To Kill A Mockingbird | Summary, Characters, Book, & Facts

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• Plot summary and characters
• Real-life influences and adaptations
• Go Set a Watchman

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• What is To Kill a Mockingbird about?
• What inspired Harper Lee to write To Kill a Mockingbird?
• How did people respond to To Kill a Mockingbird?
• Why is To Kill a Mockingbird a significant text?
• Is there a sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird?

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Quick Summary Ask the Chatbot a Question Written by Laura Fine Laura Fine, Ph.D., is department chair and associate professor of English at Meredith College in Raleigh, North Carolina. She teaches American and world literature, and her areas of special interest are... Laura FineAll Fact-checked by Britannica Editors Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Britannica Editors Last updated Nov. 7, 2025 •History Table of Contents Table of Contents Quick Summary Ask the Chatbot a Question Top Questions

What is To Kill a Mockingbird about?

Harper Lee’s 1960 novel To Kill a Mockingbird is set in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama, during the Great Depression (1929–39). The story centers on Jean Louise (“Scout”) Finch, an unusually intelligent girl who ages from six to nine years old during the novel. She and her brother, Jeremy Atticus (“Jem”), are raised by their widowed father, Atticus Finch, a well-known and respected lawyer. He teaches his children to be empathetic and just, always leading by example.

When Tom Robinson, one of the town’s Black residents, is falsely accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a young white woman, Atticus agrees to defend him despite threats from the community. Although Atticus presents a defense that gives a more plausible interpretation of the evidence—that Mayella was attacked by her father, Bob Ewell—Tom is convicted. He is later killed while trying to escape custody. The children, meanwhile, play out their own miniaturized drama involving the town recluse, Arthur (“Boo”) Radley, who interacts with them by leaving them small gifts in a tree. On Halloween, when Bob Ewell tries to attack Scout and Jem, Boo intervenes and saves them. Boo ultimately kills Ewell. The sheriff, however, decides to tell the community that Ewell’s death was an accident.

What inspired Harper Lee to write To Kill a Mockingbird?

It is widely believed that Harper Lee based the character of Atticus Finch on her father, Amasa Coleman Lee, a compassionate and dedicated lawyer. The plot of To Kill a Mockingbird (1960) was reportedly inspired in part by his unsuccessful defense of two African American men—a father and a son—accused of murdering a white storekeeper. The fictional character of Charles Baker (“Dill”) Harris is based on the author Truman Capote, Lee’s childhood friend and next-door neighbor in Monroeville, Alabama. There is some anecdotal evidence that the novel’s town recluse, Arthur (“Boo”) Radley, was based on Lee and Capote’s childhood neighbor, Son Boulware. According to Capote, Boo “was a real man, and he lived just down the road from us.…Everything [Lee] wrote about it is absolutely true.”

How did people respond to To Kill a Mockingbird?

Harper Lee began writing To Kill a Mockingbird in the mid-1950s. It was published in 1960, just before the peak of the American civil rights movement. Initial critical responses to the novel were mixed. Many critics praised Lee for her sensitive treatment of a child’s awakening to racism and prejudice. Others, however, criticized the novel’s tendency to sermonize. Some reviewers argued that the narrative voice was unconvincing. The novel was nonetheless enormously popular with contemporary audiences. To Kill a Mockingbird flourished in the racially charged environment of the United States in the early 1960s. In its first year it sold about 500,000 copies. A year after the publication of the novel, Lee was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for fiction.

Why is To Kill a Mockingbird a significant text?

Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird (1960) is one of the best-known and most widely read books in the United States. Since its publication, the novel has been translated into some 40 languages and has sold more than 40 million copies worldwide. A staple on American high- school reading lists, the novel has inspired numerous stage and film adaptations, the most notable of which was the 1962 film starring Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch. In 2018 a stage adaptation of the novel debuted to rave reviews on Broadway.

Is there a sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird?

In 2015 Harper Lee published Go Set a Watchman. Although it was technically written before To Kill a Mockingbird, the novel is essentially a sequel. Go Set a Watchman is set 20 years after the events of To Kill a Mockingbird. In the novel, Jean Louise (”Scout”) Finch—now a grown woman living in New York City—returns to her childhood home in Alabama to visit her aging father, who has embraced racist views. Despite the controversy surrounding its publication (some believe the novel is actually an early draft of To Kill a Mockingbird), the novel reportedly sold 1.1 million copies in its first week.

To Kill a Mockingbird, novel by American author Harper Lee, published in 1960. Enormously popular, it was translated into some 40 languages, sold more than 40 million copies worldwide, and is one of the most-assigned novels in American schools. In 1961 it won a Pulitzer Prize. The novel was praised for its sensitive treatment of a child’s awakening to racism and prejudice in the American South.

Plot summary and characters

To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama, during the Great Depression. The protagonist is Jean Louise (“Scout”) Finch, an intelligent though unconventional girl who ages from six to nine years old during the course of the novel. She is raised with her brother, Jeremy Atticus (“Jem”), by their widowed father, Atticus Finch, a prominent lawyer who encourages his children to be empathetic and just. He notably tells them that it is “a sin to kill a mockingbird,” alluding to the fact that the birds are innocent and harmless.

When Tom Robinson, one of the town’s Black residents, is falsely accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a white woman, Atticus agrees to defend him despite threats from the community. At one point Atticus faces a mob intent on lynching his client, but he refuses to abandon him. Scout unwittingly diffuses the situation. Although Atticus presents a defense that gives a more plausible interpretation of the evidence—that Mayella was attacked by her father, Bob Ewell—Tom is convicted, and he is later killed while trying to escape custody. A character compares his death to “the senseless slaughter of songbirds,” paralleling Atticus’s saying about the mockingbird.

Awards And Honors: Pulitzer Prize (Show more) See all related content

The children, meanwhile, play out their own miniaturized drama of prejudice and superstition as they become interested in Arthur (“Boo”) Radley, a reclusive neighbor who is a local legend. They have their own ideas about him and cannot resist the allure of trespassing on the Radley property. Their speculations thrive on the dehumanization perpetuated by their elders. Atticus, however, reprimands them and tries to encourage a more sensitive attitude. Boo makes his presence felt indirectly through a series of benevolent acts, such as leaving gifts for the children in a tree. When Bob Ewell attacks Jem and Scout, Boo intervenes and kills Ewell. But Heck Tate, the sheriff, believes it is better to say that Ewell’s death occurred when he fell on his own knife, sparing the shy Boo from unwanted attention. Scout agrees, noting that to do otherwise would be “sort of like shootin’ a mockingbird.”