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A review by yohanab
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
5.0
This is the first well known classic that I was able to convince myself to read. It also is the first book without much action scenes, that was not able to bore me out. Although I was not able to follow the story in the beginning, the writing style makes me want to keep reading. It is both playful and suit for a Childs perspective. Probably I should do a re read later.
To Kill a Mockingbird (1960), which gained fame not only as a coming-of-age novel but also as a subtle description of the cast and racial differences in a small southern town, is the one and only novel published by Harper Lee. “Breaching the boundaries” is the time-tested take-home message of the novel, which is the main reason for its universal fame. She skillfully depicts both the social and racial facets of this theme. The story happens in a fictional town called Maycomb County in Alabama. In 1930 in which this story happens, society is hugely driven by the cast and color differences. The protagonist of the story is Jean Louise know to us as Scout and her four-years older brother Jem.
Atticus Finch, Scout’s father ones say “, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.”. Within the story, we can see two mockingbirds which at the end gets shot despite their innocence. The first one is Boo (Arthur) Radley, the mysterious neighbor who is an extremely shy and introverted man. The two siblings accompanied by their next-door neighbor Dill were trying to breach the boundaries of this stranger through their attempts. Although he was blamed as a murderer by the whole city, in the end, it turns out he is an innocent man. The second mockingbird is “Tom Robinson” a young black man who was unfairly accused of raping a white woman. The latter part of the story is revolving around the trial of Tom, which was led by the unbiased lawyer Atticus. It is clearly shown how the two children face some difficulties due to their father's attempts to save Tom, who is a bystander for a crime. The writer even takes some time to explain the cast difference in Maycomb County, showing what happens to the people who try to breach this boundary.
Harper Lee shows a phenomenal skill in using language and viewpoint, in order to take the reader to view the incidents through the eyes of a six-year-old. Considering that this happens before Martin Luther King, Jr.’s movement gained its public attention, it is clear that society is having a strict racial difference. The villain in the story “Bob Ewell” is a one-dimensional character, having only dark sides. It would be more realistic if, like in everything he has some positivity. But this is unquestionable considering that our narrator is only six-year-old.
According to my point of view ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ is a great novel with a lot of insight on morals, trust and social evaluation. But considering the fact that the plot is majorly driven by white people, this does not contribute to the theme of ‘breaching the boundaries’ as much as it could have been. However, I think that this is a must-read novel for anyone of any age.
To Kill a Mockingbird (1960), which gained fame not only as a coming-of-age novel but also as a subtle description of the cast and racial differences in a small southern town, is the one and only novel published by Harper Lee. “Breaching the boundaries” is the time-tested take-home message of the novel, which is the main reason for its universal fame. She skillfully depicts both the social and racial facets of this theme. The story happens in a fictional town called Maycomb County in Alabama. In 1930 in which this story happens, society is hugely driven by the cast and color differences. The protagonist of the story is Jean Louise know to us as Scout and her four-years older brother Jem.
Atticus Finch, Scout’s father ones say “, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.”. Within the story, we can see two mockingbirds which at the end gets shot despite their innocence. The first one is Boo (Arthur) Radley, the mysterious neighbor who is an extremely shy and introverted man. The two siblings accompanied by their next-door neighbor Dill were trying to breach the boundaries of this stranger through their attempts. Although he was blamed as a murderer by the whole city, in the end, it turns out he is an innocent man. The second mockingbird is “Tom Robinson” a young black man who was unfairly accused of raping a white woman. The latter part of the story is revolving around the trial of Tom, which was led by the unbiased lawyer Atticus. It is clearly shown how the two children face some difficulties due to their father's attempts to save Tom, who is a bystander for a crime. The writer even takes some time to explain the cast difference in Maycomb County, showing what happens to the people who try to breach this boundary.
Harper Lee shows a phenomenal skill in using language and viewpoint, in order to take the reader to view the incidents through the eyes of a six-year-old. Considering that this happens before Martin Luther King, Jr.’s movement gained its public attention, it is clear that society is having a strict racial difference. The villain in the story “Bob Ewell” is a one-dimensional character, having only dark sides. It would be more realistic if, like in everything he has some positivity. But this is unquestionable considering that our narrator is only six-year-old.
According to my point of view ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ is a great novel with a lot of insight on morals, trust and social evaluation. But considering the fact that the plot is majorly driven by white people, this does not contribute to the theme of ‘breaching the boundaries’ as much as it could have been. However, I think that this is a must-read novel for anyone of any age.