man.”
 “There’s something in our world that makes men lose their heads—they couldn’t be fair
if they tried. In our courts when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s. The white
man always wins. They are ugly, but those are the facts of life.”
 “in the secret courts of men’s hearts Atticus had no case.” Reveals that deep down inside
these men feel that Tom Robinson is guilty just because it is wrong to favour a black man
over a white man.
 Education
 Jem believes that social classes are related to “how long your family’s been readin’ and
writin’” as it raises a family’s social and economic status.
 Formal (e.g. Miss Caroline, Schooling)
 When Scout first went to school, she disliked it because of its rigidness
 When Miss Caroline Fisher, the new teacher from North Alabama who tries to impose
the “Dewey Decimal System” on the children, found out that Scout could read and write
she was displeased with her and told her to tell her father not to teach her. This gave
Scout a patronising feeling about schooling.
 Scout real education-“As for me, I knew nothing except what I gathered from ‘Time’
magazine and reading everything I could lay hands on at home, but as I inched sluggishly
along the treadmill if the Maycomb County school system, I could not help receiving the
impression that I was being cheated out of something.”
 Jem tries to comfort Scout and tells her that “the older I got the better school would be”
–“The sixth grade seemed to please him from the beginning: he went through a brief
Egyptian Period that baffled me - he tried to walk flat a great deal, sticking one arm in
front of him and one in back of him, putting one foot behind the other. He declared
Egyptians walked that way; I said if they did I didn't see how they got anything done, but
Jem said they accomplished more than the Americans ever did, they invented toilet
paper and perpetual embalming, and asked where would we be today if they hadn't?
Atticus told me to delete the adjectives and I'd have the facts.”
 Eventually Scout enjoys schooling a bit more
 Scout remains critical of the education system as she feels that it is not useful. She
emphasises that she was “forced to one day in school”.
 The system, does not consider the wealth and background of the children and their
access to the media. “in Maycomb it didn’t work very well. In the first place, few rural
children had access to newspaper, so the burden of Current Events was borne by the
town children, convincing the bus children more deeply that the town children got all the
attention anyway.”
 During one lesson, she learns about democracy, her teacher, Mrs Gates, said, “Over here
we don’t believe in persecuting anybody. Persecution comes from people who are
prejudiced.”. This is ironic as Mrs Gates also practices inequality and persecutes the
Blacks, in particular, Tom Robinson, as she does not see them as her equal. This
contradicts what she had preached during her lesson.
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 Informal (e.g. Atticus, Miss Maudie, Aunt Alexandra. Dolphus Raymond)

 Atticus
 “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.” This important snippet
of the conversation finds Atticus giving Scout the crucial piece of moral advice that
governs her development for the rest of the novel, the simple wisdom of Atticus’
words reflects the uncomplicated manner in which he guides himself by this sole
principle. His ability to relate to his children is manifested in his restatement of this
principle in terms that Scout can understand.
 Reads the newspaper to his children daily- keeps the children informed on current
affairs
 Teaches the children to respect others- When Mr Nathan Radley claims that his tree
was clogged with cement, Atticus disagreed at first when Scout asked about that tree
but changes his answer to match Mr Nathan’s when Scout told him what he said.
This shows that Atticus wants his children to believe that Mr Nathan was not lying
and to respect his decision be it for the better or the worse.
 Atticus tells Scout to “try fighting with your head for a change… it’s a good one, even
if it does resist learning.” To help her cope with the impending trauma.
 “Bad language is a stage all children go through and it dies with time when they
learn they’re not attracting attention with it.” Shows the way Atticus would teach his
children.
 Tries to inculcate his values into Scout by telling her more stuff that is related to the
trail- “The case, Tom Robinson’s case, is something that goes to the essence of a
man’s conscience “
 “The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience”
 Tells Scout the definition of expletives if she ask, reveals Atticus’ teaching style –to be
frank with the children. -“nigger-lover”- “ignorant, trashy people use it when they
think somebody favouring Negroes over and above themselves. It’s slipped into
usage with some people like ourselves, when they want a common, ugly term to
label somebody.”
 “It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you
see it through” This moral that Atticus teaches them helps the children truly define
what is courage –the overcoming of fear, even those you know that you are going to
get “licked”.
 However, in the middle of the novel, Atticus is shown to be unsure about the
methods he employs to teach his children as he tried to convince Scout to become
more like a lady and learn more about their history. Though he seemed
uncomfortable doing so (fidgeting, collar seemed to worry him). At the end of the
chapter, Atticus regains his former views on educating the children.
 Atticus teaches the children that one does not only consist of goodness and evilness,
but a mixture of both -“So it took an eight-year-old child to bring 'em to their
senses.... That proves something - that a gang of wild animals can be stopped, simply
because they're still human. Hmp, maybe we need a police force of children.”
 Urges children to have empathy- “Jem, see if you can stand in Bob Ewell’s shoes a
minute. I destroyed his last shred of credibility at that trial, if he had any to begin
with. The man had to have some kind of comeback, his kind always does. So if
Revised 2010
spitting in my face and threatening me save Mayella Ewell one extra beating, that’s
something I’ll gladly take. He had to take it out on somebody and I’d rather it be me
than that houseful of children out there.”

