To kill a mockingbird by -Harper Lee Book Review

 Nelle Harper Lee was an American novelist best known for her 1960 novel To Kill a Mockingbird. It won the 1961 Pulitzer Prize and has become a classic of modern American literature. Lee has received numerous accolades and honorary degrees, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2007 which was awarded for her contribution to the literature.

 

You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.

The story is about a 6 year old girl, Scout Finch who lives with your brother Jeam and her widowed father Atticus in the fictional town Maycomb, Alabama. It was the time during the Great Depression and Maycomb were suffering greatly. Atticus, despite becoming a prominent lawyer he could only save his family from poverty as his clients were poor, however, Finch family was well off in comparison to the rest of the society. One summer, Dill a boy who newly shifted in the neighborhood for the summer is befriended by Scout and Jem, and the three enjoyed acting stories together and eventually Dill becomes fascinated with the spooky house on their street which is known as Radley Place. The owner of the house is Mr. Nanthan Radley, whose brother Mr. Arthur/ Boo has lived there for years without socializing with any of the neighbors.

In the fall Scout goes to school for the first time and loathes going there. Scout and jem find gifts which were apparently left for them in a knothole of a tree on the Radley property. On the following summer, Dill returns and Scout and Jem begin their trio acts on the story of Boo Radley. When Atticus learned about that he puts a stop to their urging them to see things from another person’s perspective before coming into any conclusion or making any judgement. On Dill’s last night in Maycomb, three of them sneak onto Radley’s property where Nathan Radley shoots at them, ensuing his escape Jem loses his pants, when he returns for them he finds them mended and hung over the fence.

Time passes by, on the next winter Jem and Scout find more presents in the tree, presumably left by the Boo. Eventually Nathan Radley plugs the knothole with cement. Shortly a fire breaks out in another neighbour’s house, Scout was watching the blaze to her surprise someone slipped a blanket over Scout’s shoulder. They were convinced that it was none other than Boo, the mysterious man, and Jem also shares the story of his mended pants and the presents.

Racism was severe at that time and the sleepy town like Maycomb had more urging issues. Maycomb’s racist white community accused a black man Tom Robinson, who has been accused of raping a white woman. Atticus who was a professional lawyer agrees to defend Tom Robinson. His decision led Scout and Jem get subjected to abuse from other children. They even felt left out in Christmas, Calpurnia the Finches’ Black cook takes them to the local black church, where the close knit community embraces them.

 

On the next summer Finches’ are accompanied by their relative Alexandra, Atticus’s sister. Dill who is supposed to live with his new father in another town, runs away and comes to Maycomb. On the other hand Tom Robinson’s trial begins, and the accused is locked in jail and suddenly a mob gathers to string him up or to lynch him. Atticus, terrified however he faces the mob down before the trial. Jem and Scout, who have sneaked out of the house soon join him. In the group of mob, Scout recognizes one of the men and her questioning about his son shames him into dispersing the mob.

On the day of trial, the children sit in the ‘coloured balcony’ with the town’s black citizens. Atticus has all the evidences to prove Tom’s innocence, his evidence shows that Mayella Ewell and her fater Bob Ewell are blatantly lying. In fact Mayella propositioned Tom Robinson and was caught by her father, to cover her ‘shame and guilt’ they accused Tom. Atticus impressive evidence includes marks on Mayella’s face, which was caused by Mayella’s father; upon discovering her relationship with Tom. Despite all the strong evidences Tom is convicted by white jurors. Later the innocent one tries escaping the prison but is shot dead. In the aftermath trial Jem’s faith towards justice is badly shaken.

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Despite the verdict Bob Ewell feels that Atticus and the judge conspired together and made a fool of them. He convinces Tom Robinson’s widow and tries to break into judges’ house. They attack Jem and Scout while they were returning home from a Halloween party. This time Boo Radley intervenes and saves the children, during the struggle Ewell gets stabbed fatally, Boo takes the children to Atticus’s house, where the sheriff, in order to protect Boo, insists Ewell tripped over a tree root and fell on his own knife. Boo disappears once again in Radley’s house.

Later, Scout feels as though she can finally imagine what life is like for Boo. He has become a human being to her at last. With this realization, Scout embraces her father’s advice to practice sympathy and understanding and demonstrates that her experiences with hatred and prejudice will not sully her faith in human goodness.

Scout feels as though she can finally imagine what life is like for her saviour, Boo. At last he turned out to be a human, with this realization she embraces her father’s advice

=practice sympathy

= understanding and demonstrating her experience with hatred

= never to sully her faith in human goodness by prejudice. 

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