To Kill a Mockingbird Kapitelzusammenfassungen + mehr

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because he once got in trouble with the law. His father is dead now and it is rumored that Boo stabbed his father with a scissors. His brother came to live with him but he still stays inside the house. The three kids go to the Radley house and Dill dares Jem to touch the house. Nothing happens but Scout believes that she saw a movement at a window. Chapter 2 Dill goes back to Meridian after the summer holidays and Scout goes to the school for the first time. She finds out that her teacher does not treat the children in her class properly. Her teacher Miss Caroline gets mad because Scout can already read, so she feels guilty for having been educated by her father. Scout complains to Jem in recess about Miss Caroline he says that she just tries a new way of teaching. In the afternoon Miss Caroline noticed that a boy named Walter Cunningham did not bring lunch to school. She wants to lend him money but he refuses to take it. His family is poor, so he would not be able to pay her the money back. Scout tries to explain his circumstances without humiliating him but Miss Caroline does not understand and she slps her with a ruler and she also has to stand in the corner. Chapter 3 Scout gets aggressive with Walter for getting her in trouble but Jem still invites him for dinner at their house. Atticus and Walter talk about farm business at dinner. Scout gets upset when Walter pours Molasses on his food, Calpurnia slaps her because she criticized a guest. At school a boy named Burris Ewell causes Miss Fisher to cry. A big is crawling out of his hair and he leaves the classroom while saying bad words. The Ewell family is also known for being poor and for only going to school he first day of school year because they do not want to get in trouble with the law. At home, Scout tells her father that she does not fell very well and she does not want to go to school anymore. He declines her idea of him teaching her at home because the law demands her to go to school. In the end they find a compromise: They will continue reading every night if Scout goes to school every day. Chapter 4 The school year is quite boring for Scout because she feels like she already knows everything they teach her at school. One day after school when she passes the Radley house, she sees some silver foil glittering in a knothole in's tree in the Radley yard. She takes it and discovers that it is chewing gum. She chews it and when Jem finds out where the gum is from, he forces her to spit it out because according to him everything from the Radley Place is poisonous. After the last day of school, Scout discovers two pennies in that same knothole. She keeps them. Dill returns to Maycomb for the summer holidays and they start playing games again. One game is rolling each other around in an old tire and one time, Scout ends up in front of the steps of the Radley house. She panics but nothing dramatic happens. The three of them are inspired by this incident to another game: playing Boo Radley. During that game, they act as if they were the Radley family. Atticus catches them and notices that the game has something to do with the Radleys. Jem denies it and they wonder if they should continue playing that game. Chapter 5 Scout feels left out because Jem and Dill spend a lot of time without her. She starts spending time with Muss Maudie, an elderly neighbor. Miss Maudie likes baking cakes and gardening. She used to be a friend of Scout's uncle Jack. Scout talks with her about Boo Radley and finds out that his real name is Arthur. Miss Maudie also says that he is still alive and she thinks that he is a victim of his violent father who is dead now. According to Miss Maudie, Boo was a really polite and friendly child and she says that people spread ridiculous rumors about him. She thinks that he must be crazy right now because of the circumstances he is living under. Jem and Dill want to get Boo out of his house by inviting him to get ice cream with them. Scout is forced to help because she wanted to know what they were doing. The three of them tried to put a note on the window with a fishing pole but Atticus catches and stops them. Chapter 6 On the last day of Dill in Maycomb, Scout Dill and Jem sneak into the backyard of Boo Radley and they look into the windows of his house. A man with a hat appears and all of a sudden they hear a gunshot. The three of them escape through the fence and Jem looses his pants during the escape. When they return, they see a crowd in front of the Radley Place and hear that Nathan Radley shot a "Negro" who tried to steal something from his yard. He threatens to shoot again at the next sound that will come from the yard. Atticus notices that Hem's pants are gone and he asks him where they are. Dill intervenes and says that he lost them because of a game of strip poker. Jem sneaks out of the house in the night to get his pants back from the Radley place. Chapter 7 A few days after the incident with Jem's pants, Jem tells Scout that he found the pants folded and hung over the fence. On their way home from school