This document provides a summary and overview of key elements in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. It includes summaries of each chapter, descriptions of major characters like Scout, Jem, Atticus and Boo Radley, and discussions of major themes such as racism, social inequality, and the loss of innocence. The document is meant as a study guide, outlining people, places, events and ideas essential to understanding the novel. It uses slides with detailed notes to examine the plot, characters, and underlying messages of To Kill a Mockingbird.

1. To Kill
a Mockingbird
Final Exam Review
by Harper Lee

2. Slides 3 - 4 Summary Parts 1 & 2
Slide 5: Family Tree
Slides 6 - 7 Narrator & Character of Scout
Slide 8: Character of Atticus Finch
Slide 9: Character of Jem Finch
Slide 10: Other important characters pt 1
Slide 11: Other important characters pt 2
Slides 12 - 20 Major Themes
Slides 21 - 23 Key Quotations and Questions
Slide 24: Summary
Slide 25: Preview of the Novel
Slides 26 - 29 The Great Depression & Prejudice
Slides 30 - 35 Social Hierarchy in Maycomb 1933
Slides 36 – 38 Practice Test
Index Page

3. Slide 3: Summary – Part 1
• Scout Finch (the female narrator) lives with her brother Jem and their
widowed father Atticus in the small town of Maycomb in Alabama.
• Atticus Finch is a lawyer in the town and as a result is well off. He is an
upstanding citizen and an honourable man.
• Scout and Jem befriend a young boy named Dill and we see the events of
the story through their eyes as the stories are narrated by Scout.
• Dill becomes fascinated by a house called Radley place where Boo Radley
lives. Boo Radley becomes a fascination for the children as they are left
presents by the strange man in a tree in his garden. These gifts are left
during the first section of the novel.
• The focus of the novel shifts when Atticus agrees to defend a local black
man Tom Robinson who has been accused of raping a white woman.
• The case is particularly prominent in a predominantly white community
who disagree with Atticus’ role.
• The Maycomb society are largely racist and as a result of Atticus’ role
Jem and Scout both suffer abuse from other children.
• In the summer aunt Alexandra (Atticus‟ sister) comes to live with Jem and
Scout. Dill is supposedly living with his „new father‟ in a different town
runs away to join Scout and Jem in Maycomb.

4. Slide 4: Summary- Part 2
• The Tom Robinson trial begins, Mayella Ewell
is the woman who has accused Tom of rape.
• A trial Jem and Scout sit on the coloured balcony with the town‟s black citizens.
Atticus provides very clear evidence that Mayella and her father Bob are in fact
lying. Mayella had propositioned Tom and was caught by her father, to cover her
shame she accused Tom of rape.
• Despite the impressive evidence which Atticus provides
proving Tom’s innocence the all white jury convict Tom.
• Tom recognising his innocence tries to escape from prison but is shot.
Jem’s faith in the justice system is shaken and he becomes despondent
and doubtful.
• Bob Ewell believes he has been made a fool of and vows to seek his revenge on
Atticus and the judge.
• He abuses Tom’s widow and attempts to break into the judge‟s house.
• Eventually Bob attacks Jem and Scout on their way home from a Halloween party.
• Boo Radley intervenes and saves the children. Boo attacks Ewell in his attempt to
save the children and stabs him during the struggle. Bob Ewell is killed.
• Boo carries a wounded Jem back into the house where the sheriff in a plea to save
Boo insists that Bob Ewell tripped over the tree and caused his own injury by
falling on his knife.
• Boo once more disappears to live his solitary life.
• Later on Scout feels as though she finally understands Boo. He has become
human to her no longer a shadow of danger or something to be feared.
• Scout finally embraces her father‟s attitude to show sympathy and understanding
to all.