 Miss Maudie
 Serves to compliment Atticus’ role as a voice of reason
 Role model for Scout to follow that women do not have to wear dress and camisole
like a female to treated like one
 Teaches Scout respect by correcting her when she said “do you think Boo Radley’s
still alive?” She replied by saying that “his name’s Arthur and he’s alive,”
 Also tells the truth to the children by shedding light on Arthur Radley and dismissing
the rumours and ideas the children have about him e.g. “That is three-fourths
coloured folks and one-fourth Stephanie Crawford,”
 She also teaches the children life lessons like how “sometimes the Bible in the hand
of one man is worse than a whisky bottle in the hand of- oh your father.” This means
that some men like Atticus when drunk may not be as bad as one man at his best.
 “Mockingbird don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up
people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their
hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mocking bird.” This teaches the
children that it is wrong to destroy the innocent.
 She reveals more about Atticus to the children as she said “you father’s anything,
he’s civilised in his heart.” And tells them to be humble like their father by revealing
to them that “People in their right minds never take pride in their talents.”
 Aunt Alexandra
 Role model for Scout to be a female
 Want to inculcate Scout with things women do- “fanatical on the subject of my
attire” and “I could not possibly hope to become a lady if I wore breeches”
 Also tries to teach the children about family pride by asking them to read
‘meditation of Joshua S. St Clair’ written by the children’s cousin’ and gets Atticus to
teach the children about the Finch family.
 During the tea party (chapter 24), Aunt Alexandra teaches Scout how to be a true
lady and controls her feelings even in the worse of situations.
 Mr Dolphus Raymond
 Teaches children on the social prejudice that is evident in Maycomb’s society – By
acting like a drunk he thinks that it “helps folks if they can latch on to a reason” why
he has a black mistress.
 He even told the children that he is comfortable telling them his secret “because
you’re children and you can understand it”, this means that they have yet to lose
their innocence and still sees things from a transparent view.
 Calpurnia
 She disciplines the children- “She would set me a writing task by scrawling the
alphabet firmly across the top of a tablet, then copying out a chapter of the Bible
beneath”. She probably did so not only to improve Scout’s penmanship but also
Scout’s command over scripture as she would have to read through the Bible in
order to copy it. Also, Atticus comments that Calpurnia was sometime even stricter
than what a mother would be.
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 Indirectly teaches the children by bringing them to a black church. During the
children’s visit to Calpurnia’s church, they learnt a lot of how the black community
functions in the society and see things from their perspective, thus learning that they
are indeed not that different. Scout, who gives a unbiased view, commented that
giving blessing was “a procedure no different from our church practice” and Jem said
that Reverend Sykes is “just like our preacher”.
 Answers Scout why she speaks with a “coloured” dialect, in order to conform, and
informs the children more about Maycomb’s society and life in general. - “It’s not
necessary to tell all you know. It’s not ladylike –in the second place, folks don’t like to
have somebody around knowin’ more than they do, It aggravates ‘em. You’re not
gonna change any of them by talkin’ right, they’ve got to want to learn themselves ,
and when they don’t want to learn there’s nothing you can do but keep your mouth
shut or talk their language.”
Revised 2010
Major Characters:
 Atticus
 Consistent in his behaviour
 “Atticus Finch is the same in his house as he is on the public streets.”
 “he was his impassive self again.” As he expected that he would lose the case. Pg218
 Pg223. “ Atticus didn’t bat an eye, just took out his handkerchief and wiped his face and
stood there and let Mr Ewell call him names wild horses could not bring her to repeat.
Mr Ewell was a veteran of am obscure war; that plus Atticus’s peaceful reaction probably
prompted him to inquire. ‘Too proud to fight, you nigger-lovin’ bastard?’ Miss Stephanie
said Atticus said, ‘No, too old,’”
 Pg 252. When Scout asked Atticus whether it is alright to hate anyone, Atticus replied,
“It’s not okay to hate anybody.” In this case, she was referring to Bob Ewell who was
constantly trying to harm the Finches in order to feel vindicated.
 Pg 280. “I can’t live one way in town and another way in my home.”
 Tranquil- Tells Scout to put on her shoes and socks in the midst of a fire.
 Fair- “When Jem and I fuss Atticus doesn’t ever just listen to Jem’s side of it, he hears mine
too”
 Polite- “Good evening, Mrs Dubose! You look like a picture this evening.”
