To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

    To Kill a Mockingbird

[alert-success] To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

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         "To Kill a Mockingbird" is a novel written by the American author Harper Lee. It tells the story of Tom Robinson and Boo Radley's murder of an innocent mockingbird through the eyes of their children, Jean Louis Finch and Jeremy Atticus Finch. This novel examines the racism prevalent in the fictional community of Maycomb in 1933, at a time when the country was also experiencing the Great Depression. 

 Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired old town when I first know it… There was no hurry, for there was nowhere to go, nothing to buy.

        Children's adventures do not exist in the imaginary world, as it is a tranquil place devoid of haste or disorder. The tragedy of an innocent person's murder due to racial discrimination, however, emanates from this city itself. The author uses this very old town to illustrate that racial discrimination is prevalent even in a tranquil, unremarkable community.

Hush you moth! Don’t  matter who they are… don’t you let me catch you remarkin' on their ways like you were so high and mighty !

        Calpurnia, the family servant of Atticus Finch, instructs Scout on proper behaviour because she has a low opinion of Cunningham. These lines demonstrate that racism is prevalent in Maycomb. However, Calpurnia, an African-American servant, desires equality for all.

You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view.

        Atticus Finch, a barrister, defends Tom Robinson, a black man who has been falsely accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a white woman, by her father, Bob Ewell. He has been denied the right to fight for his cause due to racial discrimination, and no one is willing to defend him. Atticus Finch, however, has the ability to defend Tom because he is capable of assuming the perspective of others, which enables him to reject the racist belief. 

Remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird… Mockingbird don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people gardens…they don’t  do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s  why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird. 

        The act of killing the mockingbird is likened to the brutal murder of Tom Robinson, despite his innocence, by the police. Therefore, the mockingbird is a symbol of Tom Robinson's innocence, as it was not he who raped Mayella Ewell, but her own father. Instead, the father accuses Tom of seduction after Mayella's action. And another character, Boo Radley, who is also innocent but has been portrayed in a negative manner by society's gossip, is also a victim.

It was times like these when I thought my father, who hated guns and had never been to any wars, was the bravest man who ever lived.

        This is Scout's opinion of Atticus after he has slain the crazed dog. This act refers indirectly to the need to end racial discrimination and the practise of spreading false rumours about innocent people. Therefore, he becomes a defender for these innocent people, but his efforts are in vain, as the police mercilessly murdered Tom while he was in prison.

        Even the children themselves have a negative opinion of Boo Radley, as he has helped them indirectly and given them gifts. However, the children can only comprehend Boo's innocence after he has saved them from Bob Ewell's heartless plan. Through this story, the author has expressed the desire to end the practise of murdering innocent people or destroying their honour by spreading rumours about them based on their ability to see or feel others' eyes and epidermis.