The main character, Scout, is thought to represent Harper Lee and some of the events of her own childhood are portrayed in the book. Atticus Finch represents her father and the events in the book portray an event that occurred when Harper Lee was a child.

There are some great websites that i have listed below that should be helpful, but I do suggest you at least watch the movie.

Though Lee has downplayed autobiographical parallels, biographer Charles Shields cites them as evidence against the persistent theory that Capote wrote all or part of To Kill a Mockingbird, a rumor which Capote himself occasionally allowed to pass without comment but dismissed at other times. Mentioning the character Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird, Capote described the differences in his and Lee’s writing styles: “In my original version of Other Voices, Other Rooms I had that same man living in the house that used to leave things in the trees, and then I took that out. He was a real man, and he lived just down the road from us. We used to go and get those things out of the trees. Everything she wrote about it is absolutely true. But you see, I take the same thing and transfer it into some Gothic dream, done in an entirely different way.” (William Nance, The Worlds of Truman Capote. New York: Stein & Day, 1970, p. 223.)

Citing Lee’s failure to produce another novel, at least one notable critic, Harper’s editor Pearl Kazin Bell, has gone on record supporting the theory of Capote’s co-authorship. The most compelling evidence against the theory, however, is a contemporary letter from Capote to his aunt, dated July 9, 1959. In it he indicates that he had seen Lee’s manuscript but did not take any credit for it.[4]

Anyway, this is a great site – http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/mocking/ – I used it a lot when I studied “To Kill…” at GCSE. It gives a summary of the plot as well as in-depth summaries of the chapters.

It also discusses themes, motifs, symbolism and analysis of the characters.

If you read the Context Section,(http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/mocking/context.html) it gives a lot of info on Harper Lee’s family and how this could’ve influenced the story.

I hope you find it helpful. xxx

Good luck with the essay.

Then, read the book. It will affect you for the rest of your life, it is a great book. Then think about the questions you are trying to answer. This book is worth the effort, please do read it.

**A cautionary note here…Please do not refer to people you are unhappy with as being “Soooo gay.” You are insulting a segment of society that has done nothing to insult you. ok?

Good luck, kiddo.