they find a ball of gray twine in the knothole but they decided to leave it there for a few days. When no one else takes it they will take it for their own. Scout still unhappy in school. The second school year started and it is not different from the first year but Jem promises that school will get better every year. In the fall, there is something new in the knothole: two figures carved in a bar of soap who look like Jem and Scout. The bar of soap is followed by some chewing gum, a spelling bee medal and an old watch. On day they find the knothole concreted and because of that Jem asks Mr. Radley why there is cement in the knothole and he says that he did it because the tree is dying. Chapter 8 For the first time in years, Maycomb gets freezing cold on the winter and it snows. Because of that the school remains closed. Jem and Scout move snow from Miss Maudie's yard to their own and they build a snowman. The snowman looks like Miss Avery, he is a man living down the street. Atticus recognizes Mr. Avery in the snowman and said to his children that they have to modify it. Now the snowman wears Miss Maudie's sun hat and some of her hedge clippers. In the same night, Miss Maudie's house burns down and the neighbors help her save the furniture. Scout and Jem watch the event besides the Radley place and someone puts a blanket over Scout, but she does not know who it was when Atticus asked them about the blanket. Jem comes to the conclusion that Boo Radley put the blanket over Scout and he tells Atticus the truth about the gifts in the knothole and the mended pants. Atticus says to them that they should keep it a secret. Miss Maudie is not very sad about her house because she did not like her old house and she will build a much smaller house with a large garden. She also tells Scout that she wishes she could have been there for her when Boo had it the blanket over her. Chapter 9 Scout argues with a classmate called Cecil Jacobs. He claims that her father would defend black people. Atticus is about to defend Tom Robinson as a lawyer and he does not think that he will win the case. Nevertheless he has to try at least because this is what his sense of justice and self-respect demands. Tom Robinson is a black man who has been accused of around a white woman. At Christmas, uncle Jack comes to the Finch's house. Scout curses in front of him and he warns her not to swear when he is around. On Christmas Day all of them visit Aunt Alexandra. Scout does not feel very comfortable at her aunt's because she thinks that her cousin is boring she Ford not like the fact that her aunt insists on her dressing like a lady. Her cousin Francis offends Dill and says that Atticus is Simeon who loves African Americans. Scout gets very angry about that and beats him up. As a consequence, Scout is being sparked by uncle Jack without ever listening to Scout's explanation. Back at home, she tells Jack everything and he gets furious but promises not to tell Atticus, because Scout is as been asked not to fight with someone of he or she says something about Atticus. Scout listens to a conversation between her father and Jack, Atticus explains that although Tom Robinson is innocent, he has no chance because of the prejudices that the all-white jury has. Chapter 10 Scout and Jem are often embarrassed by the age of their father because in comparison he is older than other fathers in Maycomb. He also does not act like the other fathers because he reads and wears glasses instead of going hunting or fishing. When Atticus gives his children an air rifle he tells them that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird. One day a mad dog appears in the streets of the Finches' house and Heck Tate, the sheriff of Maycomb asks Atticus to shoot de fog with a riffle. He does that and his children are amazed by their father acting like that. Miss Maudie tells Scout and Jem that he can do some amazing things and he used to be one of the best shooters in town. Chapter 11 Misses Dubose, an old lady, lives close to the business district for Maycomb. She is grumpy and Jem is supposed to be nice to her because she is old and sick. One day she tells Jem and Scout that their father is not better than the African Americans and the trash he works for. Jem gets very angry and smashes Misses Duboses camellia bushes with a bat. He is being punished by having to read to her ever day for a month. Scout goes with Jem to her and the trading sessions are not very interesting. Misses Dubose makes Jem read longer than the day before by setting the alarm clock for longer than agreed. She died shortly after the reading sessions ended and Atticus explains to his children that she has been a morphine-addict and that when Jem started to read to her she stopped taking the drug. Misses Dubose left a present for Jem: a white box with a single white camellia. Chapter 12 At the age of twelve, Jem does not want to spend that much time anymore with Scout and demands her to start acting like a girl. She is upset about that and hopes that the arrival of Dill in the summer will change Jem's attitude. Scout finds out that Dill is not able to come to Maycomb that year