To Kill a Mockingbird

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Characters and Context

1930s America was tough, particularly for the black community, slavery had been abolished in 1865 however many employers still disagreed with having to pay wages for their black staff who had previously been used as unpaid slaves. This was only a year after the Wall Street Crash had occurred, with many suffering financially as a result of the collapse in the stock market, thousands of people lost their jobs as their employers could no longer afford to pay their wages. The southern states were hit hard by the collapse because crop prices fell, they were also still recovery from the consequences of slavery's abolishment. The period between 1929 and 1930 is known as the Great Depression, people were poor and many wanted to blame somebody for their poor judgement which had resulted in their poverty - people of a different race were an easy target.

Scout Finch - narrator of the novel, a stubborn tomboy who's always getting into trouble along with her brother, Jem.

Jem Finch - Scout's older brother, he will sometimes tease his sister but it is always in his best interests to look out for her, a mischievous character.

Atticus Finch - Scout and Jem's father, a lawyer with a strong moral compass, he teaches the children a lot about respect.

Dill - he visits Maycomb every summer to stay with his aunt, he is good friends with Jem and Scout.

Calpurnia - a black woman with a strong disciplinary manner, he is the Finch's house keeper and takes no nonsense from the children.

Aunt Alexandra - a stern influence on the children, she gets on well with the women of Maycomb as she is also very stuck in her ways.

Tom Robinson - the accused, he's compassionate and hardworking though despised by the Maycomb folk for raping Mayella Ewell.

Boo Radley - a mysterious man who intrigues the children for he is the centre of gossip in the town.

Bob Ewell - an abusive father who lives by a dump, he symbolises all discrimination and the uninfluenced racist attitudes of the Maycomb people.

Mayella Ewell - claims to have been raped by Tom Robinson, she has a hard home life - has to look after her seven younger siblings and is beaten by her father.

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Chapter 1

The novel is written in American English and uses the southern dialect expressions in order to demonstrate the context of the novel, highlighting the illiteracy of the town and expressing the balance of economy and education.

Lee mocks Simon Finch, the founder of the Finch family as he contradicts his own beliefs such that he is willing to buy slaves but he will not practice medicine as it may jeopardise his religion, this is interpreted by many as ironic. It is morally incorrect to use people as slaves as it exploits God's will and enforces the discrimination of the black community.

At the beginning of the novel, Maycomb appears isolated and much of the community remains close minded and discriminative of the black community despite the abolition of slavery in 1865. 'A day of twenty four hours seems longer' - this suggests that they hold a rigid perspective on social issues which are not changing with time, the town is tired and stuck in its ways.

The Radley Place is described as sinister and malevolent, giving an impression of morbid terror as it situated 'in darkness', where 'oak trees... blocked the sun out'.

Boo Radley is the centre of the town's gossip and so he is treated as if he has committed a great crime, as a result of the back handed rumours, Boo does not leave the house and many believe he may have died. Boo's treatment from his parents has led to the rumours , his family already had a bad reputation and this was not aided by Arthur's imprisonment. The mystery of Boo Radley intrigues the children as they are still innocent and not under the influence of prejudices unlike the older generation.

It is very unusual for a person of Maycomb to keep so to themselves, therefore when the Radley family refuses to open their blinds or leave the house this intrigues their neighbours and leads them to begin rumours - they compensate for a lack of knowledge with lies. Maycomb folk fear individuality and so Arthur is treated differently, so much so that they have renamed his Boo Radley whether this is to induce fear in the younger generation is never confirmed.

Boo's isolation means that his strong bond with the children is very important as they are seen to encourage Boo out of the house in order to protect them.

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Chapter 2

Upon starting school, Scout feels betrayed by Jem as he is reluctant to play with her at school ('I was to leave him alone'), this is the first realisation that she has of their age gap because 'school's different', Jem has a reputation amongst his friends that he needs to maintain. However, she is still excited to begin school as it takes her mind off Dill leaving to return to Meridian so she'd 'never looked forward to something more'. When she is denied he right to express her intelligence Scout becomes frustrated and is in a sense, punished for being literate unlike her counterparts. Proceeding this, Scout is reluctant to pay much attention to Miss Caroline and becomes distracted in class. Scout's rejection from Jem suggests that she must become more independent as the siblings are growing apart, this is prompted by Dill's visit.

Miss Caroline appears single minded from Scout's perspective as she is new to the Maycomb way of life and has not yet learned the ways of the Maycomb people, she is obliged to learn about the family history of those living in the town. The young teacher fears losing her superiority in class therefore she treats Scout as no more than a troublesome child. In a way, Miss Caroline may seem arrogant as she is better educated and has marginly more restricted views of society.

