To Kill a Mockingbird

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 1960

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-4

Chapters 5-8

Chapters 9-12

Chapters 13-16

Chapters 17-20

Chapters 21-24

Chapters 25-28

Chapters 29-31

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Vocabulary

Essay Topics

Book Club Questions

General Impressions

Content Warning: This section of the guide contains discussion of racism and graphic violence.

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. The novel is both a bildungsroman about the formative experiences of a young girl and a historical novel examining injustice. Which of the story’s elements interested you most? How does the young Scout’s narration affect your engagement with the text?

2. Compare and contrast the novel to other coming-of-age stories, such as Angie Thomas’s The Hate U Give or Betty Smith’s A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. What similarities and differences do you notice about the protagonists’ journeys toward maturity, and how do the authors use the main characters’ experiences to explore social issues such as racism and poverty?

3. Literary critics sometimes discuss the concept of the Great American Novel. Do you consider To Kill a Mockingbird a contender for this title? Why or why not? Do you see any striking similarities or differences between Harper Lee’s novel and other books regarded by some as Great American Novels, such as Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God and John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath? What other novels would you include in the running?

Personal Reflection and Connection

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. Atticus teaches Scout to stand in someone else’s shoes and “walk around in them” (321). Share a life lesson from your childhood that has stuck with you and discuss how you’ve tried to put it into practice.

2. Although Scout loves to learn, she finds school tedious. When you were her age, what were your experiences as a student like? Beyond the classroom, what other factors do you think are important for children’s education?

3. One of the hardest lessons that Scout and Jem learn is that people they’ve known all their lives adhere to racist beliefs and mob mentality. When did you first become aware of racism? What do you think can be done to help children grow up challenging rather than perpetuating the prejudices they see around them?

4. Throughout the novel, Atticus offers his children an example of courage, justice, and radical empathy. Who is someone in your life that you consider a role model, and why do you look up to them? Consider sharing a story to elaborate on your response.

Societal and Cultural Context

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. The novel confronts the deeply rooted social problems that plague a small community, including racism and injustice in the legal system. How does this story resonate with issues that persist in society, and what lessons does it offer modern readers?

2. How does the story’s setting in 1930s Alabama contribute to the novel’s meaning? Did the novel and its characters give you a new understanding of the Great Depression?

3. To Kill a Mockingbird has been banned or challenged for a number of reasons, including its depiction of racism. Does reading this banned book contribute to your understanding of the importance of allowing people to read freely?

Literary Analysis

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. Trace Scout’s growth and development over the course of the novel. What does she learn about herself and about human nature? How is she different at the end of the novel than she was at the beginning?

2. Consider the connections between literacy and Maycomb’s hierarchical social structure. What message is the author providing about learning and its connection to socioeconomic justice?

3. How do Scout and Jem’s understandings of their respective genders evolve over the course of their character arcs? Which characters and experiences help them gain a more nuanced appreciation of what it means to be a good woman or a good man?

4. How does the author develop mockingbirds as symbols of innocent victims of violence? In what ways are Tom Robinson and Boo Radley both mockingbirds, and how does this symbol contribute to the novel’s overall meaning?

5. The novel uses guns to represent violence. Over the course of the story, how do guns develop the novel’s tone and raise questions about the necessity of violence?

Creative Engagement

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. Would you want to see a new film adaptation of this novel, or would you prefer to watch the 1962 film starring Gregory Peck? Why? If you would like a new adaptation, whom would you cast in the lead roles, and why?

2. Create a collage that reflects Scout’s evolving understanding of her community. During or after collaging, take turns explaining the images you have chosen and what they represent.

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