To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

1. Show how at least two individual episodes, sections or events in your studied text held your interest as a reader.

This essay will discuss how two individual events in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, held my interest as a reader. The two individual events are Tom Robinsons court case and the pageant at Scouts school when she plays the role of “Pork”. I will discuss what techniques were used in both events and how they held my interest.

Mayella Ewell accuses Tom Robinson, a black man, of raping her and Atticus, Scout’s father takes the case. Scout and Jem, Atticus’s children sneak to the trial so we, as the reader, find out what is happening through Scout’s eyes. Scout has seen many trials, so her knowledge of what is happening makes it easier for the reader to understand, therefore holding our interest and stopping us from getting bored when we don’t understand the law jargon.

Harper Lee wrote the book in a way that he would keep us in suspense. This is especially shown when Atticus is questioning Mayella Ewell. Atticus asked Mayella questions and called her “ma’am” which was something she had never been called before so she didn’t react well. This made her flustered and also made her say that Tom Robinson had thrown her down and beat her up. After this Atticus made Tom Robinson stand up only for the audience to see that he had a crippled arm. It was moments like this that made us, as readers not want to stop reading because we wanted to know what would happen next. We wanted to know what else Mayella would say. Harper Lee creates the suspension by writing the conversation between Atticus and Mayella Ewell. Lee shows how educated Atticus is in contrast to how uneducated Mayella is by the different language they use. It makes it interesting for the reader and it helps us be able to show who is talking at what moment.

At the end of the trial, Atticus has done a good job making the reader think that Tom Robinson will go free. When actually, the jury finds him guilty. Harper Lee does this to shock the readers and to make them want to continue to read to see what happens after the trial, therefore continuing to hold our interest.

The second event holds our interest in a similar way to the first event.