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TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD: By: Harper lee

Harper Lee’s “ To Kill A Mockingbird” is a rare novel about many things including prejudice, life in a small town, rape, and murder. But I think the main thing is the life in a small town. Although racism was an issue in the novel, most of the novel consisted of the life of three children who grew up in the small town of Maycome, two of which were brother and sister and a friend who came for the summer months to stay with his Aunt. Our main focus is on Jem and Scout, and their friend Dill. Then there was the trial of Tom for rape, and his murder after the trial.

Maycomb County Alabama was a small one horse type town. Atticus Finch was the local lawyer and his children Jem and Scout grew up calling him Atticus rather than father, or dad. Jem and Scout were bored children. No one really played with them till the summer Dill showed up. A small boy from Mississippi that came to live with his Aunt during the summer months. Jem and Scout took Dill under their wing and had many adventures during the summer months. Boo Radley, a mentally ill man who kept to himself, and yet watched after Jem, Scout and Dill. He felt as thought they were his own kids. He would do nothing to hurt them. During the first summer together, the kids got to know one another. They played and laughed and picked on Boo Radley.

The summer months seem to go by too quick for the kids Jem, Scout, and Dill. One of their main adventures was to try to get Boo to come out of his house by knocking on his door, then running. The kids also liked to play in the tree house, ride in tires down the street of their small town. The second summer with Dill brought about many different things. The second summer, was the trial of Tom Robinson. The kids played and watched as the towns people criticized Atticus Finch, and others that were around him. They felt that it was not right for a local to be defending him when it was a clear cut case that he did the crime of the rape of Mrs. Ewell. Although the kids had other things they could do, the trial was a big thing. They wanted to watch their father, Atticus, at work, which is one thing they had never done before.

The trial of Tom Robinson, a local black man whom Atticus Finch was representing, for the rape of Mrs. Ewell. Many of the town folks thought that because he was defending him, that Finch was a “negro lover”, when in fact, it was just his job. Tom was accused because he was a kind hearted soul. The children set in the balcony of the court room with the African Americans that were there to see the trial. The night the trial ended, was not a happy one. While walking Tom to the jail, he took off running because he knew his innocence, but no one else did. However, this only cost him his life as he was shot while running off and killed. The real rapist was still out among the towns people. The jury did not take into account that Tom could not have done what they said he did because he no use of his left arm. As a young man, he had it caught in a cotton gin and it left his arm immobile.

The fall after the trial during the Halloween pageant, and being that it was a special one, Scout played a ham. During the pageant Scout’s clothes and shoes were somehow misplaced among all the costumes, and other things. Scout was left to going home in the paper machete ham. Half way home, Jem heard what sounded like someone following them. Though he could not see anyone or anything, they continued walking until Jem was attacked. Scout and Jem both tried to fight off the person, but being they were children, it was hard to do. Suddenly another person came to the rescue. Scout had been pushed down in her ham, and did not see what happen. Jem was knocked out and thrown to the ground. Scout found her way up, and saw someone carrying Jem to their house. Scout found her way out of the ham, and ran home to check on Jem. The Sherriff arrived to announce that Mr. Ewell had been found stabbed and was dead. Atticus thought that Jem had done the crime, and was in his head preparing to defend him. The Sherriff said that there is no way Jem had done the crime. Scout somehow knew who had done it, and looked and there was Boo standing behind the door in the bedroom. It was agreed then that Boo would not stand trial, but that the story would be that Mr. Ewell had fallen on his knife and killed himself.

In Maycomb County, things were simple. However, the events around the summers of To Kill A Mockingbird brought new vision to the town. In one summer, mystery and mayhem around a rape and murder made people wonder what the town was coming to, however, the children learned new things, and the town found out that the man they feared the most was the sweetest kindest person that they could ever want to have around. The moral of To Kill A Mockingbird is essentially a moral to life. If it is quite, and causes no harm but to sing