 Humble- Does not take pride in his ability to shoot, feels that it is a natural advantage over
the rest.
 Hospitable- “Atticus greeted Walter and began a discussion about crops neither Jem nor I
could follow”
 Patient- Sat down in the swing and crossed his legs and waited in amiable silence while
waiting for Scout to reply him about her problem with school.
 Man of integrity-
 “if I didn’t I couldn’t hold up my head in town, I couldn’t represent this county in the
legislature, I couldn’t even tell you or Jem not to do something again.”
 Pg 279. “nobody’s hushing this up. I don’t live that way.”
 Pg 279. “I don’t want him growing up with a whisper about him, I don’t want anybody
saying, “Jem Finch … his daddy paid a mint to get him out of that.”” This reinforces the
fact that Atticus is a man of integrity as he does not want to create any unnecessary
trouble for Jem.
 “If thing’s hushed up it’ll be a simple denial to Jem of the way I’ve tried to raise him.”
Trying to “hush” things up would go against Atticus’’ teaching to Jem and Scout.
 Imparts values to his children e.g. “…climb into his skin and walk in it”, “try fighting with your
head for a change”, “The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s
conscience.”
 Respected by many- e.g. Miss Maudie who thinks that Atticus with a bottle of whisky in his
hand is not as dangerous as a other man with a Bible.”(feels that Atticus is just and even
though he might neat his worse, he is still better than many others), “Atticus Finch’s a deep
reader, a mighty deep reader” (reveals that Atticus is respected for his strong sense of justice
and his determination to exonerate Tom Robinson), “He spends his time doin’ things that
wouldn’t get done if nobody did ‘em.”(said by Jem when they saw a cartoon about Atticus in
the newspapers)
 After the verdict, “the Negroes were getting to their feet” to shows their respect for
Atticus as they appreciated the fact that Atticus, a white man, defended a black man
Revised 2010
although he lost. Furthermore, through this Atticus has revealed the truth: Tom Robinson
is innocent and the Ewells were guilty.
 “people were content to re-elect him to the state legislature that year”
 Considered one of Maycomb’s fine folks
 Non-conformist- Takes up the case and plans to “defend him” despite the public’s
disapproval.
 Great sense of justice- “that goes to the essence of a man’s conscience—Scout, I couldn’t go
to church and worship God if I didn’t try to help that man.” He feels that he should help Tom
Robinson and try to prevent Bob Ewell from destroying the life of an innocent man.
 Close to his children- Scout is able to share her first day of school experience to him. He is
also able to sense the feelings of his children. E.g. After dinner (on Scout’s first day of school)
he is able to sense that something is wrong about Scout when she refuses to read. He said,
“Something wrong, Scout?”
 Has an independent teaching style- feel that “they might as well learn to cope with it” after
learning the extent of racial prejudice in the society of Maycomb, as they will eventually
learn the truth about the world, they might as well realise it sooner.
 Empathises with others
 Tells Jem and Scout to stop tormenting Boo Radley
 When the trial has ended, the grateful Negroes gave the Finches lots of food. This
touched Atticus and even made him say, “Tell them – tell them they must never do this
again. Times are too hard….”
 Atticus is able to sense that Boo feels uncomfortable as he feels restricted in the light
and tries to make Boo feel more comfortable. This is seen from this quote: “Heck, let’s go
out on the front porch. There are plenty of chairs out there, and it’s still warm enough.”
 A man with principles- when Jem asked his father to carry a gun around just in case Bob
Ewell tried to assault him, he replied, “Nonsense.” As he refuses to carry a gun as it goes
against his principles.
 Sacrificial- “if spitting in my face and threatening me saved Mayella Ewell one extra beating,
that’s something I’ll gladly take.”pg224
 Frank, Atticus does not want to lie to people to give them false hope. For example, Calpurnia
said, “Because you ain’t familiar with the law, First thing you learn when you’re in a lawin’
family is that there ain’t any definite answers to anything. Mr Finch couldn’t say somethin’s
so when he doesn’t know for sure it’s so.”
 Kind. Offers help to others. - When a girl was “too small to navigate the steps. Dill said Atticus
went to her, took off his hat and offered her his finger.” This shows that he is polite as he
took off his hat to greet her before getting the girl to hold his finger as the girl’s hands were
probably too small.
 In chapter 29, Atticus is getting older as it is stated that there were “grey patches growing at
his temples.”
 FLAWS
 Believes that he is not a good father- (refer to pages 139-140) The fact that Atticus
changes the way he talks to the children shows that he is unconfident about his teaching