5. Slide 5: TKAM Characters – Family Tree
Atticus Finch –
Father, lawyer, widower
Jean Louise “Scout” Finch -
The narrator and protagonist of the story
Jem Finch
Scout‟s brother
& playmate
Arthur “Boo” Radley
A recluse whose whereabouts
are unknown. Boo dominates
the imaginations of Jem,
Scout, and Dill
Bob Ewell - A drunken,
mostly unemployed
member of Maycomb’s
poorest family
Charles Baker
Harris “Dill”
- Jem and Scout’s summer
neighbour and friend
Maudie Atkinson -
The Finches’
neighbour, a sharp-
tongued widow, & old
friend of the family
Calpurnia -
The Finch‟s
African American
cook / maid
Aunt Alexandra -
Atticus’s sister, a strong-
willed woman with a fierce
devotion to her family
Mayella Ewell -
Bob Ewell’s abused,
lonely, unhappy daughter
Tom Robinson - African
American field hand
accused of rape
Heck Tate - The
sheriff of Maycomb
and a major witness at
Tom Robinson’s trial
Nathan Radley
Boo Radley‟s
older brother.
Nathan cruelly cuts off
an important element of
Boo‟s connection with
Jem and Scout
Mrs. Dubose An elderly,
ill-tempered ,racist neighbor
Dolphus Raymond
has a black mistress &
children. Pretends to
be a drunk so to
explain his behavior
“ Mr. Underwood
Publisher of Maycomb‟s
newspaper.
The Cunninghams - A poor farmer
and his son Walter who is one of
Scout‟s classmates.
Link Deas - Tom
Robinson‟s employer.

6. The Narrator
• Jean Louise Finch
• (Scout)
• Tomboy
• Narrator switches
perspectives from a
six year-old girl to
one with the wisdom
of an adult looking
back.

7. Slide 7: Characters
Scout Finch Narrator
• At the beginning of the novel Scout is an innocent five year old, who has
never experienced the evils of the world. As the novel progresses Scout
comes face to face with the world‟s evil in the form of racism and deceit.
• As this progression happens the reader wanders whether or not Scout will come
away form her experiences with the same optimistic attitude she began with or
will she be bruised and hurt like Tom Robinson and Boo Radley.
• Scout is an unusual young lady. She learns to read before she even starts
school, she fights boys without fear and exposes an ever confident attitude.
• She is a bit of a tom boy in a very prim and proper town where ladies are
expected to behave like ladies.
• Scout is definitely her father‟s daughter, he has nurtured her mind conscience
and identity. Whilst girls Scout‟s age are wearing dresses and playing with
dolls Scout wears overalls, climbs tress with Jem and fights.
• Thanks to Atticus‟s wise attitude Scout learns that the human race not only
has the capacity for great evil but also the capacity for great good, and that
she must face every situation with sympathy and understanding.
• Scout is not always tactful and does not grasp social niceties when she tells
her teacher that one students is too poor to pay for lunch.
• Scout fails to understand human ignorance at times and finds it hard to
believe that her teacher openly criticises Hitler‟s treatment of the Jews whilst
being racist herself towards the black community.
• Scout‟s development into a person capable of understanding shows that
whatever evil she encounters, she will retain her conscience without becoming
cynical or jaded.
• By the end of the novel Scout has moved from a child to a near grown
up with an understanding attitude.

8. Slide 8: Characters
Atticus Finch
• Atticus is a well off man in the town of Maycomb especially since the novel is set during
the Great Depression, a time of widespread poverty.
• Atticus is a man of intelligence, wisdom, calm and a model citizen in the town. As a
result Atticus is respected by everyone. He functions in this novel as a moral
backbone holding the Maycomb society together.
• Atticus is called upon by the community in times of need however it is this same
willingness to help that results in Atticus falling out with many Maycomb citizens when
he agrees to defend Tom Robinson.
• Atticus’s actions make him the object of abuse and scorn in Maycomb. However he is
clearly valued and after the trial his status in the town is restored.
• Atticus practises the same sympathy and understanding that he preaches to Jem and
Scout, and he never holds anything against the people of Maycomb, despite their racist
attitudes.
• Atticus knows that people are different good and bad, he shows admiration of the good
and understanding to the bad. He passes this on to Scout and it is this outlook which
protects the innocent such as Scout from being destroyed by contact with evil.
• Atticus is a well respected man however neither Jem nor Scout idolise him at the
beginning of the novel. Both children are embarassed that he is older than the other
fathers and that he does not hunt or fish.
• Atticus shows his wise parenting in chapter 30 when he says ―Before Jem looks at
anyone else he looks at me, and I’ve tried to live so I can look squarely back at him,‖
This attitude ultimately wins their respect.
• Atticus is consistent throughout the novel despite his children’s evolving attitudes. He
stands for justice and willing views the perspectives of others. He does not evolve
during the novel but retains his qualities and sustains the role as moral guide and voice
of conscience throughout the novel.

