TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

The novel I'm currently reading is harper Lee's 'To Kill A Mockingbird' (TKM), and I finally understood why it is regarded as the masterpiece of American literature. There are several major themes portrayed in this novel but I will only touch on one or two.

The first is the ever so popular 'good vs evil' theme. TKM is an exploration of inherent goodness and evilness of people. Atticus, father of Scout and Jem, also plays the role of teacher, for his children and his town. Atticus believes that people usually contain aspects of both good and evil, but that good will usually prevail. Atticus teaches this to his children, but also to the town, as he works to defend Tom Robinson, an innocent black man accused of raping a white woman. this proves to be a very challenging task because it involves overcoming the town's deeply ingrained racism and forcing people to change their social perspectives In the racist town of Maycomb in the heart of America's South during the Depression era, this is pretty difficult if not downright impossible. Atticus struggles on, because he believes that one day, goodness will prevail over the evils of racism and racial equality will exist.

Throughout the book, Scout and Jem make the classic transition from innocence to maturity. Jem leads this change, as he is older than Scout, but both children experience it. At the beginning, they approach life innocently believing in the goodness of all people, thinking everyone understands and adheres to the same values they and their father do. During Tom Robinson's trial, the children are sorely disappointed when the jury, made up of their fellow townspeople, convicts the obviously innocent Tom Robinson simply because he is a black man and his accuser is white. The realization that there is true evil within their society forced Jem to reevaluate his understanding of human nature. The challenge of this struggle causes him great emotional pain as he tries to come to terms with disappointing realities of inequality, racism, and general unfairness. Scout also struggles to understand these things, but even following the trial is able to maintain her belief in the goodness of human nature. At the end of the novel, both children are faced with true evil, as Bob Ewell tries to kill them. True goodness, embodied in Boo Radley, saves them. In this final conflict between these opposing forces, goodness prevails.

The next theme I would like to touch on is obvoiusly the mockingbird. This is clearly the title scene and the theme continues throughout the book.When Scout and Jem receive airguns for Christmas, Atticus tells them that although he would prefer that they practice their shooting with tin cans, if they must shoot at living things, they must never shoot at mockingbirds. He explains that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird. Miss Maudie explains why Atticus is correct - mockingbirds never do anyone any harm, and are not pests in any way. All they do is sing beautifully and live peacefully. Therefore, it is a sin to kill them.

The mockingbird comes to represent true goodness and purity. Tom Robinson is one example of a human "mockingbird". He stands accused of raping and beating Mayella Ewell, but is innocent of the charges. The town commits the ultimate sin by finding him guilty and sentencing him to death. In effect, they have killed a mockingbird. Boo Radley is another example of a human "mockingbird". He has spent his entire life as a prisoner of his own home because his father was overzealous in punishing him for a childhood mistake. Boo Radley observes the world around him, causing no harm to anyone, and then saves Jem and Scout's lives when Bob Ewell attacks. The sheriff determines that Ewell's death will be ruled an accident to avoid forcing Boo to go to trial, even though Boo killed him to protect the children. Atticus agrees, and wants to make sure Scout understands why this little white lie must be told. She replies saying of course she understands, putting Boo on trial and in the public sphere would be like killing a mockingbird. The mockingbird represents true goodness and innocence that should always be protected.
Here are some impressionable lines from the book.

'Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing." pg18.

'You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view---'
'Sir?'
'---until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.' pg30

'Somehow, if I fought Cecil, I would let Atticus down. Atticus so rarely asked Jem and me to do something for him, I could take being a coward for him. I felt extremely noble for having remembered, and remained noble for three weeks. Then, Christmas came and disaster struck.' pg77

'---I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do.' pg112

'With him, life was routine; without him, life was unbearable. I stayed miserable for two days.' pg116

'Never, never, never, on cross examination ask a witness a question you don't already know the answer to, was a tenet I absorbed with my baby food. Do it and you'll often get an answer you don't want, an answer that might wreck your case.' Pg177

'Boo was our neighbour. He gave us two soap dolls, a broken watch and chain, a pair of good luck pennies, and our lives. But neighbours give in return.We never put back into the tree what we took out of it: we had given him nothing, and it made me sad.' pg278

I hate to sound like a cliche but really, if you want to experience physical heartache, you have to read the book. Enjoy!