style as he is easily persuaded by Aunt Alexandra to teach his children how to act like fine
Finches.
 Misjudges people sometimes (this is rare, nevertheless it will result in dire
consequences)
Revised 2010
 Pg224-225 “We don’t have anything to fear from Bob Ewell, he got it all out of his
system that morning,” Atticus misjudged Bob’s character, as he thinks that Bob is an
all-talk-no-action kind of person.
 Pg256 “He’ll (Bob Ewell) settle down when the weather changes.” Atticus
underestimates Bob Ewell and thinks that he is incapable of fighting back.
 His behaviour is not always constant (pg219) - He feels bitter. When Jem asked him how
the jury could make Tom Robinson guilty, he replied that he doesn’t know, but that it
seems that only children weep.”
 Ewell (refer to page 176 and ‘Ewell’ under Prejudice)
 Bob
 Lazy- Does not bother to clean up his place ,“none of them had done an honest day’s
work”
 Drunk – spends his relief cheques on whisky, “their relief cheque was far from enough to
feed the family, and there was a strong suspicion that Papa drank it up anyway”
 Arrogant- he “strutted” to the stand when he was called to testify
 Rude-“Well, if I ain’t I can’t do anything about it now, her ma’s dead,”, “I heard Mayella
screamin’ like a stuck hog inside the house”, “I seen that black nigger yonder ruttin’ on
my Mayella”
 Contentious- “paw right contentious”
 Absent father- “The witness said he never thought of it he had never called a doctor to
any of his’n in his life, and if he had it would have cost him five dollars,” shows that he is
not that concerned for his children
 Abusive- Mayella said that he was “tollable, ‘cept when— ”, Atticus then said, “Except
when he’s drinking?” and Mayella noded.
 Immoral- feels no pain in persecuting a innocent black man even though he is in the
wrong.
 Cowardly- does not dare to harm Atticus directly after the trail and decides to harass Mrs
Robinson and his children instead.
 Quick tempered- “the boy’s condescension flashed to anger.”
 Filthy and unhygienic- when he bathed he “face was as red as his neck”
 Irresponsible- does not bother to clean up his house, “The varmints had a lean time of it.
For the Ewells gave the dump a thorough gleaning every day. And the fruits of their
industry (those that were not eaten) made the plot of ground around the cabin look like
the playhouse of an insane child”
 Wants to improve his family’s status- but the fact that "he was the only man [Scout] ever
heard of who was fired from the WPA for laziness" proves that he isn't willing to earn it.
Tries to accuse Tom Robinson of raping Mayella as he sees what he believes it is the way
to improve his social standing. In his mind, the town should think him a hero for saving
Maycomb's white women from a "dangerous" black man. Defending his daughter by
going to court should raise his family's stature. If they don't gain more respect from the
community, at least Bob won't have to live with talk in the black community about a
white woman making a play for a married black man.
 Cruel and heartless- when he heard that Tom Robinson had died, he said it “made one
down and about two more to go.”
 He holds a grudge against Atticus and blames him for everything bad that happened.
-“Mr Ewell openly accused Atticus of getting his job.”
 Mayella
Revised 2010
Although she tries to be different, she fails at it. Not because she cannot, but because
she is a Ewell.
 She tried to be different- “Mayella looked as if she tried to keep clean” ,”red geraniums,
cared for as tenderly as if they belonged to Miss Maudie Atkinson”
 Self-conscious – “Mayella looked as if she tried to keep clean”
 No friends, lonely- When Atticus asked her whether she had any friends she said “You
makin’ fun of me agin, Mr Finch”
 “she took offence into routine courtesy” (The irony, she wanted to be respected by
people, but become offended when treated with respect)
 Scout commented that Mayella “was even lonelier than Boo Radley” and that she was
sad as a “mixed child” pg198
 “white people wouldn’t have anything to do with her because she lived among pigs;
Negroes wouldn’t have anything to do with her because she was white.”
 Abused- hints of sexually abuse “She says what her papa do to her don’t count.” And
agrees with Atticus that Bob Ewell abuses her when he’s drunk.
 Yearns for love- “she (Mayella) says she never kissed a grown man before an’ she might
as well kiss a nigger” as the statement reveals, Mayella was neglected by her father to
the extent that she would even kiss Tom Robinson, which was considered taboo during
the 1930s.
 Burris
 Indifferent- “showed not the faintest interest in the furore he had wrought.” When Miss
Caroline spotted cooties on his head.
 Dirty- Miss Caroline had to ask him to bathe before he came back tomorrow
 Rude- Laughed at Miss Caroline when she asked him to bathe before returning back to
school the next day
 No family lineage- “Ain’t no mother”
 Quick to anger- “their paw’s right contentious”
 Cowardly- “Burris seemed to be afraid of a child half his height”

