Significance Of Setting In To Kill A Mockingbird

Novel Notebook: To Kill a Mockingbird
1. Setting/Matter: The setting for this book is Maycomb, a small stagnant town in Alabama in the 1930s. It is a small town so everyone knew everyone in the town. This setting helped contribute to the results of Tom Robinson’s trial. Since everyone else knew each other, the townspeople would know if a member of the jury voted for Tom’s innocence. This greatly contributed to the result of the trial.
This book takes place in the 1930s in the south, which contributes to the prejudice in the jurors at the trial. The whites believed the blacks were inferior to them and that they were bad people without ever doing anything wrong. Racism existed so strongly due to the relatively recent end to slavery. The people in Maycomb kept their traditional views from before and were unwilling to accept that blacks were on their way to being treated as equals. They were going to vote against Tom Robinson no matter how innocent he was. “You know what's going to happen as well as I do Jack, and I hope and pray I can get Jem and Scout through it without bitterness, and most of all without catching Maycomb’s usual disease” (Lee 101). The people in Maycomb had unjustified
negative views on Tom Robinson. Tom Robinson had lost the trial before the trial occurred, and Atticus knew that. The typical people in Maycomb saw Tom as an outsider and even though he was an innocent man, they wanted him to get punished. Atticus did not want the same thing to happen to Scout or Jem. He wanted them to be like the others in Maycomb. He wanted them to have an unprejudiced perspective.
What effect did the southern small-town setting have on the views of the people in Maycomb?

2. Plot: Another key shift in the novel is the trial of Tom Robinson. The trial shows the extreme prejudice that the Maycomb citizens have. The jurors voted for the guilt of Tom because of racism instead of using any sort of fairness. This presents the prejudice in society to Scout and Jem. After seeing the prejudice Scout still believes society can still be good. The last plot shift was when Scout and Jem were attacked by Bob Ewell. Bob was furious that Atticus make him look guilty so wanted revenge on Atticus. Boo Radley ended up saving the children and ended up killing Bob. Sheriff Tate and Atticus both knew what gesture Boo had committed, but instead of making him a murderer they said nothing to anyone about the gesture. Boo wanted to stay away from all the injustice in Maycomb and if people knew he murderer it would harm that. “Well it’d be sort of like shootin’ a mockingbird wouldn’t it” (Lee 370). Scout did not want Boo’s reputation to be harmed. The quote appeared at the beginning of the book. Scout and Jem were into trying to figure out Boo Radley, and she did not fully understand what “killing a mockingbird” meant. At the end of the book her maturity is displayed by Scout telling others about how this would be hurting the innocent which would not be right. This lesson about not killing someone's innocence had been preached by Atticus in the whole novel and Scout finally learned. In the end by having Bob Ewell die in the book after “killing a mockingbird” it shows that if you “kill a mockingbird” you will be hurt in return.
How does Scout’s view on innocence and harming the innocent develop through the novel? 3. Characters: The book is in the point of view of a young, naive, girl named Jean Louise Finch, who goes by the name “Scout”. Scout is greatly influenced by her father and she does not follow any sort of social standard unless it was laid down for her by her father. For the most part, Scout does not understand other people’s behavior from how her father protected her growing up. Scout is inexperienced and does not fully understand the complexity of life.
This novel is based off the views of Scout, mainly for her innocence. Her brother Jem experiences many of the same events, but if he was the narrator the story would be very different. Jem’s coming of age is a lot more rough than it was for Scout. Jem conforms to the ideals in society therefore taking things to heart. Jem saw the evil’s in life and instead of having a positive outlook on life, he lost the belief that people are good.
Atticus is the father of Jem and Scout who is a well-respected lawyer in Maycomb. He believes that everyone should be treated as equals and does not care the reactions it will evoke in others. "You aren't really a nigger-lover, then, are you?, I certainly am. I do my best to love everybody" (Lee 124). Atticus admires everyone equally and he wants others, especially his children, to share his views. Atticus attempts to hand his values to his kids to show them to always look at the good in people.
In what way did the sheltered life Jem and Scout lived in affect their views on equality and injustice?

4. Narrator and Point of View: The novel is narrated by Scout who is recalling her childhood. Using first person allows the author to choose what Scout thinks, so the story does not have to discuss everything that happens. Another reason why Scout was chosen was because her views were simple. She thinks the trial of Tom Robinson is unfair, but it does not upset her like it would as she ages. “If there's just one kind of folks, why can't they get along with each other? If they're all alike, why do they go out of their way to despise each other?(),” Scout’s lack of experience leads her to be perplexed about many aspects in society. Scout may not completely understand why everything things happen, but she is observant and questions her surroundings. Which provides an outlet for the reader to see the facts and draw their own conclusions. Using this point of view allows the reader to see the injustice without the novel clearing telling the reader what judgements to have. Scout observes many of the main events in the story from far away leading to limited details being presented in the novel. The reader knows no more than Scout knows which limits the knowledge one receives.
What effect does having a first person narrator affect the readers opinion and views on many of the prejudice present in the novel?

