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To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel written by Harper Lee and was published in 1960. The main aim of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is to focus on the extraordinary elements that come up in the 1930s in the Southern United States. Other authors and scholars, through their works, also focused on the aspects of racial discrimination and injustices in the society. The book is narrated by a young girl, Scout, who opens us into the world of racial discrimination and injustices during the Great Depression period. To Kill a Mockingbird has been probably one of the most read books that deals with race in the United States. Atticus Finch, the main character, is the most enduring image, whereby he portrays a lot of racial heroism. This paper seeks to analyze the significance of Harper Lee’s work and how it currently relates to people’s ideas and values.
The book, To Kill a Mockingbird, was written in the 20th century to focus on injustices and racial discrimination that prevailed in the society. Many other books were also written at the same time to shed light on the same issues. Many people dearly love To Kill a Mockingbird alongside other books like Deliver Us from Normal by Kate Klise. Another good read about social injustices is the Mighty Miss Malone by Christopher Paul Curtis. This book is about an 11-year-old Charles Harrison, who lives in Normal, Illinois. Charles’s sister is harassed and bullied by a clique of other kids. Charles’s parents, who get horrified after this ordeal, pull their kids out of school, and together they move into Alabama gulf coast, where they launch a radical new life. A girl, Deeza Malone, who is twelve, has few things going in her life. She is brilliant, and she has been brought up in a healthy family. However, after some time, the father is jobless and cannot find work, the small brother is not growing, and Deeza’s teeth are hurting. The father disappears, and their mother has to move them to Hooverville shack. This story depicts what most black families went through in that era, even today. The story shows the hardships of an African American girl, together with her family (Cooper, 1). Some of these hardships are unemployment, sicknesses, and moving from one place to another in search of a better life. Other books written at the same time are Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine and Revolution by Deborah Wiles. All of these books have the same heartfelt message to their readers.
The book To Kill a Mockingbird highlights incidents to do with racism in America. The plot of the book is in Southern America, and issues like social class, heroism, gender roles, and compassion are quite evident. The main characters from the book are Scout Finch, who is the narrator and the protagonist of the story. Atticus Finch is another great character who is Scout’s and Jem’s father. Jem Finch is Scout’s brother and playmate. Atticus is a lawyer in Maycomb and has a sense of humor. He has instilled a strong sense of morals and justice in his children. He is one of the most vocal residents in the area focused on stopping racial inequalities (Lee, 17). This can be seen when he agrees to defend a black man, Tom Robinson, accused of raping a white lady.
The story takes place in a small town of Maycomb in Alabama. Scout’s mother died a long time ago when Scout was very young, so the father is her only guardian. Scout is very close to her brother Jem. Their neighbor, Dill, has come to Maycomb for the summer to visit her aunt. The story takes place during the three years between 1933- 1935, where the great depression of the fictional Maycomb took place. The three children, Scout, Jem, and Dill are often fascinated by their neighbor Boo who is assumed to be crazy. The three children spend their time play-acting with different stories that they are familiar with. Scout is enrolled for school, but she is soon disappointed by the constant criticizing by her teacher because she can already read. Apart from the children playing, a black man, Tom Robinson, has been accused of having raped a young white lady, Mayella Ewell.
The judge, in this case, appoints Atticus to defend Tom Robinson, although many residents of Maycomb disapprove of it. Atticus agrees to defend Tom in this case to the best of his ability. Some kids bully Scout and Jem for their father’s actions, calling him a ‘nigger-lover.’ Scout wants to stand up for her father by fighting the other kids who are calling him names. On one occasion, Atticus shows bravery and faces a group of men who want to lynch Tom. The incident is averted in another direction when Scout, Jem, and Dill show up. Scout breaks the mob mentality by recognizing and talking to a classmate’s father, who is present in the mob. This makes the would-be lynches stop. Atticus does not want the children, Jem, and Scout to be present at Tom’s trial. However, Jem, Scout, and Dill are present, and they follow the hearing from the colored balcony. The first person to give testimony is Heck Tate. Heck states that he was called to the house by Bob Ewell. Ewell claims that Tom Robinson had raped his daughter, Mayella. Mayella, in her testimony, explains that she invited Tom to her home to assist her in doing something, and at that point, he took advantage of her. Atticus had noted that Tom uses his left hand to write. In his examination, Atticus asks the lady how Tom could have raped and beaten her up, yet he has a useless left hand. The lady shuts up and refuses to say anything more.
Atticus later establishes that Mayella and her father are lying, and it is later discovered that it is Mayella who made sexual advances towards Tom. It was also found that Mayella was not beaten up by Tom but by her father because of the behavior she was portraying towards Tom. People from the town refer to the Ewell’s as ‘white trash’ who cannot be trusted. The jury, however, convicts Tom, regardless of the truth been known. Tom Robinson is found guilty and as soon as the judge makes his verdict, Atticus leaves the courtroom as a sign of distress. Every black person stands up as a sign of respect for Atticus. Atticus has hopes that he will eventually overturn on the decision of the jury but something even worse happens. Tom is shot and killed while he tries to escape from prison one day.
From this study, some elements are clearly visible from the southern life. Racial injustice is one of them since Tom was falsely convicted of rape simply because he was a Negro. The significance of this book is to focus on the conflict-ridden area of Southern America. The story enumerates the injustices endured by Tom including his murder. This shows that the black men were a vulnerable group that was accused continuously of vices like rape. The element of courage and compassion is also evident. Atticus is courageous enough to represent Tom in the case, even though he lost it. Atticus exposes himself and the children to the anger of the white people in Southern America. Using his strong convictions, wisdom, and compassion, the author uses Atticus as the book’s moral backbone. Atticus Finch is portrayed as a model lawyer and an exemplary parent (Phelps, 511). He also confronts his own community against its prejudices. The book is widely used and praised as a great American novel of all time. The novel shows its audience the painful past that most black people went through. This book is presumed to be assigned to students because the youth of America is particularly in need of heroes who represent a specific type of values like Atticus.
The book brings to light the cases of inequality and social injustices that are rampant in the area. Many readers have enjoyed the book because of its warmth and humor and also the severe issues of rape and racial inequality it focuses on. One of the characters, Atticus Finch, has been an inspiration and a moral hero to many readers of this book. Due to the book’s massive success, it’s widely read in high schools and middle schools here in the United States. Many writers and scholars have also referred to the work of Harper Lee. The success of the book is mainly due to the plot and the characters in it. Lee was strategic to base her book with an area that many people can relate to.
Works Cited
- Cooper, I. (1). Nine Read-Alikes for To Kill a Mockingbird. [online] The Booklist Reader. Available at: https://www.booklistreader.com/2015/05/28/books-and-authors/nine-read-alikes-for-to-kill-a-mockingbird/ [Accessed 18 May 2015].
- Lee, H., (17). To Kill a Mockingbird, Character List. Literature. Sparknotes.com.
- Phelps, G. ‘The margins of Maycomb: A rereading of To Kill a Mockingbird.’ Ala. L. Rev. 45 (1993): 511.
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