 Scout
 Refer to ‘Theme: Growing Up’
 Jem
 Refer to ‘Theme: Growing Up’
 Boo
 Refer to ‘Theme: Prejudice- Social’
 Perceived by others
 A “malevolent phantom”
 Read the first chapter!
 “about six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any
cats he could catch. That’s why his hands were blood-stained- if you ate an animal raw,
you could never wash the blood off. There was a long jagged scar that ran across his face;
what teeth he had were yellow and rotten; his eyes popped, and he drooled most of the
time.”
 In reality…
 Shy
 Wants to get to know the children- interacts with the children by giving them things like
chewing gum and other stuff. He also observes them from his house when they were
Revised 2010
playing games, so when Scout went close to the house and heard “someone inside the
house was laughing”, it was probably Boo watching them.
 Cares for the children- when Jem went to retrieve his pants from the Radley place, he
noticed that his pants was “Not like a Lady sewed ‘em”. This means that Boo might have
sewed it for him. This shows his care for the children. Furthermore, at the end of the
novel, Boo rescues the children from a drunk Mr Ewell and even kills him.
 Observant and talented- “They (the statues of them” were almost perfect miniatures of
two children.”
 Was a bright child- decided to give the children “a tarnished medal” which was a prize
from a spelling competition.
 After saving Scout and Jem from Mr Bob Ewell, he was said to be “standing in a corner,
leaning against the wall” as he does not like to be in the light (not attention seeking).
 Happy to see the children- when Scout finally recognises Boo “his lips parted into a timid
smile”.
 Tom Robinson
 Honest- told Atticus the truth when Atticus asked him to do so “What did he(Bob Ewell) say,
Tom? You must tell the jury what he said.” Tom Robinson shut his eyes tight. “He says you
goddamn whore, I’ll kill ya.” And “Tom denied it three times in one breath, but quietly, with
no hint of whining in his voice, and I found myself believing him in spite of his protesting too
much. He seemed to be a respectable Negro.”
 Sympathetic- persecuted and convicted for a crime that he did not commit just because he is
a black man.
 Helpful- helped Mayella with her chores without getting paid
 “Tom Robinson’s manners were as good as Atticus’s”
 Eventually, he gives up trying to be vindicated. He told Atticus, “Good-bye, Mr Finch, there
ain’t nothin’ you can do now,”
Minor Characters:
 Calpurnia
 Antagonistic (at the start)- “In Calpurnia’s teaching, there was no sentimentality; I seldom
pleased her and she seldom rewarded me.”
 Educated- “had more education than most coloured folks”
 Cares for Scout- She disciplines Scout and takes care of her e.g. food.
 What Atticus thinks of her:
“Besides, I don’t think the children’ve suffered one bit from her having brought them up. If
anything, she’s been harder on them in some ways than a mother would have been… she’s
never let them get away with anything, she’s never indulged them the way most coloured
nurses do. She tried to bring them up according to her lights, and Cal’s lights are pretty good
– and another thing, the children love her.”
 Trusts Jem- scolds Jem when he brings Scout to the courtroom to listen to the trial as she
thinks that Jem is old enough to understand what is happening bur does not bother to
protect his sister.