5. Theme/Atmosphere: This novel is an coming of age story for Scout. This coming of age helps to reveal a big idea in this book, that goodness can exist even with evil. This theme is partially brought out through having two moods, one being portrayed by having Scout, a hopeful girl who looks at the world as a happy place. The other mood is Scout sticking some of her adult insight into a few scenes in order to describe Maycomb in a somber manner. At the beginning of the book Scout had not encountered the injustice in the world. As the novel progresses, Scout begins to see the evils of prejudice in her society. Scout’s reaction to these evils in society manifest a different reaction inside her than in many others. The way she was raised led her to be able to see the goodness in people if she tries to understand the position they are in. Towards the end of the book she acknowledges the evil but is still able to see the good side of people.
Another theme present in the book is that you should not judge someone until you know more about them, because you might not know why someone does something. In To Kill a Mockingbird many false attributions of others were created, because they did not fully understand the situations other members of their community were in, "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" (Lee 321). Boo Radley was notorious to the people in Maycomb. Boo spent most of his time inside the shelter of his home which led people to misunderstand him and think he was a horrible man. In reality, Boo was the opposite of what people viewed him as. Boo stayed inside to avoid the horrible things people in his own town could do and only came out when he believed it was necessary. After he saved Jem and Scout’s life she saw him for what he really was. An enigmatic man, that when you try to understand, can see the goodness inside.
How does Scout’s views on people she does not understand progress throughout the novel?

6. Symbolism: The snowman in chapter 8 is a symbol. It is built from snow like all snowman, but there is a layer of dirt on the outside which makes the snowman dark. “Jem, I ain’t ever heard of a nigger snowman”, he won’t be black long” (Lee 75). The snowman was not accepted, because it had mud on it, just like how blacks were not accepted because of their skin color. Snowman are constructed the same no matter what it looks like on the outside, just like humans. The snowman shows how everyone is made the same on the inside and the only difference between races is their outer skin color. This snowman also represents society as a whole. Jem and Scout did not have enough snow to work with so they used some dirt. This represents society and the need for blacks and white to work together to accomplish a goal. Atticus also does not know how to build a snowman, which shows how people do not know how to build a society of whites.
The sick dog is a symbol used in the book. When Tim Johnson ran around Maycomb everyone accept for Atticus avoided him because he was sick. Tim Johnson could not control that he was sick. People who are black cannot control their skin color, but stopping racism is an issue that was avoided. Atticus shot the dog and defended Tom Robinson both in the book which show how he is willing to shoot down racism. “With movements so swift they seemed simultaneous, Atticus’s hand yanked a ball-tipped lever as he brought the gun to his shoulder” (Lee 100). When the dog ran around Maycomb people avoided him and Atticus was the only one who took a stand against him. Atticus takes care of the business nobody else wants to in killing Tim and in being the lawyer in Robinson’s trial. After Tim is killed everyone comes back outside and feel safe again. This shows that when racism is killed people will feel more confortable.
How do the snowman and the mad dog help to show the the unfairness of prejudice in the book?

7.
Unconventionality: One aspect of this novel that is unconventional is the title of the book. The title does not have much relevance to the actual context of the book, but it still has meaning to a message presented in the book. “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (Lee 103). The mockingbird is a symbol in the book that represents innocent people that do not intend to harm anyone, but are hurt by the prejudice placed on them. Boo Radley and Tom Robinson are two mockingbirds used in the book. Atticus believes that the mockingbirds represent the innocent people that should not be
harmed.
How does using a symbol as the title help emphasize a theme of the book?

8. Literary Criticism: The literary criticism that would be the best fit to criticize this novel would be historical criticism. The hardships present in this book and the injustices were high due to the recent end to slavery and the Great Depression .The Great Depression helped to intensify the tension in Maycomb because the social class differences were even more drastic. “There was no hurry, for there was nowhere to go, nothing to buy, and no money to buy it with, nothing to see outside the boundaries of Maycomb county” (Lee 5). Maycomb was an old town with traditions in place that affected people’s perceptions. People held onto the old views. This lead to the conviction of Tom Robinson, because people believed their social order needs to be kept in tact. The novel also talks about the justice system and the unfairness that Tom was given in the trial.
What was the prejudice in the 1930s and how does it relate to the actual amount of prejudice?