To Kill a Mockingbird
(Harper Lee)

Chapter 1

As the story opens we are introduced to young Jean Louise Finch, the narrator of the story, and her family. The Finch immigrants settled in America and built a farm on the banks of the Alabama River called Finch’s Landing. Atticus Finch and his brother Jack were the first two Finches to make something of themselves off of the landing, Atticus as a lawyer and Jack as a Doctor.

Atticus lives in Maycomb with his two children, Jem and Scout, and their cook, an old black woman named Calpurnia who is like family to them. Atticus’ wife died when Scout was only two years old and thus she does not remember her mother, though Jem does and at times the memory of her makes him quite sad.

During the summer of 1933 Jem and Scout meet a boy named Charles Baker Harris, who goes back the name Dill. Dill comes to Maycomb during the summers to visit his Aunt Rachel, the Finches neighbor. The children collectively play games acting out scenes from their favorite books, and trying to get the local recluse, Boo Radley to leave his house. Boo supposedly was confined to his house as a child and stabbed his father with a pair of scissors. The children are terrified of him.

Chapter 2

September comes and Dill heads back to Meridian, where he is from, and Jem and Scout begin school. Scout was excited to go to school until she met her teacher, Miss Caroline. Scout was taught to read and write by Atticus and Cal, but Miss Caroline felt that she should not be so educated at this point in her life and reprimanded Scout for it.

Scout was very upset at the way Miss Caroline reacted toward her and did not want to go to school anymore because of it. When it came time for lunch Miss Caroline discovered that Walter Cunningham did not have lunch with him, or money to buy any so she told him she would let him borrow some.

Walter refused and Scout took it upon herself to explain to Miss Caroline that the Cunningham’s were very poor and very proud and never took any handouts that they could not pay back. Miss Caroline felt that Scout was out of line in bringing up this fact and she slapped Scout on the hand with a ruler and made her stand in the corner while the whole class laughed at her.

Chapter 3

Scout’s hot temper causes her to attack Walter during lunch and rub his face in the dirt because she feels as though he is the one who got her into trouble. Jem, knowing it is not Walter’s fault, and trying to be a good person invites Walter over to their house for lunch. Walter proceeds to dump syrup all over his meal, which Scout calls him out on and is reprimanded by Cal and taught to be more graceful toward guests.

Back at school, Miss Caroline is terrified when she sees a “cootie” crawling around on a very dirty boy’s head. She is informed that he is a Ewell, and the Ewells are an even poorer family than the Cunningham’s and much less respectable. As he leaves the class he makes Miss Caroline cry with his harsh words.

Scout goes home and tells Atticus she does not want to go to school anymore because she feels like if she does then Atticus can no longer read to her because Miss Caroline will get mad. Atticus tells her that he will continue reading if she continues going to school and it will be their secret.

Chapter 4

The school year slowly passes, too slowly for Scout who is getting very bored in class, having already learned to read and write and having been taught past the level of her classmates by Atticus and Cal.

One day when she is leaving school she founds two pieces of chewing gum in a knot in the tree outside of the Radley house. Jem is worried that Scout chewed the gum, fearing that it may be sabotaged. The next day they find Indian head coins and Jem decides that it is okay to keep them and it is not dangerous.

Dill returns to Maycomb for the summer and the children develop a new game where they act out scenes of Radley family drama. Atticus is upset when he thinks they are doing this so Jem lies to him. All of the kids wonder if they should still be playing the game when they see how upset Atticus gets about it.

Chapter 5

Scout begins to feel alienated by Dill and Jem who are spending more time together. Scout starts to spend time with their neighbor, Miss Maudie Atkinson, who bakes her cakes and tells her stories about Boo Radley.

Scout learns that most of the stories about Boo are untrue, and he was actually a very nice boy when he was growing up. He was abused by his father and made to stay indoors. Miss Maudie says that Boo is not crazy, though may be after all of those years of living indoors.