9. Slide 9: Characters
Jem Finch
• Jem is older than Scout and finds his life shattered during his experience with the
Tom Robinson trial. This experience comes as Jem is entering puberty and leaves him
feeling confused and disillusioned.
• Jem becomes despondent and depressed when he discovers that justice does not
prevail.
• He feels vulnerable and confused. He tries to uphold the commitment to justice that
Atticus taught he and this remains throughout the novel.
• Jem is not without hope unlike My Raymond. Atticus reassures Jem and assures him
that he has to learn from what has happened.
• Atticus‟s prominence in Jem‟s life seems to hold a promise of recovery for Jem.
Towards the end of the novel Jem begins to show that he has learnt a positive lesson
from the trial. We see this in chapter 25 when he refuses to let Scout squash a roly
poly bug as it has done no harm. Jem now wants to protect the fragile and harmless
after witnessing the unfair treatment of Tom Robinson.
• Jem resolution of his cynicism and his movement towards a happy life is supported at
the beginning of the novel when Scout recalls that Jem‟s initial interest in Boo Radley
strongly represented his ability to shed innocence without loosing hope.

10. Slide 10: Characters – Part 1
Boo Radley
• Boo is a recluse who never sets foot outside the house. He dominates the imagination
of Scout, Jem and Dill and appears to be an evil and beast of a man.
• He is a powerful symbol of goodness who is surrounded by evil.
• He shows his goodness when he leaves presents for Jem and Scout and then saves
them from the evil Bob Ewell.
• Boo was damaged by his cruel father and poses as a threat that evil can possess
innocence and goodness.
• He is one of the novel‟s „Mockingbirds‟, a good person injured by the evil of mankind.
Dill
• He is Scout and Jem‟s friend and neighbour, he is a confident boy with an active
imagination.
• He becomes obsessed with Boo.
• He represents innocence and childhood in the novel.

11. Slide 11: Characters – Part 2
Bob Ewell and Mayella Ewell
• Father and daughter of Maycomb‟s poorest family. Bob knowingly knows that Tom is
innocent and still accuses him of rape.
• Bob represents the dark side of the south; ignorance, poverty and racial prejudice.
• Mayella is abused, lonely, unhappy daughter.
• Although we can pity Mayella because of her father, we cannot pardon her for her
shameful indictment of Tom Robinson.
Tom Robinson
• A black man who works in the fields. He is accused of raping Mayella Ewell.
• Tom is another one of the novel‟s „mockingbirds‟ a very important symbol of
an innocent man who is destroyed by an evil racist.
Miss Maudie Atkinson
A neighbour of Atticus. She is a sharp tongued widow and a
friend of the family. She has a passion for justice along with
Atticus and is a friend to Scout and Jem

12. To Kill a Mockingbird
Major Themes

13. Slide 13: Themes
• The main theme in the novel is the exploration of moral nature of
humans. It is a exploration of whether people are essentially good
or essentially evil.
• The novel explores this idea through using Scout and Jem
movement from childhood innocence to mature understanding
adults.
• As a result of this transition from innocence to experience, one of
the important themes involves threat, hatred, prejudice, racism
and ignorance.
• These themes show how innocent people can be betrayed by
ignorance.
• Even Jem is victimized to an extent by his discovery of the evil of
racism during and after the trial.
• Scout is able to sustain her faith in human nature.
• The moral voice in „To Kill a Mockingbird‟ is embodied by Atticus
Finch is unique in the novel because he understands people without
loosing faith when evil occurs.
• Atticus accepts people for what they are good and bad qualities
included.
• Atticus accepts these points and tries to see life through other
people‟s eyes.
• Atticus can admire Mrs Dubose‟ s courage whilst in deplores her
racism.
• Scout learns from her father and at last sees Boo Radley in this
way and accept him for good and bad points
Good and Evil

14. Slide 14: Themes
Moral Importance
• The education of children forms a large part of the novel. In a sense the
novel plots the development of Scout and Jem from childhood innocence to
maturity.
• The theme of education and moral importance is best shown between Atticus
and Scout, as Atticus devotes himself to instilling a social conscience.
• The scenes at school provide a direct comparison to Atticus‟s effective
education of his children, Scout is frequently confronted with teachers who
are frustrated by her attitude and fail to meet her needs.
• The novel‟s most important message is that the lessons of sympathy and
understanding are the most vital.
• Atticus‟s ability to put himself in his children‟s shoes and see their
perspective makes him an understanding and valuable teacher.

