To Kill a Mockingbird,
written by Harper Lee, is a well written book published in the 1960s. The front cover is black except for the
writing and a small little bird standing alone.
It looks like it represents Tom Robinson, the main coloured man in the
story. He is truly alone in his struggle
for justice except for Atticus Finch who fights to help him. On the back of the book it tells us about
Atticus teaching his two kids, Jem and Scout, about injustice and unfairness to
different races while he fights Tom’s case.
The book tells the story
through the eyes of a young child, Scout Finch.
She witnesses this injustice going on around her and sees Tom Robinson’s
trial. The family must suffer the names
they’re being called. The local people
don’t approve of Atticus defending a black man who has been charged with the
rape of a white girl. The court case is the central part of the
novel but a lot of the book is dedicated to before the case and the racist
opinions of neighbours in the ‘sleepy’ town of Maycomb.
Description
The main themes of the book
are racism, prejudice, injustice, friendship and hypercriticism. We see the friendship between Scout, Jem and
Boo Radley during the book from the gifts in the knothole of the tree to eventually
saving their lives. When Scout walks him
back to his house she stops living in a fantasy world with regard to Boo and
she really befriends him. We also see hyprocriticism in this story. The people of Maycomb think badly of racism
going on outside of Maycomb yet they continue to be racist themselves. I think they don’t really understand to the
full extent what they are doing to coloured people. Both these themes relate to the main message
of the book which concerns Atticus
always giving advice on how to treat other people.
The title of this book is
very important because Tom Robinson is a Mockingbird in Maycomb. Atticus says it is a sin to kill a
mockingbird. He is referring to Tom and
how he shouldn’t be harmed. A
mockingbird is a songbird, which mimics the songs of other birds. The bird is a symbol of Tom Robinson who has
to try and prove his innocence over the word of a white man with Atticus as the
only person there for him as a guide.
One of my favourite quotes
from the book is from Atticus who says: ‘You
never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of
view...until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.’ This is very good advice to any person and
the people of Maycomb should think about it.
It might make them think even for a second that what they’re doing is
wrong. They don’t really care about Tom
Robinson’s side of the story and they don’t understand what he’s going
through. This also goes for Boo Radley,
people just presume he is mad, but really nobody knows the truth because they
don’t know what’s happening in the Radley house. Another quote which I like, also spoken by
Atticus, is: ‘You just hold your head high and keep those fists down. No matter what anybody says to you, don’t you
let ‘em get your goat. Try fightin’ with
your head for a change.’ I like this because Atticus is telling Scout to stand
up for what she believes in, but to think before she reacts, not to be rash. It is great advice for Scout and would help
her not to suffer the consequences of her actions.
Evaluation
I enjoyed reading the end of
the novel, where Scout sees Boo for what he really is and not some fantasy murder
man. She realises he is a normal but shy
man who is just content with staying inside.
My favourite character was
Scout, who is an innocent child trying to make sense of the world around
her. We see her understanding and knowledge
grow during the book and we listen to her thoughts about racism. Bob Ewell is my least favourite character
because he is a nasty vindictive spiteful man.
He is one of the more nasty racists who wants to share his horrible
opinions with everyone. He does
eventually get his comeuppance in the end.
Recommendation
I would highly recommend
this book to lovers of action and history as it shows how coloured people really
would have been treated in the 1930’s in the Southern United States.
S McM