Jem and Scout Finch's father, Atticus, is a lawyer and as the book progresses his life becomes harder and harder. The children begin by wondering and dreaming about their curious neighbour "Boo" Radley. They compose small plays about him until Atticus finds them doing it and they stop from then on.
The family owns a maid, Calpurnia, who is a "Negro" and she is Jem and Scout's refuge through the non-school days while Atticus is working and they become close, Scout especially when Jem becomes older and less playful. Jem and Scout begin to discover how some people in the school playground are insulting Atticus by calling him "Nigger-lover". Scout, a boystress girl who prefers to take matterrs into her own hands, becomes distressed by it and they are both eventually told that it is because Atticus has been assigned to defend a "Negro".
The black man is called Tom Robinson and he has been accused by Bob Ewell, a very low class man who lives near a "Negro" camp, of raping Mr. Ewell's girl. The Finch family receive a bit of stick from some of the other whites from then on until the court case but the blacks are very grateful to Atticus for doing this case.
The court case is the most exhilarating part of the book and I could not leave it half-way through but must kep on reading! Compared to the first part of the book, this is extraordinary and the tension it contains is immense. The result of the case was unprecidented although the result was as predicted, but after the court case Mr. Ewell was very unhappy and he promised Atticus that he'd get him. The events which occured later on were unexcuseable.
A bit "wishy-washy" at the onset of the book puts you off a bit but once at and after the court case you will not be avle to leave it alone! 9/10.
J. Ferguson
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