Jem and Dill decide that they are going to invite Boo to have ice cream with them and rather than just knocking on his door to ask him they decide to try to pass him a note through his window, using a fishing pole. As the boys are in the process of passing the note they are discovered by Atticus. Atticus yells at them for tormenting Boo and tells the boys that they need to leave him alone.

Chapter 6

The boys, along with Scout, minded Atticus for the rest of the summer until the day before Dill was to leave, and they made one last attempt to sneak a peek at Boo Radley. They decide to try to look through one of the shutters of the house, where they spot the shadow of a man with a hat and quickly flee the scene.

They run through the backyard and crawl under the fence, as Boo’s brother, Nathan, shoots them at. Jem gets his pants caught and has to leave them stuck in the fence. When they return home, half of the town is there talking about how Nathan shot at a black man in his back yard and was going to stand out there with his gun and wait for the black man to return.

Atticus comments on Jem’s lack of pants and Dill tells him that he won Jem’s pants in a game of poker, to which Atticus is skeptical. Jem returns later in the night to retrieve his pants and discovers them untangled and folded nicely over the fence, which he assumes is Boo’s doing.

Chapter 7

School begins yet again and Jem tells Scout about his pants and they are now more interested in Boo Radley than ever. Scout is just as bored with the second grade as she was with the first, though Jem tells her to stick it out because school becomes more fun as it goes on.

Jem and Scout find a ball of twine in the knot of the tree where Scout found the gum and coins the year before. Months later they find more presents in the knot of the tree, including gum, soap figures carved to look like Jem and Scout, a spelling bee medal, and a pocket watch.

The kids look forward to checking the knothole for more presents, but return one day to find the hole filled with cement. The kids ask Nathan Radley about the hole in the tree and he tells them that he filled it with cement because the tree is dying, though it is obvious that the tree is in fact perfectly healthy.

Chapter 8

Maycomb gets snow for the first time in years and the kids are excited about the idea of building a snow man, though they do not have nearly enough snow to accomplish it. They decide to make a man out of dirt and to cover him with snow to get the effect.

They make the snowman in the likeness of a rotten old man who lives down the road from them named Mr. Avery, though Atticus makes them disguise the snowman when he sees how much it really looks like Mr. Avery.

Later that night Miss Maudie’s house catches on fire and the whole town is out in the street watching the blaze and helping to salvage whatever furniture they can. In the middle of the commotion, someone puts a blanket on Scout, though no one sees who it was and Jem realizes it must have been Boo Radley and tells Atticus what he thinks, along with the whole story of the knothole. Miss Maudie is happy her house has burned down because now she can build a new, smaller home, and have more room for a bigger garden.

Chapter 9

Atticus takes a case defending a black man named Tom Robinson, who is accused of raping Mayella Ewell. Atticus knows that Tom is innocent and therefore takes the case, though he knows he has very little chance of winning, because he knows that he will not be able to respect himself if he does not seek justice.

Atticus tells the kids that they will hear many bad things about him over the coming months because many people are upset with him for taking on this case, but they must not lose their tempers over it.

Uncle Jack comes to visit, right in the middle of Scout’s newfound cursing streak and he reprimands her for using foul language in front of him. They go to the Landing to visit Aunt Alexandra, Atticus’ and Jack’s sister and Scout gets in a fight with Francis, Alexandra’s grandson, for calling Atticus a “nigger-lover”.

Uncle Jack spanks Scout right away and later Scout tells him that he should have listened to her side of the story before he reacted. Once Jack learns what Francis said he is very upset and apologizes to Scout.

Chapter 10

Scout always believed that Atticus was old and boring, compared to other fathers in town. Other men would hunt and fish and do other outdoors activities, whereas Atticus would just work and read and on occasion toss a football around with Jem. Scout was proven wrong on the day a rabid dog wandered onto the street.

Atticus was called home immediately and Heck Tate showed up with a gun and asked Atticus to shoot the dog. Scout had her doubts and much to her surprise, Atticus shot the dog from quite some distance away on his first try. Later Scout asked Miss Maudie about this only to be told that back in the day Atticus was a shooting champion, known as “one-shot Finch.”

