To Kill A Mocking Bird

To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel by Harper Lee, set in Alabama circa 1930s. The novel tells a story about a six-year-old girl named Jean Louise "Scout" Finch who lives with her older brother Jeremy "Jem" Finch and their widowed father Atticus Finch who is a lawyer. In this novel Scout observes things that happen in her neighborhood and explore her relationship with her family, neighbors, and school friends. One of the main idea of the novel is observing the world, or maybe should I say observing the grown-ups matters, through the eye of six-year-old girl.

The story starts with the historical description of Finch family ancestor, and then focuses on Scout and Jem who befriend Dill, a kid of their age who visits Maycomb (a fictional town in Alabama) to stay with her aunt every summer. They have this strange interest in their neighbor, "Boo" Radley, who rarely shows up and just stays inside his house the whole time.

The story then focuses on Atticus who's been appointed by the court to defend Tom Robbinson, a black man accused of raping a white girl named Maya Ewell. The citizens of Maycomb look down on Atticus as he is really trying to defend Tom and not just pretending to defend him as a formality. They even call Atticus "nigger-lover". Atticus also has to deal with a group of people intent on lynching Tom.

Scout's relationship with her black housekeeper, Calpurnia, helps her understand Atticus' point of view; that everyone is equal before the law and there's nothing wrong in defending black people. She defends his father honor and supports him in doing the right thing. The trial of Tom Robbinson vs Bob Ewell (Maya's Father) brings a realistic conclusion, and the story doesn't just end there.

The story flows smoothly from one event to another. From start to end you can feel the great depression that happened during that time, you can understand how racism and racial injustice affecting people's life, how each character's view on the problem presented, and how enjoyable the descriptive narration that makes the story so alive and real. This book is so rich, dealings with sensitive matter but still there's a humor in it.

Lots of people say that this book is a classic; a book that will change people's perspective. Well, I couldn't agree more. The well written story line, the substance, and the characters, they're all really good that you won't forget it even weeks, months, or maybe years after you read the book. I recommend everyone to read this book at least once in a life time and write a review (just like what I did) or even better, write an essay about it.

Rate: 5/5