because he has a new father and he will stay with his family. Atticus has to travel to the state capital every day for two weeks because the state legislature is called into session. The two children visit a colored church on a Sunday with Calpurnia. One member, called Lula disagrees with Calpurnia bringing white children to church. However in general, the church welcomes them and Reverend Sites explains that everyone does know Atticus. They get to know that the black community is poor because a lot of them cannot read. During service, Reverend Skyes collects money for the wife of Tom Robinson because she cannot find work due to her husband has been accused of rape. No one is allowed to leave the church before the amount of money they wanted to gather has been collected. Scout learns that it has been Bob Ewell who accused Tom Robinson and she is shocked that someone would believe something that a Ewell said. When they return home, Aunt Alexandra us waiting for them. Chapter 13 Aunt Alexandra is moving in to the house for a while because she and Atticus thought that they need a woman in their house. She is invited to other ladies in town and they are having coffee and cake. Aunt Alexandra is very proud of her own family heritage, that is why she often gossips about it and she judges the other families in Maycomb. In her opinion Scout and Jem are not proud enough of their family. Because of that, Atticus says that they are supposed to act more like a Finch. Chapter 14 Jem and Scout are also victims of the prejudices of the townspeople because Atticus decided to defend Tom Robinson. While Scout asks Atticus what "rape" means, it becomes clear that they went to the black church with Calpurnia. Aunt Alexandra forbids them to go to that church the next time and she wants Calpurnia to get fired. But Atticus says that he will not fire her because she is a part of the family and they need her. In the night, Jem says to Scout that she should not provoke their Aunt. Scout gets upset and she attacks her brother but Atticus stops them and he sends both of them to bed. Scout discovers that Dill is hiding under her bed. He ran away from home because his new father and his mother did not care about him anymore. Jem tells Atticus about Dill and after that Atticus goes to their neighbor Miss Rachel to tell her that he has run away. Dill goes to sleep in Jem's bed but then comes to Scout's bed and talks with her. Chapter 15 A group of men appear at the Finch's house in the evening. Tom Robinson is supposed to move to the Maycomb hail and the men are worried about the possibility of a lynch mob. Jem tells Scout about an argument between Aunt Alexandra and Atticus he listened to. Their aunt makes Atticus responsible for bringing disgrace over the family because he decided to defend Tom Robinson. The next evening, Atticus goes to turn and Jem, Dill and Scout go after him. They find him sitting in front of the jail. Four cars appear and park close to the jail. A few men come out of the cars and they want Atticus to move away. He refuses to do so and Scout jumps out of her hiding spot. Atticus wants them to go back home but Jem refuses. One of the men threatens them and says that they have fifteen seconds to leave. Scout recognizes the father of her classmate Walter Cunningham and starts talking to him. She says that he should say "hey" to Walter from her. The men are shocked and Mister Cunningham says that he will say "hey" to him because he feels ashamed. The men leave and Mister Underwood appears at a nearby window. He points to his shotgun and tells Atticus that he had him covered all the time. They talk for a gut but then they all go back home. Chapter 16 The court case begins and Scout and Jem are there as well. There are a lot of people in the courtroom. Miss Maudie refuses to go to the court case because she compares it with a Roman carnival. The white people access the building before the black people. Jem, Scout and Dill sneak into the courthouse after everyone already entered. They have to sit in Reverend Skyes' balcony, a place where all black peoples have to sit if they want to watch the trail. Judge Taylor deals with the case, he is known for running his court rather informally. Chapter 17 Sheriff Heck state is questioned by the prosecutor Mr. Filmed and he recounts that on November 21st, Bob Ewell came to the police station and asked the sheriff to get to their house because his daughter has been raped. She was found with a lot of bruises and obviously she was beaten up. May Ella said that Tom Robin is the person who did that. Atticus asks the witness about whether a doctor has been consulted but Heck Tate denies and says that the right side of her face was bruised. He ends his Statement and Bob Ewell is called. His family is known for living ruins the town garbage dump in a cabin with a thin-roof and their yard is filled with trash. He also has a lot of children but he does not know how many exactly. Ewell explains that on the night his daughter was raped, he was out in the woods looking for logs and was just about to return home when he heard the screams of his daughter. Her ran back home and