 Dill
 Boastful and arrogant- tells everyone that he can read
 “I’m little but I’m old”
 “was a curiosity”
Revised 2010
 Fascinated about the Radley Place

 Dill was a villain’s villain
 Close to Jem (Plausible reason: As Scout matures, Jem sees that his influence on Scout is
diminishing. This leads Jem to grow closer to the less mature Dill. Furthermore, Jem and Dill
are both boys, this means that they probably have the same interests. Hence catalysing their
close relationship.) – “I(Scout) beat him up twice but it did no good, he only grew closer to
Jem.”
 Neglected by his parents- “they just wasn’t interested in me.”
 A victim of materialistic love- “They buy me everything I want, but it’s now-you’re-got it-go-
play-with-it. You’ve got a roomful of things, I-got-you-that-book-so-go-read-it.”
 Childish and yearns for parental love- “Scout, let’s get us a baby.”

 Miss Caroline Fisher
 Passionate- “bright auburn hair, pink cheeks,, and wore crimson finger-nail polish” (Red
symbolises passion)
 Going to bring something new into the county (the Dewey Decimal System)- “looked and
smelled like a peppermint drop.”
 Treated as ‘The Other’- The “class murmured apprehensively” when she said that she was
from North Alabama.
 Attractive- “when Miss Maudie introduced us (Scout and Jem) to her, Jem was in a haze for
days.”
 Dense- she “seemed unaware that the ragged denim-shirted and flourskirted first grade”
were” immune to imaginative literature”
 Does not like Scout- “looked at me (Scout) with more than faint distaste”
 Rigid- “we don’t write in the first grade we print. You won’t learn until you’re in the third
grade.”
 Does not understand Maycomb’s ways- She told Scout to hold out her hand when she
thought that Scout was shaming Walter. This made Scout think that she was going to “spit in
it, which was the only reason anybody in Maycomb held out his hand”
 Caring- she asks Burris to go home and wash his hair as she does not want the other children
to catch the cooties.
 Ms Maudie
 Refer to “Theme: Education” for some information
 “magisterial beauty”
 Love gardening- “loved everything that grew in God’s earth, even the weeds.”
 Educated- “Her speech was crisp”
 Generous- “every time she baked she made a big cake and three little ones, and she would
call across the street:’ Jem Finch, Scout Finch, Charles Baker Harris, come here!’ Our
promptness was always rewarded.”
 Gains the children’s trust- Scout confides in Miss Maudie as she tells her her thoughts on Boo
Radley.
 Respectful- Corrects Scout when she called Arthur Boo.
 Faithful to her late husband- does not flirt with Uncle Jack although Uncle Jack has expressed
interest in her.
 Straight forward- she “had an acid tongue”
 Frank- tells the children the truth about Arthur Radley
 Admires Atticus- “What I meant was, if Atticus Finch drank until he was drunk he wouldn’t be
as hard as some men are at their best. There are just some kind of men who— who’re so
Revised 2010
busy worrying about the next world they’ve never learned to live in this one, and you can
look down the street and see the results.”
 Optimistic- though her house was just burnt down she wasn’t grieving at all and even “took a
lively and cordial interest in Jem’s and my (Scout’s) affairs.”
 Supports Atticus- “I simply want to tell you that there are some men in this world who were
born to do our unpleasant hobs for us. Your father’s one of them.” As nobody in Maycomb
would have taken up the case except for him.
 Aunt Alexandra
 Detached- “cold and there”
 Condescending ,patronising- “analogous to Mount Everest”
 Rigid- “fanatical on the subject of my attire. I(Scout) could not possibly hope to be a lady if I
wore breeches”, this shows her rigidness as she feels that a lady must have traits that defines
a lady and refuses to alter her definition of a lady.
 Callous- “She (Aunt Alexandra hurt my feelings and set my (Scout) teeth permanently on
edge”
 Eavesdropper- “Aunt Alexandra was a back-porch listener”
 Racist (entrenched in her) - told Calpurnia to put her bag in the front bedroom without
greeting her or thanking her. This shows that she does not respect the blacks and regards
them as second class citizens, as does not show them the respect that they deserve. Another
example of this can be seen when Scout told Atticus in detail “about our trip to church with
Calpurnia \. Atticus seemed to enjoy it, but Aunt Alexandra, who was sitting in a corner
quietly sewing, put down her embroidery and stared at us”.
 Fits into the Maycomb Society- “Maycomb welcomed her. Miss Maudie Atkinson made a
Lane cake so loaded with shinny it made me tight; Miss Stephanie Crawford had long visits
with Aunt Alexandra, consisting mostly of Miss Stephanie shaking her head and saying, “Uh,
uh, uh,” Miss Rachel next door had Aunty over for coffer in the afternoons, and Mr Nathan
Radley went so far as to come up in the front yard and say he was glad to see her.” This
probably because she is the epitome of a southern lady and the fact that Maycomb is a
