| To Kill A Mockingbird |
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''To Kill a Mockingbird'' is a 1960 novel by Harper Lee , which won the Pulitzer Prize For Fiction in 1961 . A Coming-of-age story, it is told from the point of view of Jean Louise "Scout" Finch, the young daughter of Atticus Finch, an educated lawyer in Maycomb, Alabama, a fictional small town in the Deep South of the United States . She is accompanied by her brother Jem and their mutual friend Dill. Truman Capote was a lifelong friend of childhood neighbor Lee, and allegedly was the inspiration for Dill's character in her best-seller. Capote frequently implied that he himself had written a considerable portion of her novel, and some have said he Ghosted the entire novel. At least one person — Pearl Kazin Bell, an editor at Harper's — has gone on record as believing his assertions were true. However, Capote would likely have been much more aggressive in claiming credit for the novel's Pulitzer Prize had he been the real author, since he never achieved a Pulitzer for his own work. His persona was far more flamboyant than hers, and their writing styles reflect this difference. And a letter (dated July 9, 1959) from Capote to his aunt indicates that Lee did indeed write the entire book herself {Link without Title} . The title of the book is taken from Atticus's advice to his children about firing their . Harper Lee stated, "To get the ideas for the book I used recent events in my time like the Scottsboro Trials ." (Harper Lee, Book Review, 1964) ANALYSIS OF IMPORTANT CHARACTERS Jean Louis "Scout" Finch is the Main charcter of the story, she is a little 6 year old girl and has very tomboyish charcteristics such as fighting, eating gum out of trees she is also very intelligent in school, she could read since she was a toddler and takes the advanced math and science courses. It is stated that she has bangs (hair) and wears jeans. Jeremy Atticus "Jem" Finch is Scout's older brother. Jem undergoes crucial transformations in the work as he becomes a man. The trial of Tom Robinson is Jem's first real encounter with true evil, and the realization of its existence drives him into a sullen state. Prior to this, he had viewed the world innocently, thinking of people as one-sided. He viewed Boo Radley, for example, as a frightening figure. Jem was able to overcome his sullenness due to the strong presence of Atticus in his life, and became a bigger person as he achieved a greater understanding of the world and how to view and treat other human beings. Atticus Finch is one of the most important characters in the story. He represents morality and kindness. He defends Tom Robinson because he feels that not doing so would make him a hypocrite. Atticus serves as a guiding light for his children, always calm and patient. He allows them to come to the understanding that, although evil exists, one should not dwell on that but should instead realize that the existence of this evil is a sign that there is work to do, and progress to make. His strong presence in his children's lives prevents them from becoming symbols of destroyed innocence, such as Boo Radley and Tom Robinson. Arthur "Boo" Radley symbolizes destroyed innocence. As a child he was abused by his father, and was driven to Agoraphobia . A gentle creature, he is viewed with fear by the children, who do not come to a better understanding of him until the end of the work. He does several heroic things, including giving Scout a blanket during a neighborhood fire, and saving the kids from an assault by the father of the girl that accused Tom Robinson of rape. His misconceived good nature testifies to the message of the story, one of kindness and the notion that people should not make judgements on others, since human beings are not that simple. Tom Robinson is important to the novel for many different reasons. Firstly, he acts as a scapegoat in the novel — allowed to take the blame for something he didn't do (raping Mayella). He represents the 'mockingbird,' doing nothing but good (helping Mayella with various tasks and expecting no payment in return). In addition it shows there is prejudice between the Black people and White people. Although Scout is too young to understand the basic principle of racism, her description of the trial of Tom lets the reader believe the author is against racism. The book is Bildungsroman — showing she and Jem are growing up. Aunt Alexandra is Atticus’ proper sister, who came to live with them to make a lady out of the tomboy Scout and restore proper Southern order to their home. TRIVIA
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