To Kill A Mockingbird- Nicholas Choo

“There’s nothing better than a good story -Lauren Graham.” But what makes a good story? A good story is made up of different characteristics and traits that when combined makes a good story. In the case of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee it is the setting, character development, and life lessons. When the story takes place and how the characters change throughout the book are crucial to the book being a great story. But the most important of all is the lesson that is taken away from reading the book. Due to all of these traits being present in the book, it makes it a truly great story.

The setting of the book is one of the main reasons why To Kill a Mockingbird creates such a great story. The story is set in the early 1930s in a small town in the south called Maycomb, Alabama. Throughout this time period segregation and racism against people of color were present and taken advantage of. In addition, in the early 1930s The Great Depression was rampant which left many white and black people without jobs. Maycomb, being a small town in a desolate area was seriously affected by the depression. Without this whole setting, the story would be completely different due to the actions and situation that was present during this period in history. The setting allowed for Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white girl named Mayella Ewell, to be convicted although solid evidence was presented that he wasn’t guilty. "He looked oddly off balance, but it was not from the way he was standing. His left arm was fully twelve inches shorter than his right, and hung dead at his side. It ended in a small shriveled hand, and from as far away as the balcony I could see that it was no use to him" (Lee 248). This evidence from the text proves that Tom Robinson could have not harmed Mayella Ewell especially since the bruises on Mayella’s face were on the right side.  The story revolves around the time period and racism towards black people therefore, the setting is key to making this a good story.

 

The way that the characters change throughout the book contribute to making the book a great story. Jem is portrayed at the beginning of the book as a young boy who wants to play with his sister and friends. As the story progresses we see the Jem matures exponentially, we see an example of this when Atticus and Aunt Alexandra and discussing the Tom Robinson case and Jem threatens to hit Scout. “Now I mean it, Scout, you antagonize Aunty and I’ll spank you.” (Lee 156). This is demonstrates that he understands what is going on while Scout, is still a child and is naive to the situation. His maturity is most evidently displayed when Tom Robinson is convicted of rape and Jem is upset. He understands the case and the injustice that was placed upon Tom Robinson. The character development that takes place throughout the plot is one of the qualities that makes it a good story.

“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view” “Sir?” “until you climb into his skin and walk around in it” (Lee 33). This quote from To Kill a Mockingbird  illustrates how the book isn’t only a good story, but changes the way we think in our minds. In the quote above, it teaches us to not make assumptions about another person until we can walk in that person's shoes. When Atticus Finch is saying this to his daughter, he isn’t only teaching her an important life lesson, but the person reading the book also. This is an example of a lesson that was learnt from the book. It also is one of the factors of what makes the book such a good story.

With the setting of the book in place while we see growth in characters throughout the story, it has shown how the two contrast to build a good plot. In addition, being able to take away a lesson after reading the book shows the significance the book reflects on readers. The setting, character development, and life lessons that To Kill a Mockingbird showed exemplifies the definition of a great story.