At some point in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, the narrative's mood begins to shift. When and how does the mood change?

The narrative mood of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird certainly does shift noticeably at a certain point. For my part, I believe that the narrative's mood shifts at the beginning of Part Two, and I believe it changes by focusing less on the light-hearted coming-of-age aspects of the story and more on the complex and disturbing issues of race.

While the first part of the novel isn't always cheery, it does tend to be lighter than the second half of the novel. Most of the narrative focuses on Scout, Dill, and Jem's childhood games and the nostalgic world in which they occur. While they certainly run across issues of gender, race, class, and more, most of these worries are overshadowed by the exciting and imaginative world of carefree youth. With the beginning of the second part, however, the mood changes. We begin to learn more about Tom Robinson, and Scout and Jem begin to face more alienation from townsfolk angered at Atticus' role in the affair. As such, the mood of the second part gradually becomes darker and more convoluted, as Lee begins to focus more on issues of race and racism. As the novel goes on, the many social problems of Maycomb cannot be as easily swatted away by children's games. While the second part is still a coming-of-age tale, it focuses less on describing the cheery world of children and more on the troubled world of adults.