To Kill a Mockingbird cover

To Kill a Mockingbird

Harper Lee (1960)

“The most-taught novel in American schools — and the most quietly devastating indictment of what justice looks like when the system works exactly as designed.”

EraAmerican Mid-Century
Pages281
Difficulty★★☆☆☆ Moderate
AP Appearances18
racejusticeinnocenceclasscourageempathycoming-of-ageHigh SchoolAP EnglishCollege
OverviewSummaryDictionContextSignificanceWhy ReadThemesCharactersQuestionsSimilarCheat Sheet

Character Analysis

Scout is six at the start, nine at the end. She is the novel's moral instrument — her misunderstandings generate the dramatic irony, her growth is the story's arc. Lee gives her a child's logic that is internally consistent and often more accurate than the adults around her. She is not sentimentalized: she fights, she is stubborn, she is often wrong. Her voice is the novel's greatest achievement — colloquial, specific, funny, and capable of breaking your heart.