Tuesday, August 3, 2010

To kill a Mocking BIrd by Harper Lee

To kill a mocking bird by Harper lee is a Pulitzer Prize winning Novel. According to my understanding of the novel, the most obvious reason for its extreme success are the noble and elevated ideas presented so brilliantly by the author through out the novel. The novel discusses very weighty and profound ideas like justice, racism, morality, ethics and human nature from the perspectives of eight and twelve year old children. 

There are three main characters in the novel: Jem Finch, Scout Finch and their father Atticus Finch. Atticus Finch, an ethical man who stands up for principles, decided to defend a black man charged with the rape of a white girl even when he already knew that all men in the jury were white and there was little chance for him to convince them of Tom Robinson’s innocence. Because of Atticus’s decision, Jem and Scout became subject to little criticism by their fellows but Atticus’s training and moral guidance helped them to withstand all criticism. The pleasant relationship between Atticus and his children is one of the most notable elements of the theme of the Novel. So many times in the novel, Atticus is found guiding and explaining his children the meaning of the most abstract ideas. For example, one time explaining jem about courage, he said,” Courage is not a man with a gun in his hand. It's knowing 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” This quotation also partially explains Atticus’s ideology behind the initiative of defending Tom Robinson. He also once said that, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view . . . until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” I felt that these lines which Atticus said to Scout and his continuous emphasis on consciousness became a guiding principle for her in the conduct of all actions and behaviors through the novel. 

One of the most important subject matters of the novel which Harper lee brought into notice was of racism. In Maycomb County, most of the people were in someway or the other victims of this disease. There was a complete social structure present of which the Negroes were at the lowest level and a lot of times the children are found exploring these differences but they are shown mature enough to make rational conclusions as once Scout claimed that, “ Naw, Jem, there are only one kind of Folks”. The presence of racial discrimination in Maycomb is so deep-rooted that despite Tom Robinson’s evident innocence and Ewells recognized bad reputation, he was prisoned. While I was reading this trial part, I felt that Tom Robinson’s would be released owing to his extreme lucid responses to the questions posed but this did not happen strengthening the theme of the book. 

There is one very interesting perspectives mentioned in this book. It is such that it is towards the reader to agree with it or not. For example, Harper lee has stressed a lot on learning outside of schools and she suggests that lessons learned through experiences can never be learnt in schools. This thought caught my attention for a very long time and I personally found it very interesting. 

In then end of the book, there is a mystery of Bob’s murder. Could that murder be justified is an important question to ask. I feel that a murder done for self defense or to save someone’s life could be justified. The description of the murder part in the book is extremely vague and the reader does not have the complete account of what actually happened in dark. Thus, no accurate comment could be made. 

If we relate the theme of the book to today’s world, we discover surprising findings. Discrimination is not so common now. The discrimination between black and white which was once so prevalent in America has diminished to a great extent. America is now leaded by a black president. I wonder what Harper Lee would have to say about it. Though we find very little racial discriminations now, religious discrimination has escalated during the past years. For example, there are hindu-muslim riots in India and pakistan. Shia – Sunni differences still exist among Muslims itself. 

To conclude, this book was an interesting read. I especially liked the trial part and from that part onwards, the book grew more interesting. There was also some element of mystery present in it as in the very beginning of the book there is mention of Boo Radley and reader never gets to know till the end of the book that what Boo has to do with the story. It is a nice read

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