To Kill A Mocking Bird Outline

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Sample outline for essay about mockingbirds: While one of the main themes of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird is understanding another human's perspective, it is also important to look at how people treat each other. The story's protagonist, Scout, is a young girl from Alabama whose father, Atticus Finch, is asked to defend an African-American man who is charged with rape. The southern way of life during The Great Depression won't allow Tom Robinson a fair trial, and Scout and her brother Jem are forced to deal with a county's ignorance and racist attitudes. Atticus and a compassionate neighbor, Miss. Maudie, try to teach the children not to hurt mockingbirds as they don't harm anything and "...don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy" (90). While the comparison of a mockingbird to Tom Robinson illustrates the sin of hurting the innocent, it is also used to show the goodness of an unknown neighbor, Boo Radley. I. Describe what Tom Robinson is on trial for. A. summarize one of the reasons we believe he is innocent 1. his left arm is useless a. find quote where Tom says it got caught and the muscles were ripped (#). Conclude paragraph with thoughts about the fact he was convicted even though it was impossible for him to use his left hand. II. Show Tom's goodness. A. summarize what he does for Mayella 1. Offers to cut up the chiffarobe for free and why he does it for her a. find quote where Tom says he felt sorry for her (#). Conclude paragraph with how appalling it is that he couldn't feel sorry for her III. Briefly describe who Boo Radley is and how he turned out to be good A. summarize how and why he saves the children 1. describe scene that leads up to Boo patting Jem's head a. find quote where she describes how Boo pats his head (#). Conclude with the sheriff's quote about how it would be a sin to put Boo on trial Conclusion: Write about the lessons
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