The story of To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama during the Depression, and is narrated by the main character, a little girl named Scout Finch. Scout's father, Atticus Finch, is a lawyer. She and her brother, Jem, and their friend Dill are intrigued by the local rumors about a man named Boo Radley who lives in their neighborhood but never sets foot from his house. Legend has it that he once stabbed his father in the leg with a pair of scissors, and he is made out to be a kind of violent psycho. Dill is from Mississippi but spends his summers in Maycomb at his aunt's house.
             The children are curious to know more about Boo. They slowly begin moving closer to the house itself, which is said to be haunted. They try leaving notes for Boo on his windowsill, but are caught by Atticus, who firmly punishes them. Then they try sneaking to the house at night and looking through its windows. However, Boo's brother, Nathan Radley, who lives with him, thinks he hears a prowler and begins firing his gun. While trying to get away, Jem loses his pants in a gate. When he returns, his ripped pants have been folded and sewn up.
             Atticus decides to take on a case involving a black man named Tom Robinson who has been accused of raping a very poor white girl named Mayella Ewell, a member of the Ewell family, who belongs to the section of Maycomb society that people refer to as "trash." The Finches all face harsh criticism in racist Maycomb because of Atticus's decision to defend Tom, but Atticus insists upon going through with the case because of his conscience. He knows that Tom has almost no chance, because the white jury will never believe his story, but he wants to reveal the truth of what happened to his fellow townspeople as well as expose their racism.
             The time for the trial gets closer, and Atticus's sister Alexandra comes to stay with the family. She is old-fashioned and wants to shape Scout in...