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Chapter 3

Calpurnia appears to be a motherly figure for Scout as she employs discipline in the Finch household and Atticus relies of her to look after the children, this is perhaps considered unusual by the rest of the town as 'Cal' is black. The children's father comments on their dependency on the house keeper as 'we couldn't operate... without her', she is viewed as part of the family - this is one of the first references to equality within the novel. In this sense, we learn that Atticus respects people of colour which sends out an important message to his children who are still impressionable. He is without prejudice as 'you'll never really understand a person until you climb into his skin and walk around in it'.

Scout learns in this chapter that she must have more discipline in what she says - thinking carefully about what she has to say before she says it, this is taught to her by Calpurnia. When Walter Cunningham comes to the Finch's for lunch, Scout learns not to comply to stereotypes which would have lead her to distrust Walter for being part of a penniless family who often repay Atticus with unconventional currency. She is taught to empathise with others.

Within this chapter, we also learn of the Ewell family, a poverty writhe family who often do not appreciate the education system, Scout describes Burris Ewell as the 'filthiest human [she] had ever seen'. Miss Caroline's confusion leads one of the elderly members of class to explain that 'he's one of the Ewell's, ma'am'.

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The Characterisation of Burris Ewell (Chapter 3)

Poorly educated young boy who is known by his peers for being 'a mean one' as he is 'liable o start somethin''. Burris shows very little respect for his teacher when he violently threatens Miss Caroline for not understanding the Ewell's bad reputation amongst the Maycomb folk. Burris actively complies with the stereotype that the Ewell's never stay in school for the whole year - 'I done my time for this year'. His use of vulgur and dehumanising terms to describe his teacher such as 'snot-nosed slut' which highlight the idea that he has been held back a number of years as his strong language is inappropriate for first years.

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Chapter 4

The children play the Boo Radley game with Dill throughout summer, this highlights that they are still fascinated by Boo, they identify him as a character in a novella - 'so busy playing chapter XXV book two'. The characters of their game have become mythical, they use their imaginations as a doorway to escapism from the reality of Maycomb.

Presentation of Dill:

His is a mischievous character who is to lead Jem and Scout astray during his visits from Meridian although they still value his companionship, despite suggesting that they knock on the door of the Radley Place, a dangerous suggestion.

They both miss his presence when he must leave as he possesses a similarly vivid imagination in order to avoid his troubled reality, often relying on his imagination to convince himself that his home life is better.

Gender begins to separate Scout and Dill.

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Chapter 5

Presentation of Miss Maudie:

'time spent indoors is time wasted' - loves the outdoors and she allows the children to play in her garden

'she would call across the street' - kind and motherly, she would offer the children cakes after baking

'magisterial beauty' / 'reign' - respected by the Maycomb folk

Scout appreciates Miss Maudie as a motherly figure like Calpurnia - 'called us by our names'

widowed, similar to Atticus in terms of her attitudes towards the prejudices in society

What do we learn about Boo Radley?

Dill is still alive, despite the rumours - suggests that the Maycomb people are very conceited and nosy

Boo has been renamed after the rumours began from Arthur, this is considered too realistic for such a mysterious character

Miss Maudie knowns no more about Arthur Radley than Scout

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Chapter 6 and 7

The children have always feared the Radley Place, hence the eerie description in chapter 1 as the family have always been portrayed as dangerous as a result of rumours and their bad reputation. However, for the children there is also a fear of the unknown as they know very little of the Radley family. The suspense caused by the house on the children may reflect the idea that Boo is simply a figment of imagination formulated through gossip.

'high wire fence' - sense of enclosure and the isolation of Arthur, he is a victim to Maycomb's gossip however there is also a sense of danger surrounding the character therefore he is locked up.

'two dark windows' - windows are usually considered welcoming and open. however these do not allow any light into the rooms leaving Arthur to fester amongst the shadows.

'moonlight' - reflects the idea that Boo should be feared as a supernatural being, this also implies that the children will soon learn the truth about Arthur, hence foreshadowing future events in the novel, shines a light on the truth.

'shadow' - the children have never seen Arthur and so he is still an element of mystery in their imagination, there is a sense of unknowing particularly as the description of the shadow implies that the sense of danger is as 'crisp as toast' although a shadow can be misleading.

'squeaked' - suggests that nobody uses the gate although this may also be a conscious decision made by Lee in order to alarm the Radley's of the children, this breaks the silence and demonstrates the neglect to the house caused by time.

The children represent the idea that prejudice is not deep set from birth, it must be taught, the children in the novel particular highlight their impressionism and have been influenced by the people of Maycomb. The 'negros' of Maycomb are seen as equal to dogs - 'won't aim higher, be it dog, nigger, or-', this shows the hostility of the Maycomb folk towards the black community, the order in which blacks and a dog is written would imply that they have no respect for black people. This is not the impression that Atticus wants for his children to grow up believing.

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Chapter 8