To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is an accurate story of childhood, racism, and prejudice. In the memories of Scout Finch an intriguing tale of her childhood is unraveled to reveal greater worldly issues at the time. The serenity of Scout’s memories shocked yet engrossed me in the story. Overall I found it to be a great book with a deeper meaning that kept me enveloped in thought for days. Harper Lee grew up in small town Monroeville, Alabama. The Scottsboro trial was happening while she was a young girl. Perhaps this event influenced some of the events in the book. In fact the more you look at Harper Lee’s life, the more similarities you find with the book. This may be one of the reasons the book is written with such accurately detailed descriptions of proceedings and places.
To Kill a Mockingbird is set in small town Maycomb, Alabama. In this small town Scout Finch and her older brother Jem curiously explore and learn several lessons about life and people. Several terrifying events highlight the young children’s ascent into adolescence. “At the front door, we saw fire spewing from Miss Maudie’s dining room windows. As if to confirm what we saw, the town fire siren wailed up the scale to a treble pitch and remained there, screaming…” Page 37 of To Kill a Mockingbird The children learn how to deal with the town’s anger towards their father for defending a black man in court. “Atticus got up from his chair, but he was moving slowly, like an old man. He put the newspaper down carefully, adjusting its creases with lingering fingers. They were trembling a little…” Page 81 of To Kill a Mockingbird The two siblings also use their friendship to get through a murder of a black man their father was defending. “Tom’s dead…17 bullet holes in him. They didn’t have to shoot him that much…” Page 125 of To Kill a Mockingbird The children learn that some people are different and that is okay. Their journey to this conclusion is full of twists, turns, and multiple predicaments. “The Radley place had ceased to terrify me, but it was no less gloomy… I still looked for Boo each time I went by…” Page 128-129 of To Kill a Mockingbird. Harper Lee is able to tie all these events together in the end lesson, given by Atticus Finch. “…Atticus he was real nice…Most people are Scout, when you finally see them.” Page 149 of To Kill a Mockingbird
To Kill a Mockingbird is a literary masterpiece including important lessons while continuing to hold the reader’s interest throughout the book. This book is a great book on the subject of prejudice. It is also accurate at portraying the wonder, imagination, and discovery of childhood. From living in a small town, I can say that this book is very legitimate when it comes to describing life in a small town.
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