desolated town, so no one comes in or out. Furthermore, to emphasise the extent in which
she manages to blend in with the Maycomb inhabitants, Lee states, “Aunt Alexandra fitted
into the world of Maycomb like a hand into a glove”.
 “she had river-boat, boarding-school manners”
 Judgemental- “She never let a chance escape her to point out the shortcomings of other
tribal groups to the greater glory of our own”
 Prejudiced- “Aunt Alexandra, in underlining to moral of young Sam Merriweather;s suicide,
said it was caused by a morbid streak in the family. Let a sixteen-year-old girl giggle in the
choir and Aunty would say, “It just goes show you, all the Penifield women and flighty.”
Everybody in Maycomb, it seemed, had a Streak”
 Cares about the children- after the trial, she said, “I didn’t think it wise in the first place to let
them—“as she does not want to expose the children to the racial prejudice that exists in
their world and hurt and scar them emotionally.
 Snobby- This can be seen through her views on the Cunninghams. “Because he-is-trash,
that’s why you can’t play with him, I’ll not have you around him, picking up his habits and
learning Lord-knows-what. You’re enough of a problem to your father as it is.”
 In chapter 24,
Revised 2010
 Wants to make Scout a lady- The tea part in Chapter 24 “was part of her campaign to
teach me to be a lady.” This is because Atticus had been quite liberal with his children.
This upsets Aunt Alexandra, thus she decides to teach Scout about the mannerisms of a
lady.
 Carries out her role as a lady faithfully- she does not try to offend Mrs Merriweather as
she is the hostess and she wants to act like one, hence Miss Maudie does it for her. This
is shown when she “gave Miss Maudie a look of pure gratitude”.
 Starts to show some emotion. E.g. she was shocked when she heard what had happened
to Tom Robinson after his attempt to escape from prison. “Aunt Alexandra put her hands
to her mouth.”
 Softer side of Aunt Alexandra is revealed- “didn’t they try to stop him? Didn’t they give
him any warning?’ She was wondering why the prison wardens were ruthless enough to
kill Tom Robinson instead of the aforementioned.
 Reveals that she supports Atticus and cares for him-
 “This is the last straw, Atticus,”
 “Aunt Alexandra sat down in Calpirnia’s chair and pit her hands to her face. She sat
down so quiet I wondered if she would faint.”
 I can’t say I approve of everything he does Maudie but he’s my brother, and I just
want to know when this will ever end.” Her voice rose: ‘It tears him to pieces, He
doesn’t show it much, but it tears him to pieces.”
 The concept of duty. “Stop that shaking,” commanded Miss Maudie and I stopped.
“Get up, Alexandra, we’re left ‘em long enough.”
 Sign of conformity as a lady to act as if nothing had happened. “She took her
handkerchief from her belt and wiped her nose. She patted her hair and said, “Do I show
it?”
 She is kind and concerned about the children’s welfare. This can be seen when she
brought Scout her overalls and asked her to put it on after she had been assaulted by
Bob Ewell. This shows that she is more concerned about Scout’s welfare than Scout’s
need to become a lady.
 The Cunninghams
 Respectable- Walter wore a “clean shirt and neatly mended overalls” although he is poor.
 Self-conscious – when he was asked why he did not have any lunch his jaw twitched as
observed by Scout.
 Polite- uses ma’am to address Miss Caroline
 Honest- “They took anything they can’t pay back”, “No script stamps, church baskets…”
 Proud of their heritage- has an entailment, “willing to go hungry to keep his land and vote as
he pleased.”
 Grateful- Returns stuff eventually to the extent that Atticus comments” that Mr Cunningham
had more than paid him.”
 Shy- does not directly return the deed, but does it in secret
 Mrs Dubose
 Easily angered- had a “wrathful gaze, subjected to ruthless interrogation regarding our
behaviour”
 Dangerous- Rumoured to have had kept a “C.S.A. pistol concealed among her numerous
shawls and wraps”. This rumour shows how feared she is by the children.
 Demanding- “We (Scout and company) could do nothing to please her.”
 She was vicious
Revised 2010
 Sickly- Bounded to a wheelchair and hallucinates as she thinks that Scout and Jem were
skipping school to go to the town as seen “Where are you two going at this time of day?” she
shouted. “Playing hooky, I suppose. I’ll just call up the principal and tell him!”
 Racist- Disapproves of Atticus’ action of taking up Tom Robinson’s case and takes part in
calling the Negroes ‘nigger’.
 A morphine addict, “but she was too contrary” and wanted to “leave this world beholden to
nothing and nobody.”
 So she tried to abstain from morphine.
 Eventually, she died as free “as the mountain air”
 Atticus even said that “she was the bravest person I ever knew”
 Miss Rachel Haverford
 Unsympathetic and thinks that Atticus is getting nowhere- she told Dill that “ if a man like
Atticus Finch wants to butt his head against a stone wall it’s his head.”
 Miss Stephanie Crawford
