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A review by shorshewitch
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
5.0
Atticus Finch is a man of honor. Optimistic, patient, wise – he always stands up for the values he believes in. Scout Finch is a stubborn little girl of Atticus and Jem Finch is her equally stubborn elder brother. There is this sturdy bond between these three that holds on in the times of ills.
To Kill a Mockingbird is a story which makes us think. It is set up between 1933-1935 in a small county called Maycomb in Alabama, but its relevance holds true even in today’s times and everywhere in the world, or I must say, especially in today’s times when racial and gender bigotry has become a subject matter of immediate attention everywhere. Maycomb was a lazy town with all people knowing even each other’s voices. But they still failed to look at the right side of the story. That is precisely why we must all try to open our minds to the truths and encourage people to decide what is right, fearlessly. Integrity has become such an essential virtue today and it is also so difficult to percolate.
It is also a story of honest single parenting, a story of growing up from being innocent and outspoken to wiser and tactful. There is a typical “its-a-disgrace-on-the-family” aunt, there is a nosy neighbor, there are black people, there is a man who wants to remain hidden, there is a man who pretends to be a drunkard to save himself from the society he lives in, there are biased people and there are non-discriminatory people too. The book revolves around a fight between right and wrong and it is not just right and wrong of two people; it is right and wrong of a society altogether.
The first half of the book introduces us to the details of Maycomb, the characters involved and the general life of the county. The second half takes us through a trial between two societies – one of blacks and one of whites – a trial between slavery and kingship. It amused me that people laughed when a black man said he felt “sorry” for a white woman (Were blacks even allowed to do that?). I still fail to understand why people are so cruel to each other. As Scout says, folks are just, folks.
The book is humorous even while it addresses gravest of issues taunting the education system, the judicial system, the point of views of elders and neighbors. This could be because it is narrated through a child’s point of view. A child of 8, Scout Finch, displays enormous gumption in some situations and in some situations she is just a child. I am not sure if we have children who can talk like that in today’s world. I attribute her wise childhood to her father Atticus Finch’s teachings then and refrain from questioning further on this part. The book also revolves around the upbringing of a girl child – when a girl is exposed to brutal things like rape and court proceedings or adopts hobbies which are normally opinionated as boys’, she is beleaguered by her family for not being lady enough for the household. She is hounded for wearing overalls and for asking too many questions out of curiosity and for standing up for what she thinks is right. Thank God for Atticus who soothes Scout’s doubts by telling her that she is not a very big problem for him and he is okay with her the way she is, unlike a few other people around her. A parent’s validation is the greatest validation for a child. Atticus Finch, who was put down by many to have failed in parenting, is an ideal parent, without a doubt. Every child needs an elder like Atticus so that every child finds the necessary courage to fight all odds.
A must read for people who think racial discrimination of any kind is okay, for people who feel that it is okay to not to be good sometimes. I read The Help by Kathryn Stockett and couldn’t help but admire the tenacity of black people at that time. To Kill a Mockingbird is a different read than The Help, because it focuses more on the wrongs than the rights. Next in line, but not immediately since I am reeling under the impact of the book, would be The Color Purple.
To Kill a Mockingbird is a story which makes us think. It is set up between 1933-1935 in a small county called Maycomb in Alabama, but its relevance holds true even in today’s times and everywhere in the world, or I must say, especially in today’s times when racial and gender bigotry has become a subject matter of immediate attention everywhere. Maycomb was a lazy town with all people knowing even each other’s voices. But they still failed to look at the right side of the story. That is precisely why we must all try to open our minds to the truths and encourage people to decide what is right, fearlessly. Integrity has become such an essential virtue today and it is also so difficult to percolate.
It is also a story of honest single parenting, a story of growing up from being innocent and outspoken to wiser and tactful. There is a typical “its-a-disgrace-on-the-family” aunt, there is a nosy neighbor, there are black people, there is a man who wants to remain hidden, there is a man who pretends to be a drunkard to save himself from the society he lives in, there are biased people and there are non-discriminatory people too. The book revolves around a fight between right and wrong and it is not just right and wrong of two people; it is right and wrong of a society altogether.
The first half of the book introduces us to the details of Maycomb, the characters involved and the general life of the county. The second half takes us through a trial between two societies – one of blacks and one of whites – a trial between slavery and kingship. It amused me that people laughed when a black man said he felt “sorry” for a white woman (Were blacks even allowed to do that?). I still fail to understand why people are so cruel to each other. As Scout says, folks are just, folks.
The book is humorous even while it addresses gravest of issues taunting the education system, the judicial system, the point of views of elders and neighbors. This could be because it is narrated through a child’s point of view. A child of 8, Scout Finch, displays enormous gumption in some situations and in some situations she is just a child. I am not sure if we have children who can talk like that in today’s world. I attribute her wise childhood to her father Atticus Finch’s teachings then and refrain from questioning further on this part. The book also revolves around the upbringing of a girl child – when a girl is exposed to brutal things like rape and court proceedings or adopts hobbies which are normally opinionated as boys’, she is beleaguered by her family for not being lady enough for the household. She is hounded for wearing overalls and for asking too many questions out of curiosity and for standing up for what she thinks is right. Thank God for Atticus who soothes Scout’s doubts by telling her that she is not a very big problem for him and he is okay with her the way she is, unlike a few other people around her. A parent’s validation is the greatest validation for a child. Atticus Finch, who was put down by many to have failed in parenting, is an ideal parent, without a doubt. Every child needs an elder like Atticus so that every child finds the necessary courage to fight all odds.
A must read for people who think racial discrimination of any kind is okay, for people who feel that it is okay to not to be good sometimes. I read The Help by Kathryn Stockett and couldn’t help but admire the tenacity of black people at that time. To Kill a Mockingbird is a different read than The Help, because it focuses more on the wrongs than the rights. Next in line, but not immediately since I am reeling under the impact of the book, would be The Color Purple.