Set in the Maycomb, Alabama, in the 1930s, 'To Kill a Mockingbird' is a novel written from a 6 year old girl Scout’s eyes and what she learns about people and life in two years. Scout Finch lives with her brother, Jem, and their widowed father, Atticus Finch (one of most inspired father characters in America), who is a prominent lawyer in the era of Great Depression.
The story is about Scout and her friends’ lives and their experience with all types of people, particularly the loner Arthur “Boo” Radley, who they are afraid of. The second part of the story is about Atticus Finch’s take on the case of a black man Tom Robinson accused of rape of Mayella Ewell and his struggle in defending him.
We, as a reader, travel with Scout page by page and able to feel her growing up in front of us. The book is lively and refreshing in its first half and makes us the feel as if we had lived in Alabama for years. The childhood of Scout and her relationship with her father is crafted beautifully. Also it’s equally inspiring and intense because of the truth that has been painted on the face of society. It’s the perfect narration by the writer which keeps us engaged and travel through this journey along with Scout. Yes! You can feel what she feels. You will be having a smile in the end where you see her grown up.
Remember, it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.
In that course of two years, we along with Scout learn three things mainly.
1. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view, until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.
Atticus advices this to Scout, who initially struggles to follow it but in the end succeeds the same by understand Boo Radley perspective. She learns to live with sympathy and understanding toward others.
2. It’s when you know you’re beaten before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do.
Atticus tells Jem, even if you know you're going to lose, you should give it your best shot because sometimes, you could win. He tells it’s a more important to have a kind of courage-mental courage, and courage in the face of emotional and physical pain.
3. Remember, it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.
The idea of the title is this metaphor, which explains that it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird, because they do nothing but make music for us to enjoy. This metaphorical view is referred many times in the book, from Boo Radley to the accused Tom. And we feel Scout’s sense of empathy and understanding towards others at the end of this book.
Harper Lee, the author of this Pulitzer Prize winning novel, wrote only this book but played a vital role in significantly inspiring the people against racism and importance of women. It’s a timeless classic of modern American Literature, which makes us understand the value of human life and pleasantly state the general fact that everyone is human regardless of caste, color and religion. It’s never once preachy and still thought provoking in every way. To conclude, this book is definitely worth a read and a good food for your thoughts.