Scout is very excited to learn that Atticus is not nearly as boring as she had originally thought and wants to tell everyone about this new bit of information but Jem encourages her not to because he feels as though Atticus would have told them if he had wanted them to know.

Chapter 11

Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose lives on the edge of town and is a cranky, racist old woman. She calls to Scout and Jem, telling them that Atticus is no better than the people he is defending. Jem gets very upset with her for her comments and attacks her flower bushes, ruining all of her camellias.

Jem is punished by having to go to Mrs. Dubose’s house and read to her. Every day the reading lasts a little longer and every day Mrs. Dubose goes into a strange fit after the reading. Soon after Jem’s month-long punishment is over Mrs. Dubose passes away. Jem is informed by Atticus that she was battling a morphine addiction and Jem’s reading to her helped her to deal with her withdrawals.

Atticus is not mad at Mrs. Dubose for the things she has said about him; he has respect for her strength during her addiction struggle. Jem is presented with a box from Mrs. Dubose after her passing. The box contained one single camellia.

Chapter 12

Jem is growing up and growing apart from Scout. He thinks it is time that Scout stop being such a tomboy and hanging around him all the time and starts acting like a girl for once. Scout is very upset with the “new” Jem and cannot wait for Dill to arrive for the summer. Sadly, this summer Dill is not coming to visit. His mother has remarried and he is staying in Meridian for the summer with his newfound family.

Scout is feeling very lonely because she does not even have Atticus around during the day, as the state legislature is back in session so he has to travel to the capital every day.

Cal decides to take Jem and Scout to her church, First Purchase. The all-black church is quite welcoming of the Finch children, having much respect for their father and his decision to defend Tom Robinson, only being criticized by a person or two.

Jem and Scout are amazed that there are no hymnals, for lack of money, and everyone just repeats after Zeebo, Cal’s son, singing from one of the few hymnals available. Scout learns that it was a Ewell who accused Tom Robinson of rape and she is amazed that anyone even believes the accusation.

Chapter 13

Aunt Alexandra moves in with the Finch family for a time because she believes they need a feminine influence in their lives, especially Scout. She is very proud of her family history and believes the children do not hold the Finch family in as high regard as they should. She implores Atticus to teach the children about their family history, which he feebly attempts, but to no avail.

Aunt Alexandra quickly becomes a valued member of the community. The other women in town have her over for coffee and send her baked goods and they all meet together to discuss the goings-on of the community.

Maycomb is a very old town with families who go back a long time and everyone is very proud of their heritage so the women often spend time discussing the accomplishments of their various relatives. Aunt Alexandra is an especially prominent part of these discussions, having great pride in her status as a Finch.

Chapter 14

Scout and Jem begin to hear whispers behind their backs when they go into town because the trial is about to start. They try not to pay much attention to it but feel the need to ask Atticus some details they want to clear up.

Scout tells about how they went to church with Cal the week before and Aunt Alexandra is upset about this and refuses to allow them to go the next week. Alexandra tries to convince Atticus to get rid of Cal, as she is no longer necessary but Atticus adamantly refuses.

Scout and Jem get in a fight and are sent to bed when Scout finds Dill hiding under her bed. He was feeling left out in his new family and decided to run away to Maycomb. Atticus tells Jem to feed him and allows him to spend the night, but calls Dill’s Aunt Rachel to fill her in on the situation. Dill first goes to sleep in Jem’s room but then crawls into bed with Scout to discuss everything that has happened since he has been gone.

Chapter 15

As the trial is nearing, Heck Tate shows up at the Finch house with some other men expressing his concern for Tom’s safety. He fears a lynch mob may be formed to attack Tom while he is in jail and this concerns Atticus.

Aunt Alexandra accuses Atticus of being a disgrace to the family but Atticus is only doing what he feels is right and leaves to go into town. The children are curious as to what Atticus is doing so they follow him into town and find him sitting outside of the jail reading the paper. A group of cars pulls up and a bunch of men get out and tell Atticus to step aside, which he refuses.

