1-5-00 Book Report # 2 To Kill a Mockingbird To Kill a Mocking Bird is based
in about 1935, right in the middle of the depression. It is set in a small town
in Alabama called Maycomb. Maycomb, like most small southern towns, has a
problem with widespread racism toward Negroes. The novel focuses on one family,
the Finches. In the family there are three people, Scout, Jem and Atticus.
Atticus is a lawyer and is defending a Negro man in court (Tom Robinson),
something that was not often done in the south due to racism. Many people feel
threatened by this and feel very resentful toward Atticus. Throughout the novel
all the members of the Finches and many others display courage in their attempts
to stand up for what they believe in. In the beginning of the novel we meet Jean
Louise Finch, or Scout for short. Scout is an energetic little six year old. She
still has her innocence and has not yet been able to understand the concepts of
racial discrimination or hate.
Scout is confused by what some of her classmates
have been saying about her father, Atticus Finch. Many of her classmates call
Atticus a nigger lover. Being only six Scout does not know how to handle such
situations so she solves her problems by fighting. On the day that Tom Robinson
was moved to the Maycomb jail to await his trial, Atticus left the house to go
and sit outside of the jail to watch over Tom to make sure that nothing happens
to him. Scout, Jem and Dill followed him there to make sure that nothing
happened to him. Suddenly several cars pulled up at the jail. A mob got out of
the vehicles and demanded that Atticus step aside so that they could get at Tom.
Frightened the children came running to Atticus' side and asked him if
everything was okay. Atticus told them to go home, but they refused. Suddenly,
Scout saw a man that she knew, Mr. Cunningham.
She said hi to him, twice before he acknowledged her. She began asking him
questions about his entailments and talking about Walter, his son. At first he
said nothing, Scout was afraid that she had done something wrong. Then finally
he said something, he said that he would tell Walter that she said hey. After
that, they all left. By singling out Mr. Cunningham she turned to mob into
individuals and thus making them more aware as to what they were doing. She made
Mr. Cunningham realize that Atticus is a man, not a roadblock. Scout showed that
even a small girl was able to stop a mob of grown men from doing something that
they might regret. Even though Scout was unaware of what she had done she was
still the hero of the day and displayed lots of courage by standing up for her
father. Scout's brother Jem also shows courage in the novel. Jem is nine years
old and is just beginning to show signs of maturing. Jem shows most of his
courage by just believing that what his father was doing was the right thing to
do. Jem continues to believe throughout the novel that Atticus will win because
there was very little evidence to go against Tom, only the words of Mayella and
Bob Ewell. This trust and somewhat naive belief that even a Negro can get
released from jail is shattered when Tom is sentenced. Jem does not understand
how he could be guilty even when all the evidence was pointing towards Bob
Ewell.The courage showed by Jem concerning this matter is very strong, partially
due to his slight naiveté towards the racism that is going on around him. This
courage is based on what he has been told by Atticus. Atticus displays the most
courage by defending Tom Robinson in court. He knew that having a white man
defend a black man in court was unacceptable. He knew that people would resent
him for it and he also knew that he would most likely lose the case because a
black man has never won a court battle against a white. Atticus never lost hope
though, he continued to work and protect Tom no matter what. He even sat outside
of the jail house to make sure that no one touched him. Atticus had to stand up
to a mob of his peers to keep Tom alive. Thanks to Scout, violence did not
erupt. During the court battle Atticus tried his best to win over the jury, but
all that he managed to do was remove every shred of credibility from Mr. Ewell.
