The story is narrated by a young girl named Jean Louise
Finch, who is almost always called by her nickname, Scout. Scout
starts to explain the circumstances that led to the broken arm that
her older brother, Jem, sustained many years earlier; she begins
by recounting her family history. The first of her ancestors to
come to America was a fur-trader and apothecary named Simon Finch,
who fled England to escape religious persecution and established
a successful farm on the banks of the Alabama River. The farm, called
Finch’s Landing, supported the family for many years. The first
Finches to make a living away from the farm were Scout’s father,
Atticus Finch, who became a lawyer in the nearby town of Maycomb,
and his brother, Jack Finch, who went to medical school in Boston.
Their sister, Alexandra Finch, stayed to run the Landing.