Scout believes these men to be the same who showed up to their house and rushes out into the open, quickly realizing that she is mistaken. She sees Mr. Cunningham and tells him to tell Walter she said “hey”, which Mr. Cunningham tells her he will, immediately looking embarrassed and tells the men to clear out.

The kids realize that Mr. Underwood, who runs the newspaper, is sitting in a window with a rifle, to defend Atticus. Atticus then takes the children home, seeing that the danger is over for the night.

Chapter 16

The trial begins and nearly the entire county attends, for various reasons. Many of the white people want to see Tom Robinson convicted, though some are hoping that Atticus can prove his innocence.

Mr. Dolphus Raymond attends; he is a wealthy landowner from the edge of the county line who is involved with a black woman whom he has children with. Miss Maudie is one of the few who does not attend because she feels it is pointless to watch, as Tom cannot possibly win.

The children wait to go into the courthouse until most of the crowd has already gone it because they do not want Atticus to see them enter, knowing that Atticus does not want them there. They wait a little too long to enter and cannot find seats.

Luckily, Reverend Sykes, from the First Purchase church, sees them and takes them up to the balcony where all the black people are watching the trial and allows them to watch with him. Jem and Scout like the balcony seats because it allows them to see the entire courtroom.

Chapter 17

Heck Tate comes to the stand to testify what happened on the day Bob Ewell called him to his home because Tom had supposedly raped Mayella. He states that he arrived to find Mayella with bruises covering the right half of her face, and no doctor had been called to check her out. Bob Ewell then takes the stand to rudely account for his version of the events.

He states that he came home from collecting wood and saw Tom raping and beating Mayella. Mr. Ewell says that Tom fled, he ran in the house to make sure his daughter was ok, then he went to find Sheriff Tate. He declares that he did not summon a doctor because it is too expensive and seemingly unnecessary.

Atticus asks Bob to write his name on a piece of paper, showing that Bob is left-handed. Atticus points out that Mayella’s injuries are consistent with being beaten by a left-handed person, alluding to the fact that he thinks Mr. Ewell beat Mayella himself.

Chapter 18

Mayella Ewell takes the stand and gives her account of the night in question. She states that she asked Tom Robinson to come in the house that day to help her break up an old dresser and she would pay him a nickel.

She says that once he was inside Tom Robinson attacked, beat, and raped her. When it was Atticus’ turn to speak to Mayella he asked her why she did not try to defend herself and how it would be possible for Tom Robinson to beat the right side of her face, when he has a bum left arm.

Tom had lost almost all use of his left arm when it got caught in a cotton gin when he was just a boy. It would have been physically impossible for Tom to beat Mayella. Atticus begged her to admit that she had made up the entire story and Mayella all but confirmed. She cried and called the entire court a bunch of cowards if they did not convict Tom of the crime.

Chapter 19

Tom Robinson takes the stand and is asked for his account of the events. He confirms that Mayella invited him into the house to help her with something, and he agreed. Once in the house he claims that Mayella came onto him trying to make him kiss her.

Mr. Ewell happened to look through the window at this exact time and started yelling at Mayella and calling her a whore and threatening her life and then Tom fled the scene. Mr. Link Deas, Tom’s employer who happens to be white, stood up in the courtroom and started defending Tom’s character and was asked to leave the room. Tom says the reason he was so willing to help Mayella is because he felt bad for her.

The court was silent at the revelation that a black man felt sorry for a white woman, and Mr. Gilmer, the Ewell’s lawyer, accused Tom of lying. Dill was very upset by this treatment of Tom.

Chapter 20

Mr. Dolphus Raymond, the supposed drunk, tries to calm Dill down outside the courtroom and offers Dill a drink from his paper sack, which Scout advises against, but Dill reveals to her that it is simply soda.

Mr. Raymond tells them that he only pretends to be a drunk because he feels it will set the white people more at ease with his decision to be with a black woman, but really he just prefers to spend his time with black folks.

Once back in the courtroom, Atticus is giving his closing remarks. He paints a picture of the crime that he believes really happened, accusing Mayella of making the story up out of embarrassment for coming on to a black man and cover up the beating her father gave her.