looked through the window. In there he saw that his fighter was being raped by Tom Robinson. Robinson fled according to Ewell. He checked her daughter whether she was okay and after that he got the sheriff. He said that they did not need a doctor for her because there was no need and they also do not have the money for a doctor. Atticus asks Bob to write down his name and the jury sees that he is left-handed. Someone left-handed us more likely to bruise the right side of Mayella's face than someone right-handed. Chapter 18 Mayella is the next to testify. She is nineteen years old and seems to be terrified. The night when she was raped, she asked Tom Robinson to repair a dresser for her and when he was inside the house, he grabbed and raped her. Atticus finds out the poor life of Mayella with seven siblings, her drunken father and no friends. He then asks her several questions. Why did she not defend herself, why did her siblings did not notice what was happening and how Tom was able to bruise the right side of her face when his left hand was crippled when he was a young boy. He finally wants her to confess that Tom did not rape her and that it was her father who beat her up. Mayella gets upset and shouts that the jury would be cowards if they did not convict Tom Robinson. She starts to cry and refuses to answer any more questions. Mister Underwood notices that Jem and Scout are sitting in the balcony but Jem does not believe that he will tell their father. Chapter 19 Tom says that Mayella has often asked him to help her with some chores when he passed their house. In the night of the incident, she asked him to fix a door but there was nothing wrong with it. There was no one else in the house because Mayella gave her siblings money to buy ice cream according to Tom. She tried to hug Tom and asked him to kiss her. Mister Ewell watched the scene through the window and called Mayella a whore and he told her that he will kill her. Tom's white employer Link Dead testifies that he has never had trouble with Tom throughout eight years of work. The judge throws Dead out for his interruptive statement. The prosecutor Mister Gilmer hints at the fact that Tom had been arrested once and Tom admits that he is capable of choking and slinging a person to the floor even though he has a crippled arm. Tom is pressed and asked about why he always helped Mayella and he responds that he feels sorry for her. The people in the courtroom are shocked because a black person is not allowed to feel sorry for a white person. Mayella's testimony is reviewed by the prosecutor and he claims that Tom is lying. Dill bursts into tears and Scout leaves the courtroom with him. He explains to Scout that he is upset about how rude the prosecutor is towards Tom Robinson. Then, they meet Mister Dolphins Raymond. Chapter 20 Mister Dolphins Raymond drinks something from a paper bag and offer it to Dill who takes some sips, explaining to the worried Scout that it is just Coca-Cola and not alcohol. Dolphins says that he just pretends to be drunk in order to explain his lifestyle to other white people. In fact he just prefers black people over white people. Dill and Scout go back to the courtroom where Atticus is just about to make a personal appeal to the jury. He says that there is no medical evidence that Mayella was raped and that the witnesses are more than unreliable. He also tells the jury that it was Bob Ewell who beat Mayella and not Tom because of his physical incapability. Atticus retells in his own version of what has happened: Mayella being lonely was greedy for a black man and she hid her shame over that by accusing Tom of rape. He asks the jury to abandon the belief that all black people are made of criminal energy and to doing the right thing by freeing Tom. When Atticus has finished his speech, Calpurnia enters the courtroom. Chapter 21 Calpurnia gives Atticus an envelope with a note in it. It says that Jem and Scout are missing since noon. Mister Underwood stops the confusion and says that the children are in the colored balcony. Jem and Scout are asked to return home and have dinner although they want to listen to the verdict. Calpurnia leaves with Jem, Scout and Dill and they have dinner, after that they return to the courtroom. While the jury is in discussion, Jem feels confident that Atticus will win the case and Dill has fallen asleep. After 11pm, the jury enters and calls out that Tom Robinson is guilty. The attendees leave the courtroom and the black peoples rise in a gesture of respect when Atticus leaves the room. Chapter 22 Jem is crying in the night and does not understand why Tom is supposed to be guilty. The next day, the Finch's are given food from the black community of Maycomb. Miss Stephanie tried to speak to Jem and Scout about the trial but Miss Maudie invites them to eat cake as usual. Jem explains his worries about the shattered illusions of Maycomb because he thought that the inhabitants were the best people in the world. Miss Maudie tried to comfort him by saying that there are still good people. After leaving Miss Maudie's Place, Jem and Scout learn from Miss Stephanie that their father was harassed