GradeSaver Lesson Plans - To Kill A Mockingbird

Key Aspects of To Kill a Mockingbird

Tone

Note that the tone is different at different points in the book.  Some examples of tone or the settings that produce tone: the hot, lazy days of summer; fear of the Radley house; being young and unencumbered; racial tension in the courtroom, at the jail, and at Calpurnia's church; adults putting on airs; Atticus's even keel; the hilarious tone of the pageant; the suspenseful fight at the end.

Setting

Maycomb County, Alabama, early 1930s

Point of view

First-person narration, the recollection of Jean Louise (Scout) Finch

Character development

Jem and Scout grow up from childhood to early adolescence; they are socialized into the gendered roles of young adults. Atticus develops his understanding that sometimes a lie is the best thing (recall that he already would look the other way when Mr. Ewell would hunt out of season). Arthur Radley turns out to be less scary and more compassionate than the children think, but he is still capable of killing Mr. Ewell. Aunt Alexandra does not really budge in her ideas of who the Fine Folks are and what it means to be a lady and an upstanding citizen. Tom Robinson loses hope. Mr. Ewell gets even more angry after being shamed in the courtroom.

Themes

small-town life; racism; class differences; growing up; parenting and role models; justice; honesty vs. hypocrisy; loss of innocence; gossip

Also check out the "Major Themes" section of the GradeSaver ClassicNote for To Kill a Mockingbird

Symbols

- Symbols
- What it symbolizes

1. mockingbird
- innocence and kindness; Tom Robinson

2. blue jay
- rapaciousness and injustice; Robert Ewell

3. Radley house
- the unknown; evil

4. ham
- comedy; Maycomb County

Climax

The initial climax of the Tom Robinson story occurs as the verdict is being read, although the point of most energy occurs during Mayella's cross-examination. There is a second, more proper climax in this story as Robert Ewell attacks the children and is killed. That scene is also the climax of the Arthur Radley story; Boo Radley's character is summed up in the moment when he kills Ewell and saves the children.

Structure

There are several overlapping tales in this book. One involves Boo Radley and the Radley house from the perspective of the children (including Dill); they play all summer and consider the Radley house a taboo they break by enacting dramas about it. During the school year, they continue to avoid the house. The second tale involves the Ewells and Robinsons and Atticus Finch's defense of Mr. Robinson. These two main tales do not come together until the final climax of the novel.