LitOut #12 : To kill a mocking bird (book review)

To kill a mocking bird

Harper lee

Fiction / Classic

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (Mass market paperback)

Publication Date : October 11, 1988                            

Price: Rs. 430.98 ($ 7.99)

Pages : 376

Public Review: 4.22 stars out of 5

My Review: 4.5 stars out of 5

Illustration: a mocking bird flying around its nest and a quote “the timeless classic of growing up and the human dignity that unites us all.”

   Introduction

To kill a mocking bird is a classic novel written by Nelle Harper Lee. Nelle Harper Lee (born April 28, 1926) is an American author known for her 1961 Pulitzer-Prize-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird, which deals with the issues of racism that the author observed as a child in her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama. Despite being Lee's only published book, it led to her being awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her contribution to literature. Published July 11, 1960, To Kill a Mockingbird was an immediate bestseller and won great critical acclaim, including the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1961. It remains a bestseller with more than 30 million copies in print. In 1999, it was voted "Best Novel of the Century" in a poll by the Library Journal.

 Plot  

It is a tender novel of race, class, justice and the travails of the growing up. In her novel, Harper lee creates memorable characters and explored civil rights and racism in the segregated southern united states of the 1930s.  The story is set in May comb, Alabama during the 1930’s. The main character of the story is Jean Louise "Scout" Finch who lives with her brother Jem and her father Atticus Finch who is a town lawyer. They are depicted as innocent children, who spend their days happily playing games with each other and spying on their neighbor Boo Radley. They play with their friend Dill when he visits his aunt’s home every summer. One time, the three go to Radley’s house to spy on Boo Radley while some other time Jem, Scout and Dill break into on Atticus’ confrontation with a group of townsmen, who wish to harm Tom Robinson. However, the adults around are shamed by Scout’s innocence and her sense of fairness, after which they go back without harming Tom Robinson. One day the kids follow Atticus to watch a trial, in which an innocent black man, Tom Robinson, is wrongfully found guilty for a crime that he hadn’t committed on November 21^st. Atticus tries to save Tom by pointing out that Tom had injured in his left arm, and Mayella Ewell had injured to the right side and only if the person had used his left hand, he could have injured her in that way. He also asks Bob Ewell and Mayella Ewell of what happened that day. He then asks several questions to Tom relating the incident and Tom replies saying that he rushed out of that place feeling pity on Mayella. The judge does not pardon Tom because he was a Negro, though he was not guilty. However in the end, Tom Robinson was killed in an attempt to escape from jail.  

Style

To kill a mocking bird is a  wonderful piece of literature, great characters, plot and prose. There is sadness and happiness, racism and equality, immaturity and maturity, injustice and redemption. Atticus Finch, though being an Englishman supports Tom Robinson in his case. He is a fair man who sees beyond race and finds goodness in people but on the other hand, Bob Ewell does not mingle with the colored men.  The entire story is told through Scout, a young girl, which makes it easy for the readers to understand the story.  Now regarded as a masterpiece of American Literature, the simple story is compassionate, dramatic and deeply moving takes the readers to the roots of human behaviour- to innocence and experience, kindness and cruelty, love and hatred, humour and pathos  highlighting the racial discrimination during the 1930’s.

Themes Show more

Show lessThe main themes of the novel are:

       Racial discrimination

       Class distinctions

       Loss of innocence (mockingbird)

       Courage and friendship

       Life of people during 1930’s.

The main characters

Atticus Finch

Atticus Finch is a well known good guy, lawyer in May comb and the father of the protagonist of To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout, and her brother Jem. Atticus' belief in equality leads him to defend Tom Robinson, a black man; from baseless charges of committing a crime as being intelligent he wants to set a good example for his kids and wants Jem and Scout to follow this moral of how he treats everyone equally. This quality of his shows the caring nature that every parent should have and feeling of equality that every individual must have.

Jean Louise "Scout" Finch

Jean Louise "Scout" Finch is the narrator and protagonist of To Kill a Mockingbird. The novel is written from the point of view of an adult Scout describing how she viewed the events of the novel as a child. She is also a tomboy who spends the majority of her time with her brother and best friend Dill. By the end of the book, she realizes that racism does exist and has come to terms with its presence in her town. Scout also learns how to deal with others, including her nanny Calpurnia and her aunt. It is through her character that children and teenagers understand that every human is the same and color cannot be the basis of discrimination and racial prejudice.