by Bob Ewell who spat on him and swore revenge. Chapter 23 Atticus does not seem worried about Bob's threats. He believes that Mister Ewell will not cause any more trouble to him. Tom's case is being analyzed, during that time he has been sent to another prison. Scout gets to know that Tom will be electrocuted because rape is a capital offense, yet Atticus thinks that Tom has a good chance to elude the electrocution. Jem gets to know that a white mans word weighs more than the words of a black person in court. But still, Atticus has a little bit of hope because the jury discusses the case for a long time and one of the Cunningham's wanted to discharge Tom. Those news make Scout want to invite Walter dir dinner one night but Aunt Alexandra intervenes and announces that the Finches will not be seen with trash. Scout gets furious and she is taken to Jem's bedroom by Jem where he shows her his growing chest hair. He also tells her that he wanted to try out for the football team. The children do not understand why someone would spend their lifetime to hate someone else and Jem figures that the reason why Boo Radley will not leave his house is because he does not want to leave it. Chapter 24 Aunt Alexandra holds a tea party with her missionary circle at the Finchs' house and she invites Scout to join them. They talk about how their black servants suddenly started to behave badly, ever since the trial of Tom Robinson. Miss Maudie stops the other ladies' gossip. After that, Atticus tells Alexandra, Scout, Miss Maudie and Calpurnia that Tom has tried to escape and that he has been shot several times. He leaves with Calpurnia because he wants to tell his family that he died. Alexandra and Miss Maudie get back to the missionary circle and act as if nothing happened. Chapter 25 One day in September, Scout wants to smash a rocky-poly bug with her hand but Jem stops her. She placed the bug somewhere in the yard and asks Jem why he stopped her from smashing it. He answers that the bug did not do anything to her. In contrast to her, Scout thinks that Jem is more and more behaving like a girl. She remembers Doll telling her that Jem saw Helen Robinson collapse at her house shortly before Atticus told her the new about her husband's death. The society of Maycomb agrees that it is typical that a black man would try to escape, Mister Underwood reacts to that by writing a long article in which he says that the death of Tom Robinson is equal to the murder of an innocent man. When the summer ends, Dill goes back home. Chapter 26 Jem and Scout pass the Radley Place every day, when school starts again. Scout wishes to see Boo Radley one day and they both keep thinking about the trial. One day in school, Scout's teacher Miss Gates talks about how Hitler persecuted the Jews and she involves the worth of equality and democracy. Scout later wonders how her teacher can talk about equality when she was the one who said that the black people on town needed a lesson after Tom Robinson's trial. Jem listens to Scout and gets upset, he demands her to never talk about the trial to him again. Chapter 27 Bob Ewell blames Atticus for getting a job with a Depression job program and losing it after a few days. Strange things happen in Maycomb in October: Judge Taylor finds his screen door open and sees a shadow hushing away s as bd Bob Ewell starts following Helen Robinson to work, while whispering insults. Dead threatens to arrest Bob if he does not stop bothering Helen and leaves her alone. The town Maycomb sponsors a Halloween party and play at the school in order to prevent mischief to happen like it did last year, when someone put all the furniture of the house of two sisters in their basement. The play focuses on agriculture and every child represents a food, Scout looks like ham. Jem ends up taking Scout to the play because Atticus and Aunt Alexandra are too tired. Chapter 28 On their way to school, Jem and Scout are frightened by Cecil, who jumps out of a bush. When the pageant stays, the children go backstage. Scout misses her entrance because she fell asleep. At the end, she runs onto the stage and the audience laughs. The woman who is responsible of the pageant is upset with Scout because she thinks that she ruined it. Scout is ashamed and wants to wait backstage until everyone has gone verdure going home. While walking back home, Jem hears noises coming from behind, believing it must be Cecil. He calls out for Cecil but no one answers. Jem noticed someone running after them and he screams for Scout to run. She loses her balance because of her costume and falls. She feels something tearing at the wires from her costume. Jem breaks free and helps her down the road, but he is pulled back by someone. When Jem screams, Scout runs towards him and gets grabbed and squeezed. The attacker is pulled away and the fighting noises stop. Scout finds a drunk man on the floor while searching for Jem and runs back home. She sees a man carrying Jem towards their house. At home, Heck state and Dr. Reynolds are called to them. Scout is being told that Jem is just unconscious and Dr. Reynolds confirms that Jem has a broken arm and a bump