He asks the jury to take into consideration the unreliable witnesses poor testimonies of the Ewell’s and to look past their prejudices and set Tom free.

Chapter 21

Cal enters the courtroom with a note for Atticus from Aunt Alexandra stating that the children have been missing all afternoon and she cannot find them anywhere. Atticus tells the judge this dilemma and Mr. Underwood tells Atticus that his children are sitting up in the balcony and have been there all day.

Atticus insists that the children go home for supper and tells them they can return after they have eaten to hear the verdict. When they return, the jury is still out. Dill has fallen asleep waiting for the verdict to be announced and Jem feels as though the lengthy deliberation is a sign that Tom will be declared not guilty.

When the jury comes in, no one looks at Tom and Scout knows this means he has been found guilty, and so he is. Atticus makes no show of emotion and simply turns to leave the courtroom, though every black person in the balcony stands as he passes, out of respect. Scout marvels at this and is told to stand, as her father is passing. She realizes how much Atticus’ bravery and perseverance means to them.

Chapter 22

Once the children have returned home Jem has a good cry over the verdict. Atticus tells him that the real wonder with these situations is that children are the only ones who cry about them. Jem feels as though his whole world is turned upside down and the people he thought he knew are not as good as he once believed them to be.

While most of the white population of town gossiped about the trial, the black folks in town sent every bit of food or gifts they possibly can to the Finch home to show their appreciation for what Atticus has done. Miss Maudie rescues the children from the gossip and offers them some cake.

She explains to the children that while the outcome may have been unfair, the lengthy deliberation shows signs of progress in equality. They are soon interrupted by Miss Stephanie Crawford coming to tell them that Bob Ewell confronted Atticus on the street and spit in his face.

Chapter 23

The entire family, apart from Atticus, is worried by Bob Ewell’s threats, though Atticus believes that he has gotten it all out of his system. Tom Robinson seeks an appeal in his sentence, at the urging of Atticus, and Atticus believes he has a very good chance of winning his appeal, though if he doesn’t then he will be sent to the electric chair.

Jem cannot believe that the jury all found him guilty and Atticus states that one of the Cunninghams on the jury wanted to have him acquitted, though it did not go in his favor. Scout wishes to have Walter Cunningham over to the house as a way of thanks, but Aunt Alexandra refuses this idea because she says the Finches are too good to associate with trash like the Cunninghams, which infuriates Scout.

She and Jem have a lengthy discussion about hate and prejudice in their world and Jem decides that perhaps Boo Radley stays in his house because he would rather be in there then out in such a world.

Chapter 24

Aunt Alexandra has the women of the town over for tea and invites Scout, who is forced to wear a dress. The women discuss how a problem with a tribe in Africa, being forced to convert their religion, is causing their servants to act out.

Scout is troubled by this discussion and makes several remarks about her feelings, only to be ignored by the women, other than Miss Maudie who shares Scout’s distaste for the conversation. Atticus then shows up and tells Alexandra, Scout, Cal, and Miss Maudie that Tom was shot seventeen times and killed attempting to escape from prison.

Atticus asks Cal to come with him to break the news to Tom’s wife, Helen, and to see if there is anything he can do to help her family. Aunt Alexandra expresses her concern for Atticus allowing his name to be dragged through the mud all in the name of justice and Miss Maudie explains that the town people trust Atticus to do what’s right and just.

Chapter 25

Jem is obviously very affected by the injustice that has happened and is dedicated to being fair and just as Atticus is, so when Scout finds a bug and is about to kill it, Jem tells her to set it free, to which Scout tells him he is turning into a girl.

Jem and Dill were permitted to go to Helen Robinson’s house with Atticus to break the news of Tom’s death, and witnessed her heartbreak firsthand. Mr. Underwood bravely penned an editorial calling Tom Robinson’s death “murder” because Tom was an innocent man who did not deserve to be in prison to begin with.