Jeremy Atticus 'Jem' Finch

Jeremy Atticus 'Jem' Finch is the brother of Scout, and is four years older than her. Being a responsible son of Atticus, he accompanies Scout wherever she goes and sees to her safety.

Charles Baker "Dill" Harris

Charles Baker "Dill" Harris is Jem and Scout's best friend who visits May comb every summer and stays with his aunt Miss Rachel. His goal throughout the novel is to get Boo Radley to come out of his house, and for the first few summers the children make many plans to lure him out, until Atticus stops them.

Robert 'Bob' Ewell

Bob Ewell is the main antagonist of To Kill a Mockingbird. He has a daughter named Mayella, and a younger son named Burris. He is an alcoholic who spends whatever money he legally gains. After filing a case against Tom Robinson, and the death of Tom, he is portrayed as a man who is joyful over the death of Tom. This shows his evil character. However, in the end, he dies after falling on a knife. 

Mayella Violet Ewell

Mayella Violet Ewell is Tom Robinson's 19-and-a-half-year-old accuser and the eldest daughter of Bob Ewell; at the trial, Atticus proves that it was her father who beat her by pointing out that the bruises are on the right side of her face only. This is important because Tom's left hand is mangled and useless, while Bob Ewell is left handed. However, in the end, it is Tom who is punished and Mayella and Bob escape.

Tom Robinson

Tom Robinson is the black man Atticus defends when he is accused of committing a crime that he hasn’t committed. As Atticus says, Robinson's left arm is "hardly anything," because it was caught in a cotton gin at age 12; his exclusive right-handedness is the basis of Atticus's defense: since Mayella's bruises were only on the right side of her face, someone who leads with his left must have beaten her. Despite Atticus's skillful defense, Robinson is declared guilty by the jury. Although Atticus feels confident that he will be acquitted on appeal, while in prison Robinson is shot 17 times and killed by guards who later report that he had "attempted to escape."

Arthur "Boo" Radley

Arthur "Boo" Radley is the most mysterious character in To Kill a Mockingbird and slowly reveals himself throughout the novel. Boo Radley is a very quiet, reclusive character, who only passively presents himself until Jem and Scout's final interaction with Bob Ewell. May comb children believe he is a horrible person, due to the rumors spread about him and a trial he underwent as a teenager. However, it is only in the end of the story that the kids realize that Boo Radley was a very good man who had actually saved their lives.

Overall effect and appeal.

                                                    

Harper Lee’s book, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” is a book with a diverse collection of messages, skillfully woven into an interesting and engaging story. It talks about the behavior of kids as well as the grownups. Hence, the book is suitable for all age groups. For children, it tells that one should not blindly accept rumors (as in the case of Boo Radley) and for the youth and elders, it tells that we must not be hypocrites and believe in racial prejudice. There must be equality shown to everyone. (As in the case of Tom Robinson who was punished though not guilty) According to me, the book is very focused on symbolism. The symbol of mockingbirds is reoccurring in the book. It appears in the title, it is suggested in various characters and situations, and in parts of the book. Atticus told Scout and Jem, “Remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” Scout didn’t understand this, and so she asked Miss Maudie about it. She responded, “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, they don’t nest in corncribs, and they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us.” From these parts of the book, we learn that mockingbirds are innocent; it is a sin to hurt or injure them. The symbolism of mockingbirds extends to humans also. They represent the innocent ones who are injured by evil. Tom Robinson is a prime example of a mockingbird that was killed. He was innocent; who didn’t hurt anybody. However, because of prejudice, he was accused of a capital offence. He was convicted by a prejudiced jury and sentenced to death. With all his hope gone, he made a crazed attempt to escape his prison, but was shot dead.  Racism is a major problem around the world, and I think that its foundation is based on small acts of prejudice, and hypocrisy or ignorance. The author is not only telling us that racism is completely wrong, but she is also telling us that we should not be hypocrites. We should make up our minds about what is right. “To Kill a Mockingbird,” is a book that talks about innocence and understanding. It encourages us all to not hurt the innocent ones, the mockingbirds.

[Font size used in accordance to the importance and relevance of information. Smaller fonts denotes reduced emphasis.]

By A Panel Of Acknowledged Reviewers. 

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