on his head. Entering Jem's room, Scout sees the man who carried Jem to their house but she does not know him. Heck state informs Atticus that he found Bob Ewell dead with a knife stuck under his ribs. Chapter 29 Heck state shows Scout the costume that has some readings in it, indicating that a knife tore through it, but that it was stopped by a wire. Scout retells the incidents of the evening and looks at the man who carried Jem back home. He has a thin, pinched face and colorless eyes and Scout realizes that it was Boo Radley who saved her and Jem. Chapter 30 Scout is sitting on the front porch with Boo and they overhear a discussion between Atticus and Heck Tate. Heck believes that Bob Ewell's death was an accident but Atticus thinks that Jem is responsible for Bob Ewell's death. He also does not want Jem to be protected from possible consequences. Heck still insists on the fact that Bob fell on his knife, he wants to hide the fact that it was Boo who killed Bob Ewell because he does not want to bring more attention to Boo. Tom Robinson's death is now in some twisted manner revenged because the responsible man is dead. Chapter 31 Scout takes Boo back to his house and when he enters, she knows she will never see him again and she thinks how his life must be. She goes back home and Atticus reads a book to her until she falls asleep. Characterizations Jean Louise Finch Jean Louise Finch, short for Scout is the narrator and protagonist of the novel. During the story she is six to nine years old. She lives with her older brother Jem, her father Atticus and the cook Calpurnia in a house in Maycomb. She spends a lot of time with her brother but within time, they spend less time together, because Jem gets older and tends to have other interests. During the story, Scout learns that racism exists in their town. For a girl, she behaves quite uncommon: she fights boys with confidence, learns to read before going to school, wonders about the differences of good and evil and she acts with best intentions. In addition Scout does not want to wear dresses or learn how to behave as a girl: she climbs tees and wears overalls. These qualities, skills and that mindset are the result of her being raised by Atticus. At the beginning of the novel, she is a innocent girl who has never heard of the evil world but within time, her perspective on live has changed into that of an almost grown-up. Jeremy Atticus Finch Jem, short for Jeremy Atticus Finch is Scout's four years older brother. He represents a typical American oy: he likes playing football and is adventurous. Thr the story he is always Scout's close companion and protector, he also explains a lot of things to her. At the beginning, he plays a lot with Scout but within time, he does not play that often with her anymore. He grows up and gets into puberty during the story of the novel. During the Tom Robinson trial, the evil and justice that come with it have a string effect on his ideals. The trial leaves him disillusioned and vulnerable because that they treat Tom very unfairly. Jem is also able to see the good in people, for example the help of Boo Radley when he got attacked by Bob Ewell. Atticus Finch Atticus Finch is the father of Jem and Scout. He is being respected by everyone because he is intelligent and a lawyer. Because of his job, they can live a wealthy life in Maycomb. He has not a big taste of humor but he is always honest and caring. That is why people often turn to him when they are in trouble. Atticus has a sense of morality and justice. He defends Tom Robinson, a black man who is accused of raping a woman. He stays on his side all the time even when no one is on his side. That shows that Atticus is for ethnic equality. But because of the case some Maycomb citizens get angry with him and his family. Still nothing happens to him because they respect him. He is known for wanting to help everyone and he never holds a grudge towards anyone in Maycomb. His ideal of sympathy and understanding is instilled to his children as well. Although his admiration, Jem and Scout sometimes feel bad because of their father: he is older than other fathers and he is also different from them because he does not fish or hunt, that's a reason why his kids sometimes are ashamed of him. Summarizing, Atticus Finch is a fairly consistent character: he does not really develop, but stands commuted to justice and is empathic regardless of whether another person is good or bad. Analysis of the relationship between the father and his children Atticus is a wise man who fights against racism and other prejudices. He teaches his children these virtues. He wants them to call him "Atticus" instead of father, he did that because so they can interact on terms as equal as possible (he is also their friend). Throughout the novel, he works to develop Scout's and Jem's consciences. Atticus is kind and caring, he wants the best for his children and he also educated them before even going to school. He also reads to his children and offers them comfort when they need it. He stays fair, even at the end when he thought that Jem killed Bob Ewell. He does not want him to get less punished