15. Slide 15: Themes
Social Inequality
The social inequality in the novel is explored using the town of Maycomb and its
complicated hierarchy.
The Finch family are well off within the town largely due to Atticus‟s
employment. As a result most of the town‟s people are beneath them.
The country farmers the Cunninghams lie below the town‟s people due to their
ignorance whilst the Ewells are below the Cunninghams because of their
immoral behaviour.
The black community in Maycomb lie even further below the Ewells in spite of
their admirable qualities and good will.
It is this social hierarchy which allows the innocent Tom Robinson to be punished
by the evil Bob Ewell.
These social divisions make up a large part of the adult world which Jem and
Scout see, and these divisions appear to be irrational and destructive.
Social division ultimately epitomises the prejudice and ignorance of human
nature.

16. Slide 16: Themes
Small Town life
• Lee focuses closely on the old fashioned small town values of Maycomb.
• In order to contrast with the themes of ignorance and prejudice and the suspense
and tension of the novel. Lee emphasises the slow paced and good natured ambiance
of small town Maycomb.
• Lee juxtaposes small town values with images of evil, to show the forces of good and
evil within the town. For example: The terror of the fire is contrasted with people
of Maycomb coming together to save Miss Maudie‟s valued possessions.
Mockingbirds
• The title carries great symbolic weight in the novel, as it represents good being
destroyed by evil.
• The mockingbird represents the idea of good- thus to kill a mockingbird is to destroy
innocence.
• Throughout the novel Jem, Tom, Dill and Boo are all symbolised as mockingbirds – ie
innocents who have been destroyed through contact with evil.
• This connection is explicit after Tom‟s death Mr. Underwood compares his death to
“the senseless slaughter of songbirds,”
• Whilst Miss Maudie epitomises the concept of the novel when she declares
• “Mockingbirds don‟t do one thing but . . . sing their hearts out for us. That‟s why it‟s a
sin to kill a mockingbird.”
• The fact that Jem and Scout‟s last name is Finch (a small bird) suggests that they
are vulnerable and innocent within this racist world.

17. Prejudice in the novel
Race
Gender
Handicaps
Rich/Poor
Age
Religion
Slide 17: Themes

18. -It‟s not a man with a gun in his hand.
“It‟s when you know you‟re licked before
you begin, but you begin anyway and you
see it through, no matter what. You rarely
win, but sometimes you do.”
-Atticus Finch
Courage

19. Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose
―She was the meanest lady I ever met.‖ Jem
• Supposedly holds a Confederate
pistol under her shawl.
• Yells insults and false accusations at the
children walking by her house.
• Ignites Jem’s slow-burning fuse by insulting
his dead mother.

20. Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose
“She was the bravest person I ever
knew.” Atticus
• She was sick for a long time…probably cancer.
• Pain-ridden -Took morphine for years prescribed
by a doctor, acceptable use.
• Morphine affected her disposition, made her more
―contrary‖ (mean) than normal.
• Wanted to rid herself of her addiction before
dying. The reading time prolonged her ―fits.‖
• Died with pain, but overcame morphine addiction

21. Slide 21: Key Quotations and Questions
Key Quotations
You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of
view . . . until you climb into his skin and walk around in it. -
Chapter 3 Atticus to Scout
“Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy . . . but sing
their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”
Chapter 10 Miss Maudie
Winter, and a man walked into the street, dropped his glasses, and shot a dog.
Summer, and he watched his children’s heart break. Autumn again, and Boo’s
children needed him. Atticus was right. One time he said you never really know a
man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them. Just standing on the
Radley porch was enough.
Chapter 31 Scout
Key Questions
1. How does the writer use the trial of Tom Robinson to bring out the themes
and issues in this book ?
2. What do we learn about life in Maycomb county in 1930s from the
presentation of female characters in this book?

22. ―You never really know a man until you
crawl into his skin and walk around for
awhile.‖--Atticus Finch
• Atticus Finch
• Jeremy (Jem) Finch
• Jean Louise (Scout)
• Charles Baker
Harris (Dill)
• Aunt Alexandra
• Boo Radley
• Tom Robinson
• Robert E. Lee Ewell
• Mayella Ewell
• Calpurnia

23. ―If you can learn a simple trick,
Scout, you’ll get along a lot
better with all kinds of folks.
You never really understand a
person until you consider things
from his point of view—until you
crawl into his skin and walk
around in it.‖