The town people did not seem surprised that a black man would try to escape prison, and many were heard talking about it on the street, including Mr. Bob Ewell. Mr. Ewell was heard by many stating that Tom’s death was just one down, with several more to go, as if he had some sort of plan to eliminate all the black folk.

Chapter 26

School starts once again and Dill has gone home. Scout gets angry when her teacher Miss Gates teaches of the unfairness of the Holocaust and Hitler’s treatment of the Jews, because she feels that Miss Gates is a hypocrite.

She knows that after the verdict was announced Miss Gates was happy that the black man had been convicted. When Scout brings up this hypocrisy to Jem he gets very angry with her for mentioning the trial.

At the same time, Bob Ewell was tormenting everyone attached to the trial. He was seen sneaking around the yard of Judge Taylor, blamed Atticus for the loss of the job he only had for two days, followed Helen Robinson and said inappropriate things to her, and these things worry Aunt Alexandra.

She seems to believe that everyone associated with the trial is in danger. Meanwhile, the school is sponsoring a Halloween play to keep the kids off the streets on Halloween in an attempt to keep the peace. Scout must dress up as a ham, in a wire mesh costume and Jem is in charge of getting her to the school for the play.

Chapter 27

On the way to school it is dark out and Jem and Scout are frightened by Cecil Jacobs jumping out at them. Once at the school they enjoy the festivities and get ready for Scout’s play. Scout happens to fall asleep and completely misses her entrance.

When Scout finally makes an appearance, the entire crowd laughs, she is scolded by a teacher for ruining the play, and she is supremely embarrassed. She convinces Jem to hide backstage with her to wait for everyone to leave so no one sees her. On the way home Jem and Scout feel as though they are being followed and think that it may just be Cecil again.

The person following them begins to run, Scout trips and falls and is dragged to the road by Jem who is attacked. Scout hears a struggle and runs after Jem only to be picked up and nearly crushed. Someone pulls off her attacker and she gets up and starts following a man carrying Jem back to the house. Once home a doctor is called, as is Heck Tate and Scout learns that Jem has a broken arm and their attacker, Bob Ewell, is dead.

Chapter 28

Scout sits down with everyone and tells them her view of the events that have just passed. She explains to them everything she heard, saw, and felt, including tearing sounds and bones cracking.

She discovers that there is a tear in her costume where a knife entered that would have stabbed her had it not been for the wire mesh helping the costume keep its shape. She recounts what happened to Jem and remembers for the first time the man that carried Jem home, the same man who must have saved them from Mr. Ewell and sees the man sitting in the corner of the room. The man is very thin and pale and Scout realizes that this man must be Boo Radley and he has saved their lives.

Chapter 29

Scout takes to Boo immediately, calling him Mr. Arthur and insisting on being wherever he is. They retreat to the porch where Atticus and Heck Tate are discussing the events of the night and how everything would be handled.

Heck tells Atticus that the death will be deemed accidental and Atticus, always being just and fair, and thinking that Jem is the one who killed Bob Ewell, insisted that he be held accountable. Heck tells Atticus that Bob fell on his own knife, and it was really an accident. Though, in reality, Boo is the one who killed Mr. Ewell.

Heck decided to cover for Boo because he has been the source of enough gossip in the town, he did not need this sort of accusation and drama following him, and it would only confirm what people have suspected for so long. Heck decided that since Tom Robinson, an innocent man, was killed because of Bob Ewell’s accusations, and now Mr. Ewell was dead, justice had been served.

Chapter 30

It is time for Boo to leave and Scout takes him to Jem’s room to say goodnight. She decides that she will walk him home, as thanks for rescuing her and Jem. She watches Mr. Arthur walk through his door, and never sees him again.

She reflects upon Boo’s life for a moment and tries to see what the world looks like to him, not being an operating part of society, but a hermit for all intents and purposes. When she gets home she tells Atticus how nice Boo was and how he was not at all what everyone said he was.

Atticus assured her that many people are not what they are believed to be, and once you get to know them you can see that clearly. Atticus then reads to Jem and Scout to put them to sleep.