Can you find instances in the book which hint at how the town of Maycomb, Alabama, compares to the world at large -- both of its time and the modern world? Consider how the town is affected by events outside its parameters. Can the "summertime boundaries" of Scout and Jem be brought into this comparison?
In his essay "The Romantic Regionalism of Harper Lee" published in "Bloom's Modern Critical Interpretations: Harper Lee's 'To Kill A Mockingbird', (ed. Harold Bloom; 2007), Fred Erisman says Lee delineates four distinct classes among white people in Maycomb: "old aristocracy" (upper class); "faceless and ... nameless" (middle class); "trash" (lower class); and "poor white trash" (the "dregs"). Which characters do you feel represent each class? Also, are black citizens excluded intentionally as a "class" or just kept separate to represent the racial thoughts of the time?
Whose story is this? Does it belong to Scout, the narrator, told from a distance? Is it Atticus' story, a typical "hero" tale? Or is it the story of Tom Robinson and, by extension, the other black citizens of the town and county? Does the story belong to the town of Maycomb and/or the South at large?
Did this novel need the inclusion of an outside force to help tell its tale? What does the character of Dill bring to it? And, although she is part of the central action, could Calpurnia be considered an outside force, given the racial separation of the time? If so, how does her character help drive the narrative?
Does the novel's depiction of racial enmity and sexual transgression ring true today? Could Tom Robinson, though innocent, be killed just for being black?