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Boo Radley Incident Occurs
One of the earliest major events of the story is the town legend of Boo Radley. Boo was a lonely boy abused by his father for years. He joined the closest thing to a gang the town had ever seen to find some friends and purpose. After being released from prison for disorderly conduct it was rumored that he stabbed his father's leg with a fork and was shut away in the house. Nobody had seen him for 15 years and most assumed him crazy and dangerous. -
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To Kill A Mokingbird
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"Jem" Is Born
One of the main protagonists, nicknamed "Jem" Finch, was born sometime in 1923. Jem is the elder of the two children we follow throughout the story. Jem is seen throughout the story as the more daring and mature of Atticus's two children and is always there to keep his younger sister in line. -
"Scout" Is Born
One of the main protagonists, nicknamed "Scout," was born sometime in 1927. The reader sees the story unfold through her eyes as she struggles to learn and mature through her childhood. She is two years younger than her brother but still sees him as her best friend and playmate. -
Scout's Mother Dies
Just a year after young Scout is born her mother dies. She doesn't remember much about her mother so she is not as emotionally affected from the loss as her older brother is, who has small memories of her. These small memories sometimes make Jem very upset. -
Dill Arives
Dill is a boy who moves in next door during the summer of 1933. He tells Scout and Jem that he will be visiting his aunt, who lives next door, every summer. The three children get along quickly and they become great friends. They love to act out stories and movies together. Dill is the person who suggests that they get Boo Radley outside the house. -
Scout Starts 1st Grade
Scout had been taught how to read and write by her father, Atticus, for years, but now she began to experience public school for the first time. Her teacher, Miss Caroline Fisher, immediately takes a dislike to Scout as she has already learned the basics of education and dislikes her explanation of a fellow student's ecconomic issues. -
The First Items Are Found In The Oak Tree
In late September, Scout finds two pieces of gum in an oak tree. This would be the first of many items left by an unknown person. This gifting of items seems strange and mysterious until the children reach the chilling conclusion that it is Boo Radley who is leaving the items in the tree. -
Shots Fired at the Radley House
In late August protagonists Scout, Jem, and Dill decide to peer through one of the Radley House windows. Expecting to see nothing, they are terrified when a large silhouette greets them through the window. As the children run away in horror, a shotgun is heard going off behind them. We later discover this was Nathan Radley firing a warning shot off at a black tresspasser. -
Tom Robinson Is Arrested
On November 21st, Tom Robinson is charged with committing the heinous crime of rape. The victim in question is Mayella Ewell, who claimed to have be beaten and raped by Tom after she asked for his help. This event sparks the fire that engulfs the town in a blaze of racism, hate, and discrimination. A closely-watched court case follows. -
Atticus Defends Tom Robinson
Before Christmas arrives, Atticus accepts the task of defending Tom Robinson in court. He has been a successful lawyer in Marycomb for a long time. He knows a thing or two about the legal system in the town and knows that Tom is doomed. He knows an all white jury will never allow a black man to go free after being accused of raping a white woman. -
Tom Robinson is Found Guilty
Despite concrete evidence to support Tom's innocence he is found guilty by the jury. Scout, Jem, and Dill cannot understand why anyone would be so blind and hateful to someone so innocent. The children begin to doubt if the people in their town really are the good people they always thought they were. The town's true hypocrisy is shown later when Scout's teacher denounces Hitler's persecution of Jews when she, herself, had been preaching hate to blacks just the following month. -
Bob Ewell Attacks Scout and Jem
Fueled by anger and seeking revenge, Bob Ewell, father of the supposedly raped Mayella Ewell, attacks Scout and Jem while they walk home from a Halloween show. Bob is convinced that Atticus needs to be taught a lesson for trying "to humiliate him" at the court case after Atticus correctly points out the overwheliming likelyhood that it was Bob that hit his daughter, not Tom. Boo Radley swoops in and kills Bob with the knife he used trying to kill Scout.
