Jun 24, 2021
To Kill A Mockingbird — be aware of the mockingbirds around you
Today I’m going to introduce to you a must read in one’s life — To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. This book even won the Pulitzer Prize, and acquired praises from all over the world. Even though you might not have read this book, you definitely know its name. So, what is so special about this book and why is it so worth your time reading. Let me provide my honest thoughts on this book. (Spoil Alert!!)
The story takes place in Maycomb County, Alabama, during 1930 to 1935. These time periods represent the Great Depression Era and the Jim Crow Era of the US, which explains why almost every house in Maycomb has prejudice against the black people.
The main characters of the story are Scout, who is a nine-year-old girl and is the narrator of the story, her 11 years old brother Jem and their father, who is a lawyer, Atticus. Together they formed the Finch family.
When I first started reading, I felt that there isn’t a clear storyline. The only biggest plot was Atticus defending Tom Robinson, who is a black person accused of raping a white person’s daughter. He was innocent and was a kind-hearted man, but he was chained by the society bias and rules. However, even though there is only a simple plot, the detailed description of the characters’ daily brought several issues to the surface.
The first issue is the role of women in the southern society. Scout lost her mother when she was young, so she was raised by Atticus and their maid Calpurnia. Scout loves to wear pants, to run around with boys and go explore the county. However, she was often declared by her relatives to “behave like a girl.” The book shows the characteristics of southern women during a tea party Scout’s aunt Alexandra held. The women wore long dresses, chatted with gentle voices and giggled among the gossips of neighbors, ate pie and cake elegantly, and behaved properly. From the stark contrast, we could see the conventional thoughts on women of the southern people during that time. The interesting part is Scout used to protest all those forced manners and etiquette on her, but as she grew up, she gradually accepts some of them. She wore dresses once in a while, she started helping Calpurnia with house matters, and she attended Alexandra’s tea party. I realized how people eventually blend in to their society and give up some portion of their unique identity when they grow up and try to better “fit in.”
The next issue is definitely the racial issue. My favorite character of this story is actually Atticus. Not only did he stood out to defend Tom Robinson, he also taught his children very well. He taught them to not be biased to any race, which is a very different education from what most Maycomb citizens tell their kids. He also told them to be kind, be gentle, hold your head up but fist down when someone tries to anger you. His education to the kids truly made them better people. Back to the racial issue, we can see from the court scenes and cross examinations how somethings are just meant to be under certain circumstances. During the 1930, there was 0 possibility that a black people will win the court. Even though Atticus gave out solid evidence and fluent speeches, Tom Robinson was still found guilty by the jury. That scene was very shocking and also heartbreaking to me when I was reading it. Jem and Scout both felt extremely miserable, and also confused. Under a child’s eye, they only see what is correct and what is wrong. They understand that we have to do the correct things and avoid the wrong ones, so Jem was certain that Tom Robinson will win the court. However, adults don’t really form their actions basing on this simple principle. I especially thought a quote in the book was heart-strucking: “They’ve done it before and they did it tonight and they’ll do it again and when they do it — seems that only children weep.” This is what Atticus told Jem when he asked why the court held Tom guilty. This single sentence portrayed the misery, the helplessness, and the innocence of the black people during that time.
The third and probably the most essential issue in the story is — the mockingbirds. Even the people who haven’t read the story might be curious about what the mockingbirds stand for. The explanation that Atticus gave his children was that mockingbirds only sing beautiful songs and do no harm to anybody, so it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird. In the story, besides Tom Robinson is one of the mockingbirds, there is also another one — Mr. Radley. Mr. Radley does not like to go out of his house, and there were many rumors about him. Jem and Scout once called him Boo Radley and viewed his house as a haunted house. However, in the end of the story, it was Mr. Radley that saved their lives, and it turned out he was a really nice person. He was a mockingbird, killed by all the false rumors about him. I enjoyed this ending a lot because it provided me with a new perspective about mockingbirds. When I first read the title, I thought the killing as if physically murdering some innocent people, but it turns out that our words might become weapons too when we target them at innocent people. This closely relates to our every day world. Submerging in an era filled with information, it is easy for some false information to spread. There are already countless cases that people’s words on internet became the reason that others suicide. So be aware of the mockingbirds around you, always make sure of the genuity of the information, and do not, do not be the one that kills a mockingbird.
In all, I will say it is a very worth reading. From the tender words, we can still feel the power of the whole story.
