1001 Books for Every Mood - Readers Guide

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

In this iconic 20th Century novel, a southern town is steeped in violence and racial hatred. Attorney Atticus Finch can’t convince a jury to acquit a black man who is clearly innocent of raping a white girl. The story is told from the clear-eyed viewpoint of his daughter, Scout. This is one of the best-loved novels of our time, and still has heart-wrenching power, even when you know the ending.

-- 1001 Books for Every Mood

Readers Guide by Hallie Ephron

Overview

The book was published in 1960. In its 41st week on the bestseller list, it was awarded the Pulitzer Prize and has become one of the best loved and most frequently banned novels of our time.

In it, two stories intertwine. Six-year-old Scout Finch, her brother Jem, and their friend Dill become obsessed, as only children can, with a run-down house and the reclusive, mysterious Boo Radley who lives there with his brother Nathan. The children’s fascination deepens when Scout and Jem find gifts in the knothole of the Radley’s tree, apparently left for them.

Later, trespassing on the Radley property, they’re shot at by Nathan Radley, and Jem loses his pants in his flight. He returns for them to find them hanging over the fence, mended. This and other acts of kindness convince Scout that Boo is far from the bogeyman they’d assumed him to be.

In a second “adult” plot, Scout’s father Attorney Atticus Finch defends a black man, imprisoned and brought to trial on trumped-up charges of raping a white girl. The dramatic trial and its aftermath will break your heart.

Discussion Questions

1. Scout narrates this novel, but does she narrate it from the point of view of a child or as an adult looking back, and how does that influence the story she tells?

2. How does the children’s perception character of Boo Radley change over the course of the novel, and what causes that change?

3. What does Lee show us about racial and class attitudes in 1930s Alabama by the contrasts she draws between the Ewells and the Cunninghams?

4. This novel has been criticized for its racial stereotyping. Do you agree? How does Lee use the behavior of Calpurnia and of Mr. Raymond to explore how the races interact?

5. When you read about the trumped-up charges and trial of Tom, did you think that could never happen today…or not?

6. Atticus gives his children air rifles and but warns them, “it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.” Scout later compares revealing Boo as Bob Ewell's killer to "shootin' a mockingbird.” What do you think she means, and what does killing a mockingbird come to symbolize in this novel?

7. There have been repeated attempts to remove this novel from library shelves. It’s been challenged for its portrayal of conflict between children and adults, ungrammatical speech, references to sex, the supernatural, and witchcraft, and racial stereotyping. How would you respond to these challenges?

8. Flannery O’Connor said, “It’s interesting that all the folks that are buying it don’t know they’re reading a child’s book.” Do you think this is a "children’s book"?

About the Author

Like Scout, Harper “Nelle” Lee grew up a tomboy in Alabama in the 1930s. Her father was an attorney and state legislator. Many details of this book are autobiographical, and she based the irrepressible Dill on Truman Capote, her best friend and neighbor growing. Lee had published a few short stories when she received a gift of money that enabled her to take a year off to write this novel. This is the reclusive author’s only novel.

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Sweeping Up Glass by Carolyn D.Wall

About Hallie Ephron

Hallie Ephron is an award-winning book reviewer and the author of 1001 Books for Every Mood. She lives near Boston.