How does Harper Lee build up tension throughout the novel 'To Kill a Mockingbird'?

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How does Harper Lee build up tension throughout the novel ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’?

Harper Lee includes many events in the novel ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ to build up tension. In general, there is not so much tension in the first part of the novel, but it slowly builds up to the climax of when Bob Ewell tries to kill Scout and Jem. I am going to talk about the other events which lead up to this.

The first thing that Scout talks about in the novel ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ is Boo Radley. The name “Boo” gives off quite a scary thought about who he is because Scout and Jem do not know how he is and are scared of him. They call him the “malevolent phantom” where malevolent means showing wish to do evil on others and phantom being a mysterious figure. This builds up tension as they are being prejudiced to someone they do not know much about and only through rumours.

Additionally, Scout beats up Walter Cunningham because she gets into trouble since Walter does not have any lunch money and she stood up for her. Walter could represent Scout and Jem later in the novel where they got attacked for something that was not their fault by Bob Ewell. This foreshadows the later events and builds up more tension for the reader.

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Also, during one winter, they had the “coldest weather since 1885”. Scout responded to this with “The world’s endin’” which shows that there is going to be a change in events, something the Maycomb County have never come across. Furthermore, during this winter, Miss Maudie had a house fire which juxtaposes with the coldness of the snow. This shows that there is going to be a sudden change in events. The coldness of the winter also juxtaposes with the hot summer. Atticus says “I can’t stay here all day with you, and the summer’s going to be a hot ...

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The quality of writing in this essay is generally good, although there are spelling and punctuation errors here and there, ‘Finally, near the end of the novel; Cecil Jacobs jumped out at Scout and Jem whilst walking through the dark woods on Halloween’; ‘here’ in place of ‘hear’ and so on. These mistakes should be eliminated by proofreading, showing the importance of doing so before submission – SPG marks are easily lost. The structure of the essay is sound, however a stronger conclusion detailing the arguments put forward by the candidate would improve it greatly.

The level of analysis here is good. The candidate discusses many literary devices put to use in the novel, for example the juxtaposition of hot and cold during the ‘coldest winter since 1885’, and the widespread use of foreshadowing, of both Tom’s trial and the attack on Jem and scout. The ‘Mockingbird’ motif is alluded to, ‘Additionally, Jem kills Mrs Dubose's camellia flowers which represent a "mockingbird" as they only give off pleasure’, however it could benefit from being discussed in more detail. The candidate includes a lot of direct quotation from the text, but there is very little discussion of the trial itself. The candidate seems to take it for granted that the climactic scene of the novel is Bob Ewell’s attack on Jem and Scout; but could it be Tom’s guilty verdict? If not, how does the verdict impact on the level of tension in the novel? Does it increase it, or does it release it, making Ewell’s attack even more shocking?

Overall this is a good essay which details the events leading up to Bob Ewell’s attack on Jem and Scout and how these create a rising sense of tension throughout the essay. There is a clear structure to the essay and ample use of direct quotation from the text. The style of the essay is quite repetitive in places, and the essay could benefit from the use of more literary terminology and proofreading, but in general the essay successfully conveys the manner in which Harper Lee builds up tension though the novel.

The quality of writing in this essay is generally good, although there are spelling and punctuation errors here and there, ‘Finally, near the end of the novel; Cecil Jacobs jumped out at Scout and Jem whilst walking through the dark woods on Halloween’; ‘here’ in place of ‘hear’ and so on. These mistakes should be eliminated by proofreading, showing the importance of doing so before submission – SPG marks are easily lost. The structure of the essay is sound, however a stronger conclusion detailing the arguments put forward by the candidate would improve it greatly.

The level of analysis here is good. The candidate discusses many literary devices put to use in the novel, for example the juxtaposition of hot and cold during the ‘coldest winter since 1885’, and the widespread use of foreshadowing, of both Tom’s trial and the attack on Jem and scout. The ‘Mockingbird’ motif is alluded to, ‘Additionally, Jem kills Mrs Dubose's camellia flowers which represent a "mockingbird" as they only give off pleasure’, however it could benefit from being discussed in more detail. The candidate includes a lot of direct quotation from the text, but there is very little discussion of the trial itself. The candidate seems to take it for granted that the climactic scene of the novel is Bob Ewell’s attack on Jem and Scout; but could it be Tom’s guilty verdict? If not, how does the verdict impact on the level of tension in the novel? Does it increase it, or does it release it, making Ewell’s attack even more shocking?

Overall this is a good essay which details the events leading up to Bob Ewell’s attack on Jem and Scout and how these create a rising sense of tension throughout the essay. There is a clear structure to the essay and ample use of direct quotation from the text. The style of the essay is quite repetitive in places, and the essay could benefit from the use of more literary terminology and proofreading, but in general the essay successfully conveys the manner in which Harper Lee builds up tension though the novel.