but it was clear that his son Jem was innocent. He cannot go out and play with them outside because he is older than the average father, that's a reason why his children sometimes are ashamed of him. However he gets respected by Scout and Jem and he always stays calm. He unfortunately cannot give them their mother back but he employs Calpurnia, their housekeeper. Atticus gives his children as much independence as possible and wants them to learn from life's experiences. Maycomb's Society Maycomb is a small and old town where everyone knows everybody. The life goes on slowly there and there is not much to do. The inhabitants also have "nowhere to go". In that town, there is no hurry and a lot of people are poor. The Finch family is one of the families who have more money than the average family in that town. It is very unlikely for people to style in Maycomb, because the town still suffers from the Great Depression. Many families are known for their name and everyone knows about them (for example Walter Cunningham who does not have enough money to pay back money to his teacher). The town is characterized by its racism. Almost everyone is racist and the Maycomb citizens do have a lot of other prejudices against others. There also still a lot of old traditions which are carried out regularly. The book's trial case about raping would not have occurred if society had not looked down upon the black community. The black community was very poor and women often had to work hard in the houses, as maids or cook, just like Calpurnia The case in court In the novel, a black man called Tom Robinson is accused of beating and raping a young white woman called Mayella Ewell. Her family is poor, uneducated and has bad reputation. Atticus Finch is Tom's lawyer for the case. The father of the victim said that Helen did not need a doctor after the incident. This answer sparks controversy in Atticus' mind. Sheriff Tate says that Mayella was hit on the right side of her face and her father agreed with that statement. They find out that Bob Ewell, the father of Mayella is left-handed, by letting him write down his name on a paper. That makes Atticus think that he could be a suspect, because it is more likely that someone who is left handed could beat someone on the right side of their face. Bob gets anger and stops his testimony. When it's time for Mayella to testify, she gets very upset but tells the course of the incident. They ask Tom to stand up and they see that his left arm is deformed and he could not punch somebody with that arm. Tom is the last witness who is called. He explains the situation and that he did a lot of work at the Ewell's house for a long time without demanding for money. One day, Mayella wanted him to do something in the house. Nobody was there except the both of them. Mayella wanted Tom to take a box down from a chiffarobe. She grabbed him around his legs and when he got down the chair she jumped on him, that means that she hugged him around the waist. She kissed the side of his face and wanted him to kiss her back but he refused. Then, Mister Ewell saw them through the window and was screaming that he would kill Mayella. Tom still says that he did not do anything bad to her. He ran away because he was scared of Mister Ewell. The juries discussed about the verdict. In the end they came to the conclusion that Tom Robinson is guilty even though the evidence was pretty conclusive that he could not have done it. The meaning of the title Mockingbirds normally bring beauty and happiness into the world, they also do not annoy anyone. The title refers to innocent people like Tom Robinson and Boo Radley. They both wanted to bring a little happiness into the town of Maycomb. Even though they did good things, they get punished by the conservative community, shut away and unfortunately Tom died. How does the novel deal with courage / bravery ? Courage is found throughout the whole novel. Everyone of the main characters is brave at one point. Atticus is a lawyer and he knows from the beginning on, that he would loose the case of Tom Robinson. Yet he tries to convince the judges to acquit him. Atticus is opposed to the community of Maycomb because they are in favor mir of Tom being killed. They get angry with him but he still stays on Tom's side until the end. Jem's definition of bravery changes over time. He ages from 10 to 13 throughout the novel, that means that he gets into puberty. First it was ver brave for him to touch the side of the Radley house but later on he develops and gets braver. That is shown when Scout and him go to the jail and Atticus wants them to go home. He refuses to go home and Scout recognizes that he is very brave in that situation. Scout learns other lessons of bravery throughout the novel. She gets to know that doing the right thing does not always mean going along with everyone else (the mindset of Maycomb's citizens for example) and that you have to do things you do not like sometimes and step outside your comfort zone. At the end of the novel, she faces her biggest fear: Boo Radley. She feared him the most but in the end she talked to him and even brought him to his house.