Where good, evil, innocence, education and social inequality come together to create an impactful, memorable historic event in the United States.
This summer, I set a goal for myself to read a couple books and I was deciding which book to choose. To Kill a Mockingbird really stood out to me. After reading this book, my views and perceptions on racism and social inequality had changed and To Kill A Mockingbird creates an engaging compelling story that has really resonated with me.
Plot Summary:
The story of To Kill a Mockingbird is told by Scout Finch regarding her childhood and her experiences growing up in Alabama in the 1930s. The book explores and travels through and in her experiences with her family, more specifically her brother Jem and their friend Dill, the maid: Calpurnia, Atticus: her father who is also a lawyer and her extended family members. Towards the end of the story, Atticus, her father, is under immense pressure and hatred due to the fact that he was defending Tom Robinson, a black man who was accused of raping the daughter of Robert Ewell, Mayella Ewell, Mayella’s father is a lower-class citizen of Alabama being a poor farmer. Atticus is especially constantly pressurized and criticized for being persistent when attempting to defend Tom Robinson although all the evidence proves him guilty. Atticus’ daughter, Scout, constantly recounts and reinforces the issues that are being harvested in her community, such as, race, gender equality, class, roles, violence and the difference between what she’s expected to do versus what is morally accepted.
My Thoughts:
Personally, I strongly recommend this book. To Kill a Mockingbird’s purpose is to really drive thoughts and is meant to reconsider and think about previous actions and also to inform the younger audience on a historic topic that has really shaped the way we treat society today. And the book does a phenomenal job at this. Scouts’ actions on several circumstances would not be taken positively or optimistically however, given her age and environment she is facing and living in, for example, near the beginning, she is rude to a kid who is poorer than her and although she doesn’t fully understand the severity of her actions, she still faces consequences for her actions.
She is by no means perfect, however she tries her hardest, which makes her goals, successes and intentions even more enjoyable to read. She is very realistic and often struggles with what is expected being a young girl. Due to the fact that the story was told from her perspective, we can also visualize and analyze how some of the children form that time period really reflected and adapted what was either intentionally or unintentionally told to them from society and adults around them. Throughout the book, we can see how hard it is for Scout and Jem to really understand and grasp concepts brought on to them by society, such as race and power and the structure that these two concepts are imbedded in and how this all plays a role in society. A common topic between race and children was demonstrated in the book. This being that children are naturally ‘race blind’. Although it is ideal to think that children naturally do not judge or criticize people it is very unrealistic. Children are still people and they still judge others based on visible and noticable differences. Race is definitely one of these noticable differences. Another reason why I strongly recommend this book is that it doesn't shy away from this severe topic, it tackles it straight on.
Conclusion:
Overall, this book has really influenced many globally and I know that with the powerful messages it conveys relating to powerful topics such as social inequality, racism and innocence, it is very clear to me why this book has had such an impact.
Written by Samarth Athreya
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