To Kill A Mockingbird
1960 novel
by Harper Lee
Set in Maycomb, Alabama,a typical small southern town at the end of the Great Depression,To Kill A Mockingbird is narrated through the eyes of a child, Jean Louise "Scout" Finch.
The story unfolds on a summer day.Scout and her older brother, Jeremy Atticus "Jem" Finch, are playing in their yard when they're introduced to a young boy who goes by the name of "Dill" who is visiting his Aunt Rachel for the summer.Jem and Scout quickly befriend Dill, who accompanies them on their summer adventures around the neighborhood.
Soon after his arrival, Dill becomes fascinated with the story of the Radley house, which sits at the end of the street the Finch's live on.There are many stories that circulate around the Radley house, and speculations that the younger Radley boy, Arthur "Boo" Radley is forced to stay inside and is chained to his bed because he's a madman.Jem, Dill, and Scout soon set about trying to use different approaches to entice Boo Radley to come out of his house.Jem and Scout's father soon finds out what they're up to and forbids them from playing their morbid games.
Atticus Finch is one of the most respectable men in town.He is one of the best lawyers in Maycomb, and almost everybody admires him for his wisdom,trustworthiness, and fairness.He's a good father, who, it can be safely assumed, adores his children.When he discovers what his children are up to, he tells them that what goes on in the Radley house is not their concern, that they are letting their imaginations run away with them, and to please leave the Radley's alone.
Life goes on in a sleepy, slow paced way in Maycomb for a while.Things start to get serious when Atticus is assigned to defend a black man who is faced with battery and rape charges.The whole county,including other members of the Finch family, is whispering that Atticus Finch is a disgrace for agreeing to defend a colored man.Atticus dutifully takes the case saying, "Do you think I could face my children otherwise?...Why reasonable people go stark raving mad when anything involving a Negro comes up,is something I don't pretend to understand.I just hope that Jem and Scout come to me for their answers instead of listening to the town."
The case turns out the be one of the biggest ones that Maycomb has ever seen,everybody waiting with bated breath for the official verdict.Atticus does his best to free Tom Robinson, but the town's prejudice holds sway, and he is deemed guilty.Atticus tells Tom not to panic, that they will make an appeal,but Tom tries to escape from prison,and is killed.
Atticus tries to help Jem and Scout understand everything that has been unfolding around them with the Tom Robinson case.He tries his best to help them comprehend the true meaning of right and wrong, prejudice, and the fact that just because something is right or fair, doesn't mean it always works out the way it should.
Life starts to piece itself back together again in it's usual pattern,but one person has not gotten over the Tom Robinson case.Bob Ewell, the father of the girl who accused Tom Robinson of raping and beating her, continues to badger Atticus,even threatening his family.One night, Scout and Jem are walking home after participating in a school play, and are attacked by Bob Ewell at the end of their street,next to the Radley house.There's alot of commotion, and an (at the time) unidentified person fights off Bob Ewell and saves Jem and Scout.
Once safe at home, and after the doctor has been sent for, Scout learns that it was none other than Boo Radley who came to save her and Jem.She finally comes face to face with the supposed neighborhood "madman," only to learn that Boo is just very shy, and hasn't wished to leave his house.She learns that Boo enjoys watching life go by from the safety of the window at the front of his house,has always known who she and Jem were, and that it was him who left little gifts for them in a knot in a tree at the end of the street.The story ends with Atticus tucking Scout into bed after the evenings traumatic events,saying that "Most people are [nice] when you finally see them."
"I think there's just one kind of folks.Folks."-Scout
"The one place where a man ought to get a square deal is in a courtroom,be he any color of the rainbow,but people have a way of carrying their resentments right into a jury box.As you grow older,you'll see white men cheat black men every day of your life,but let me tell you something and don't you forget it-whenever a white man does that to a black man,no matter who he is,how rich he is,or how fine a family he comes from,that white man is trash."-Atticus Finch
"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 Finch
Ever since the very first time I read it, To Kill A Mockingbird became an instant favorite of mine.I love to read.Seriously,LOVE to read,and I have alot of books that I really enjoy.But To Kill A Mockingbird is one of the few that,whenever I reach the end,I feel sad.I just want it to continue on forever,but at the same time,I know that would change the story because Scout would grow up,and her perspective would change.I think that's one of the things that makes To Kill A Mockingbird so special.Being told from a little girl's perspective gives it some magical quality.
"Shoot all the bluejays you want,if you can hit 'em,but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."
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