 Only cares about gossip and not about the injustice that befalls an innocent black man- “She
wanted to know who all gave us permission to go to court”
 Mrs Merriweather
 “the most devout lady in Maycomb”
 Hypocrite- feels sad for the Africans and not for the Black Americans
 Does not see the blacks as equals- insults them by calling them “darky”
 Uses the bible to teach others, but in the wrong way- she tried to tell her cook Sophie that
“Jesus Christ never went around grumbling and complaining,” even though her cook’s
grumbles were well justified.
 Feels that it is the whites’ duty to educate the blacks-Mrs Farrow, the second most devout
lady in Maycomb, said “…we’re fighting a losing battle”… … “We can educate ‘em till we’re
blue in the face, we can try till we drop to make Christians out of ‘em but there’s no lady safe
in her bed these nights.”
 Her hypocrisy becomes clearer when she talks about Atticus in Atticus’ house. – “Folks in this
town who think they’re doing right, I mean. Now far be it for me to say who, but some of ‘em
in this town thought they were doing the right thing a while back, but all they did was stir
‘em up.” She views Atticus as a trouble maker. However, she still eats his food. This shows her
hypocrisy as she claims to resent Atticus but still visits his house and eats his food.
 Self- centred- only thinks about how the situation would affect her. Tries to make herself
look like a kind person by saying that the “only reason I(Mrs Merriweather) keep her( Mrs
Merriweather’s cook, Sophie) is because this depression’s on and she needs her dollar and a
quarter every week she can get it.”
 Mr Underwood
 Frank- “he couldn’t have cared less with cancelled advertising and subscriptions.”
 Mr Link Deas
 He feels sympathetic towards Tom Robinson’s family’s condition and tries to help by
providing Tom’s wife with a job even though “He didn’t really need her, but he said he felt
right bad about the way things turned out.”
 Mr Heck Tates
 He is a realist as he feels that some people are born naturally evil. This can be seen from this
quote: “Mr Finch, there’s just some kind of men you have to shoot before toy can say hidy to
‘em. Even then, they ain’t worth the bullet it takes to shoot ‘em. Ewell ‘has one of ‘em.”
Revised 2010
Symbols:
 Snowman
 Represents the fact that all humans are the same as though the snowman is white on the
outside, it is black on the inside. This shows that although humans have different skin colours
they are the same on the inside.
 Cold Weather
 Represent that something bad will happen as Maycomb had not have the “coldest winter
since 1885”.
 Miss Maudie’s fire
 Represents what people will do during the face of disaster; show their true colours. For
example, this is when Jem realises that Boo is in fact a harmless guy who unfortunately have
been ostracised from the Maycomb society. Also, Mr Avery, who Scout thinks pees on his
porch, is revealed to be a kind person. (Helps Miss Maudie remove furniture from her house
when it was set ablaze).
 This incident also shows that the community will face future conflicts (e.g. the trial) together.
 Old Tim Johnson
 It symbolises the “Maycomb disease” that plagues the locals. Like the Tim Johnson, they
behaved normal on the outside but were “sick” in the inside, even to the extent of
persecuting a black man by not standing up for him even though he was innocent.
 The use of the mockingbird
 Pg 216- it is used to evoke suspense as it reads “The feeling grew until the atmosphere in the
courtroom was exactly the same as a cold February morning, when the mockingbirds were
still, and the carpenters had stopped hammering on Miss Maudie’s new house, and every
wood door in the neighbourhood was shut as tight as the doors of the Radley Place.
 Pg 247- “He (Mr Underwood) likened Tom’s death to the senseless slaughter of songbirds by
hunters and children”.
Revised 2010

Mocking Bird by Harper Lee Basics

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Mocking Bird by Harper Lee Basics

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English Literature Notes-To Kill A Mockingbird

Copyright © 2009-2010 Theodore Lam Xin Rong

Copyright © 2009-2010 Theodore Lam Xin Rong

Copyright © 2009-2010 Theodore Lam Xin Rong

Copyright © 2009-2010 Theodore Lam Xin Rong

Copyright © 2009-2010 Theodore Lam Xin Rong

Copyright © 2009-2010 Theodore Lam Xin Rong

Copyright © 2009-2010 Theodore Lam Xin Rong

Copyright © 2009-2010 Theodore Lam Xin Rong

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After the trial

 Informal (e.g. Atticus, Miss Maudie, Aunt Alexandra. Dolphus Raymond)

Copyright © 2009-2010 Theodore Lam Xin Rong

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Copyright © 2009-2010 Theodore Lam Xin Rong

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Copyright © 2009-2010 Theodore Lam Xin Rong

 Fascinated about the Radley Place

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Copyright © 2009-2010 Theodore Lam Xin Rong

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