To Kill a Mockingbird
In To Kill a Mocking Bird, Harper Lee brings you to the long, hot summer of Alabama in 1935, when a lawyer named Atticus Finch decides to defend an innocent black man accused of a horrible crime. The story of how the whole town reacted to the trial is told by the lawyer's daughter, Scout, who remembers exactly what it was like to be eight years old in 1935, in Maycomb, Alabama.
Scout makes the book a whole lot more enjoyable: her voice rings so clear and true. Not only does she make me see the things she sees, she makes me feel the things she feels. There is a lot more going on than just the trial and Scout tells you all about it.
A man called Boo Radley lives next door and very few people have ever seen him. Scout and her friends have a lot of fun telling scary stories about him. The mystery about Boo Radley is one of the reasons you want to keep turning the pages, to find out what happens in To Kill a Mockingbird.
Scout and her big brother, Jem, run wild and play games and have a great time while their father is busy with the trial. One of their friends is a strange boy called Dill. Actually, Dill isn't so strange once you get to know him. He says things like "I'm little but I'm old," which is funny but also quite sad, because some of the time Dill acts more like a little old man than a seven–year–old boy.
To Kill a Mockingbird is filled with interesting characters like Dill. Scout makes them all seem just as real as the people in your own hometown. Boo and Jem are just as fascinating. However, the most important character in the book is Scout's father, Atticus Finch. You get the idea that Scout is writing the story down because she wants the world to know what a good man her dad was and how hard he tried to do the right thing, even though the deck was stacked against him.
The central theme of the story is about racial intolerance. Yet, Scout never tries to make it a ‘lesson’ – it’s all part of the world she describes. That’s why To Kill a Mockingbird rings true, why it all seems so real.
The trial of the wrongly accused Tom Robinson takes place during the time of segregation, when black people were not allowed to socialise with white people. In that era, when a white man said a black man committed a crime, the black man was presumed to be guilty. The law required that they have a trial, but everybody knew that the defendant was going to be convicted.
Atticus Finch, the quiet hero of the book, tries to persuade the jury that bigotry is wrong. His words are eloquent and heartfelt. He demonstrates that Tom Robinson couldn't possibly have assaulted the victim. Atticus even reveals the identity of the real villain, which enrages a very dangerous enemy. This act of courage endangers not only himself but his family too. They become the target of hate mongers and bigots.
In a just world, an innocent man should be found not guilty. However, if you want to know what this particular jury finally decides and what happens to Scout, Jem, Dill, Boo Radley and the rest of the people who live and breathe in To Kill a Mockingbird, you'll have to read the book!
By Harper Lee
