Analysis of “To kill a mockingbird”

The story under analysis is an extract from a novel “To kill a mockingbird”. The book was written by Harper Lee in 1960. Harper Lee was born in 1926 in the state of Alabama. In 1945-1949 she studied law at the University of Alabama. “To kill a mockingbird” is her first novel and after being published it was highly acclaimed and even was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1961, one of the most important awards in literature. The book became an international bestseller and was adapted into screen in 1962.

The events of the novel “To kill a mockingbird” take place during a difficult time in the South. At that time black people were treated as people of lower level than whiteones. Racial Discrimination was running high in the South as a whole, especially in Alabama. Many details of “To kill a mockingbird”are apparently autobiographical but Harper Lee insisted that the novel is fully a work of fiction.

The events of the extract take place in the court of Maycomb County. Two small children secretly came to the trial and were sitting there the whole trial. A Negro, Tom Robison by name, was falsely accused in rapping a white woman. But Atticus, a defender and the two children’s father, was absolutely sure in his innocence and tried to give all necessary facts to persuade the jury. Actually it was the white woman’s father, Bob Ewell, who had bitten her as he had seen her kissing Tom Robinson. And also it was MayellaEwell who broke the code and “tempted a Negro”. Before the jury goes away Atticus refers to Thomas Jefferson to remind them that the court is the only place where people are equal, no matter black or white, clever or stupid, rich or poor they are. But apparently the jury doesn’t take into consideration his last words as the story ends with the jury accusing Tom Robinson.

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