Now I know what a lot of people think when they hear the word classic: boring, stuffy, old, meaningless. But that is not what this book is at all. I started off thinking it would be a rather boring, slow read, but with each chapter, the conflicts and drama grew. Everything was so well done and intricate. Everything connects in the end. But, before I get too far into my little rant, I guess I should probably tell you what this book is about.
We start the story off with a somewhat boring, but necessary description of the county (and people) of Maycomb. Within the first few pages, we are introduced to Scout Finch, our narrator, her brother, Jem, and their small friend, Dill. Scout isn’t very old, but she seems like a pretty smart girl. Now she doesn’t start off very mature (she’s only about 6), but as the story goes on, we see her become wise -at least in some things- beyond her years. We are then told of the Radley place, the haunted house -or so to speak of Maycomb.
As Jem describes it, the creature that lives inside the house (Boo Radley) never comes out except at night, when he likes to look into people’s windows and dine upon raw animals. Throughout the first half of the book, Jem and Dill (with a reluctant Scout) try numerous times to make Boo come out of the house, to no avail.
We are taken through Scout’s life as she endures Miss Caroline’s intolerable first grade class, Dill’s creative but wild plays and reenactments, Jem’s increasing annoyance with her, a trial not fit for young ears, and the havoc that can come of all of it.
After many adventures and scuffles, Scout finally learns why people are starting to look strangely at the Finch family. Scout’s father, Atticus, is defending a Negro man in court. Now in a depression era white-dominant county, this is simply unheard of. But Atticus is an honest and admirable man. In fact, he’s probably the most unchanging person in this book. He is the same to one group as he is to the other. He states that if he didn’t defend the man (Tom Robinson), he wouldn’t be able to hold his head up anymore.
What are the charges against Tom Robinson? The Ewell family -a family that we earlier learn live behind the county dump and send their children to school only on the first day- has accused him of raping Mayella Ewell, the oldest of the Ewell children. And if Atticus loses the trial (which is extremely likely, considering that Maycomb is a very prejudiced county), Tom will be sentenced to death.
Scout, Jem, and Dill sneak into the courtroom to watch the proceedings, and what they see and hear will shock them. And the results of the trial cause repercussions in Maycomb that will forever change the lives of many.
“It’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”
This book is a must-read...for pretty much anyone. From just the cover description, you might never guess the meaning that fills it. Atticus mentions, shortly after Jem and Scout receive guns, that mockingbirds don’t harm anyone- they only make beautiful music, and that it’s a sin to kill one. At first glance, this statement may just seem like dialogue. But it is so much more than that. During the story, a few people are compared to mockingbirds, in that they are harmed when all they only mean to help.
To Kill a Mockingbird is so full of intrigue and drama and meaning, that if you truly understand it, you’ll go “Wow,” at the end.
It makes you wonder how many mockingbirds you’ve met in your life, how many you’ve unintentionally or intentionally harmed. The simple message of this story could be: Nothing is as it seems. Because it’s not. Everything has a deeper meaning, or a reason, even if you may not see it. So, before you act, (in the words of Atticus Finch) “climb into his skin and walk around in it.”
Amazing book. Read it- you won’t regret it. I give it the awesome-sauce stamp of approval x10.
Thanks for reading~
~Shay~