24. Slide 24: Summary
• Scout is the main female narrator – 5 years old at the start of the novel.
• The novel focuses on her movement from innocent child to understanding
adult.
• The novel focuses on prejudice, racism, social class and the battle between
good and evil.
• The novel is set in Maycomb, Alabama during 1930s America – the time of
the great depression.
• Scout has an older brother Jem, her father is Atticus, they make up the
Finch family.
• Scout and Jem are friends with Dill – during their friendship they become
obsessed with Boo Radley and he is portrayed as an evil character.
• Scout and Jem are saved by Boo Radley at the end of the novel and they
change their opinion of him.
• The main event of the novel is the trial of Tom Robinson. Tom Robinson is a
black man accused of rape by Mayella Ewell. Atticus defends Tom and
proves him innocent, however the all white jury find him guilty.
• The trial of Tom has a huge impact on Jem and Scout. Jem becomes
despondent and depressed that justice fails, whilst Scout has to learn to
accept people for who they are.
• The relationship Atticus has with his children is pivotal in the novel as he
teaches them the most valuable lesson of all: To truly understand someone
else's point of view, accept people for who they are and accept their good
and bad points.

25. Preview of the Novel
• The setting
– The Great Depression
• The characters
• Conflicts
• Prejudice
• Social Hierarchy

26. The Great Depression

27. 1930’s - Great Depression
began when the stock market
crashed in October, 1929
 Businesses failed,
factories closed
– People were out of
work
– Even people with
money suffered
because nothing was
being produced for
sale.
 Poor people lost their
homes, were forced to
“live off the land.‖

28. Bank Failures

29. Prejudice in Maycomb County,
Alabama, 1930’s
“Now gentlemen, in this
country our courts are the
great levelers, and in our
courts all men are created
equal. I'm no idealist to
believe firmly in the integrity
of our courts and of our jury
system. That's no ideal to me.
That is a living, working
reality.”
-Atticus to the jury

30. Social Hierarchy in Maycomb 1933
• Aristocrats - White upper class
• White middle class
• White lower class
• White trash
• Negroes

31. Aristocrats -White upper class
• Educated
• Legitimate claim to ―Old South‖ plantation
families.
• Wealth
• Aunt Alexandra

32. • White middle Class
• White
• Some education
• Property owners
• Miss Maudie
• White Lower Class
• White
• Little or no education
• Sharecroppers/ Farmers
• Walter Cunningham

33. • Poor White Trash
• Refuse education
• Often alcoholic
• Few or no work skills
• No work ethic
• Same opportunities as other white classes

34. Negroes
• Lowest on the social hierarchy
• Education prohibited
• Placed here only because of race

35. Bias against women, race, wealth, social status, and religion
• Gender bias
• Racial prejudice
• Economic prejudice
• Social Hierarchy
• Religious Prejudice
―Scout, yer starting to act like a girl!‖

36. Know the answers to the following questions:
Why is it a sin to kill a mockingbird?
Why didn't the Ewells have to go to school?
What did Scout and Jem find in the Radleys' tree?
What was the Boo Radley game?
Who makes Scout and Jem feel welcome at Calpurnia's church?
Describe the relationship between Aunt Alexandra and the children.
Why did Dill run away from home back to Maycomb?
What was Mayella's account of the incident with Tom Robinson?
What was Tom's side of the story?
What was Tom's handicap?
What do Dill and Scout learn from Mr. Raymond?

37. Know the answers to the following questions:
What were Atticus' closing remarks to the jury and what was the jury's verdict?
What was the significance of Maudie's two little cakes and one large one?
What was Bob Ewell's meeting with Atticus at the post office like?
Why doesn't Alexandra want Scout playing with Walter Cunningham?
How would you describe Mrs. Merriweather?
Mr. Underwood's editorial likened Tom's death to the senseless slaying of ----?
What one word best describes Mrs. Gates?
What happened to Judge Taylor?
What ultimately happens to Helen Robinson?
Why did Scout and Jem not leave the school until almost everyone else had gone?

38. Know the answers to the following questions:
Who killed Bob Ewell?
Why does Heck Tate insist that Bob Ewell fell on his own knife?
Scout arranged things so that "if Miss Stephanie Crawford was watching from her upstairs
window, she would see Arthur Radley escorting [her] down the sidewalk, as any gentleman
would do." Why would she do this?
Who was responsible for the fire at Miss Maudie‟s house?
Who was Cecil Jacobs?
What is Uncle Jack like?
Why does Jem cut the tops off of all of Mrs. Dubose's
camellia bushes and what is his punishment?
Who saves Atticus from the angry lynch mob that is coming to get Tom Robinson?

39. COMING SOON: The Long Awaited Sequel
WRITER
WRITER
HARPER LEE SUZANNE COLLINS

40. Good Luck
on the
To Kill A
Mockingbird
Final Exam