To Kill A Mockingbird

Scout
1. The narrator and protagonist of the play.
2. She lives with her brother, Jem, her father, Atticus and her cook Calpurnia.
3. She is unusually intelligent (learns to read) and shy and acts rather like a tomboy
4. She has a combative streak and a basic faith in the goodness of the people in her community.
5. Her faith is tested by the hatred and prejudice that emerges during Tom Robinson's trial.
6. Scout eventually develops a more grown up perspective that enables her to appreciate human goodness without ignoring human evil.
7. Atticus has nurtured her mind, conscience and individuality without bogging her down in social hypocrisies and notions of propriety.
8. She has her first contact with evil in the form of racial prejudice.
  1. The development of the character is governed by the question of whether she will emerge from this with her conscience and optimism in tact or whether she will be bruised, hurt or destroyed like Boo Radley and Tom Robinson.
    1. Thanks to Atticus's wisdomScout learns that though humanity has a great capacity for evil, it also has a great capacity for good and that evil can often be mitigated if one approaches others with an outlook of sympathy and understanding.
      1. Scout's development into a person capable of assuming that outlook marks the culmination of the novel and indicates that, whatever evil she encounters she will retain her conscience without becoming cynical to jaded.
9. Though she is still a child at the end of the book, Scout's perspective of life develops from that of an innocent child into that of a near grown-up.
Atticus Finch
1. Scout and Jem's father and a lawyer in Maycomb, descended from an old local family.
2. Instilled in his children his strong sense of morality and justice.
3. One of the few residents in Maycomb that are committed to racial equality.
4. When he agrees to defend Tom Robinson he is exposing his family to the anger of the white community.
5. With his strong convictions, wisdom and empathy, Atticus functions as the moral backbone of the novel.
6. Rather well off in a time of widespread poverty.
7. Functions as the moral backbone of Maycomb and is respected by everyone, including the poor. A person who others turn to in times of doubt and trouble.
8. His conscience that makes him so admirable ultimately causes the falling out with the people of Maycomb.
9. Unable to abide the towns comfortable ingrained racial prejudice, he agrees to defend Tom Robinson.
  1. His actions make him an object of scorn in Maycomb, but his impressionable character doesn't enable him to be scorned for long and after the trial he returns to his original high status.
10. He practices the ethnic of sympathy and understanding that he preaches to Scout and Jem and never holds a grudge against the people of Maycomb.
  1. Despite their callous indifference to racial equality, Atticus sees much to admire in them.
    1. He recognises that people have both good and bad qualities in them, and he is determined to admire the good, while understanding and forgiving the bad.
      1. He passes this onto Scout and this perspective protects the innocent from being destroyed by contact with evil.
      2. Ironically, though Atticus is a heroic figure in the novel, neither Scout or Jem idolise him at the beginning of the novel. They are embarrassed as he is older than other fathers and doesn't hunt or fish.
        But Atticus's wise parenting, which he sums up in chapter 30 by saying, 'Before Jem looks at anyone else he looks at me, and I've tried to live so I can look squarely back at him', ultimately wins their respect.
        By the end of the novel Jem in particular is fiercely devoted to Atticius.
        Though his children's attitude to him evolves, Atticus is characterised throughout the book by his absolute consistency. He stands rigidly committed to justice and thoughtfully willing to view matters from the perspective of others.
        He doesn't develop throughout the novel but retains these qualities in equal measure, making him the novel's moral guide and voice of conscience.
Jem
1. Scout's brother and playmate.
2. A typical American boy, refusing to back down from dares and fantasizing about playing football.
3. Four years older than Scout, he gradually separates himself from her games but remains her close companion and protector throughout the novel.
4. Jem moves into adolescence during the story and his ideals are shaken badly by the evil and injustice that he perceives during the trial of Tom Robinson.
5. His dillusionment upon seeing that justice does not always prevail leaves him vulnerable and confused.
  1. Nevertheless, he admirably uphold the commitment to justice that Atticus installed in him and maintains it with deep conviction throughout the novel.
    1. Unlike the jaded Mr. Raymond, Jem is not without hope: Atticus tells Scout that Jem simply needs time to process what he has learned.
      1. The strong presence of Atticus in his life seems to promise that he will recover his equilibrium.
        Later in his life , Jem is able to see that Boo Radley's unexpected aid indicates that there is good in people.
        Even before the end of the novel , Jem shows a sign of having learned a positive lesson from the trial; for instance at the beginning of chapter 25 he refuses to let Scout squash a ropy poly bug because it has done nothing to harm her.
        After the unfair destruction of Tom Robinson, Jm now wants to protect the fragile and harmless.
        The idea that Jem resolves his cynicism and moves towards a happier lit is supported by the beginning of the novel, in which a grown-up Scout remembers talking to Jem about the events that make up the novels plot.
        Scout says that Jem pinpointed the children's initial interest in Boo Radley at the beginning of the story, strongly implying that he understood what Boo Radley represented to them and, like Scout, managed to shed his innocence without losing his hope.
Boo Radley
1. A recluse who never sets foot outside his house.
2. He dominates the imaginations of Jem, Dill and Scout
3. Powerful symbol of goodness swathed in an initial shroud of creepiness
4. An intelligent man, emotionally damaged by his cruel father.
5. An example of the threat that evil poses to innocence and goodness.
6. One of the novels 'mockingbirds' , a good person damaged by the evil of mankind.
7. The book is based around the idea of human nature.
  1. Atticus demonstrates this to Scout when he says, step into their shoes and walk around in them' which implies that you aren't justified to make a false assumption of someone.
8. The town created a whole different identity of him because they knew so little about him.
9. Tries to become closer to the children and reach out to them by leaving gifts.
10. 'Will you take me home' were the only words said by Boo Radley throughout the whole book and they imply that he still wants to be close to Scout. However they also have an underlying meaning.
  1. The underlying meaning is that he is not someone that she should be afraid of, it also reveals that he is a bit shy and cautious about walking home alone.
    1. He may stay inside all the time but he isn't oblivious to what the townspeople say about him.
      1. Boo is the most important symbol throughout the book as he is the 'mockingbird', the title and theme of the story.
        When they left each other at the porch it is not certain whether Scout or Boo saw each other again but it is evident that they thought a lot about each other for a long time afterwards. Scout learned from this experience about her town's true mockingbird.

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	Created by 11jlee about 11 years ago