To Kill A Mocking - Bird, by Harper Lee, is a very intriguing novel about the care free childhood of two young children, in comparison with the trial of a black man for a crime by which he did not comitt.The two story lines, are linked together by one very significant character who plays a vital role in determining the scenario of the story. .
The story starts off with two young children, Scout aged six and Jem aged ten. Scout is narrating the story and begins with informing the reader of how Jem got his arm broken, which is a fair indication that this is the main event that the story will lead up to. By Scout narrating the story, we can sense that the two live carefree lives and are brought up by their widowed father Atticus Finch, who is a lawyer, and by their house maid, Calpurnia, who was a coloured woman, who had been with the Finch family ever since the death of Mrs Finch. It is at the beginning of the story that the other characters on the street are introduced as they are likely to be mentioned more than once throughout the novel.
The story begins in summer, in the isolated the town of Maycomb county. The first significant even to occur is the arrival of Charles Baker Harris, or more commonly known as Dill. The early introduction of dill into the story is an indication that he is a major character and that he is likely to have an affect on the story line. Dill occupies Scout and Jem's summer's and Dill's curiosity concerning Boo Radley, becomes more intense, the more gossip that Jem reveals to him.
Following the introduction of Dill, is the time when the children begin to focus their attention on Boo Radley. This is a result of Dill's curiosity and testing of Jem's bravery. The topic of Boo Radley occupy the children for the first part of the story, which In itself portrays their fascination with Boo as well as the carfree childhood they experience.
The next significant event involves Scout recovering objects from within a knot hole in a tree outside the Radley place.