Review: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

5 stars for To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

This is a book I have been meaning to read for the better part of my life. Back in high school, I remembered looking forward to having this book as part of the required reading for my English Literature curriculum only to be disappointed on learning that there had been a major overhaul for the course books in that year. I did not know what had brought about the change then, I only knew I did not buy the book as it was no longer on my booklist. With that, it was out of my mind. But not for long. Somehow or other, this book has always been at the back of my mind. In 2015, I finally bought a copy of the paperback - with a cover exactly as above - brand new from a chain bookstore. As usual, when a book belongs to me, I have the tendency to procrastinate reading it for the reason I can read it any time I want, and this book being no different ends up on my bookshelf for five years before being put to its very original purpose of existence. Still, reading it five years later is better than never.

Written in first person, the story is narrated by a girl, Jean Louise Finch, who is known as Scout throughout the book. She is six years old when the novel starts off and close to nine by the end of the tale. Because of her age, Scout offers an unusual perspective that plays an important role in telling readers her hometown, Maycomb, its folks and the way of the people. Scout lives on the main residential street in Maycomb town with her father, Atticus Finch, her brother, Jeremy Finch better known as Jem, and their black cook, Calpurnia.

To Kill a Mockingbird is an intelligent story about injustice and racial prejudice. There is depth to the story and there is depth to the characters. It is this depth that captivates me and keeps my eyes glued to the pages. It is so good a deep story that I feel no tip-top review can do justice enough to the complexity of the issues raised in the book. A story of coloured folks and white people, it tells of Atticus Finch, a lawyer in a small Southern town ravaged by the Great Depression, defending a black man.

There are many lessons to be learnt from this book, the most crucial one being discrimination and the fears that motivate it. To quote Atticus "Why reasonable people go stark raving mad when anything involving a Negro comes up, is something I don’t pretend to understand." To quote Mr Dolphus Raymond "the hell white people give colored folks, without even stopping to think that they’re people, too.” To quote Atticus "I don't know, but they did it. They've done it before and they did it tonight and they'll do it again." The 'they' here indicates white people and the 'it' refers to the injustices against the black population. To quote Atticus "There’s something in our world that makes men lose their heads — they couldn’t be fair if they tried. In our courts, when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins. They’re ugly, but those are the facts of life.”

Another lesson is the comparison between the children's world and that of the grown-ups. The story captures the simple minds of children and contrasts it against the more complex world of adults with regard to treatment of black people. To quote Atticus "..and when they do it — seems that only children weep." To quote Mr Dolphus Raymond "Because you're children and you can understand it." and "Things haven't caught up with that one's instinct yet. Let him get a little older and he won't get sick and cry. Maybe things will strike him as being - not quite right, say, but he won't cry, not when he gets a few years on him." To quote Scout "Equal rights for all, special privileges for none."

Then, there is the invaluable lesson on all things Atticus. He teaches us to respect others and the elders. The life lessons he ingrains in his children are priceless. To quote Atticus "First, apologize to your aunt... Let’s get this clear: you do as Calpurnia tells you, you do as I tell you, and as long as your aunt’s in this house, you will do as she tells you.” and "As you grow older, you’ll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don’t you forget it — whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash.”

Atticus believes resilience in one's character - rather than wielding a weapon - is a measure of true courage. He is quick to tell his son so when the opportunity arises. To quote Atticus "I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what." 

Righteous and humble, Atticus is a man of principle and many talents. He commands respect. Maycomb people trust him to do his job and do it well. To quote Scout "My father had served for years in the state legislature, elected each time without opposition" To quote Miss Maudie Atkinson “People in their right minds never take pride in their talents." To quote Atticus "Before I can live with other folks I’ve got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience.” To quote Scout “He’s the same in the courtroom as he is on the public streets.” To quote Mr Dolphus Raymond "..Miss Jean Louise, you don’t know your pa’s not a run-of-the-mill man.."

There is also the lesson on conformity - the choice to live as one prefers as opposed to conforming with society's expectations. People adhere to the usual standards expected by society, so much so that most, if not all, cannot understand why some beg to differ. In the eyes of the conformists, there must always be a reason for behaving differently, the that-is-my-choice reason is no reason. To quote Mr Dolphus Raymond “I try to give them a reason, you see. It helps folks if they can latch onto a reason. When I come to town, which is seldom, if I weave a little and drink out of this sack, folks can say Dolphus Raymond’s in the clutches of whiskey — that’s why he won’t change his ways. He can’t help himself, that’s why he lives the way he does.” and "They could never, never understand that I live like I do because that’s the way I want to live.”

And so, the list of lessons goes on. I will but list down my last here which is in relation to the book title, To Kill a Mockingbird. Mockingbirds symbolize innocence in the novel. To kill a mockingbird is to destroy innocence. Both Atticus and their neighbour, Miss Maudie Atkinson, told Scout and Jem that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird because these birds cause no harm to anyone or anything, they just sing. To quote Atticus "I'd rather you shot at tin cans in the back yard, but I know you'll go after birds. Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit them, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird." To quote Miss Maudie Atkinson “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”

In the chapter before the last, Scout despite her age, demonstrates a deep understanding of the meaning of mockingbird when asked by her father to explain the conversation between him and Mr Tate, the sheriff of Maycomb County. To quote Scout "Yes sir, I understand. Mr Tate was right." and "Well, it'd be sort of like shooting a mockingbird, wouldn't it?" I love the way author Harper Lee directs Scout's reply back to her book title. So how does the story tie-in to the title, To Kill A Mockingbird? Well, two characters in the book are symbolic of the mockingbird. If you have read the book, you will know as surely as I do which two characters I am talking about. If you have not, I will highly recommend you to read this book, a book you will not regret reading.

This book is one of those I can appreciate enough to make every effort to read slowly. There are passages which I deliberately take time to read to prolong my first-time-reading-it experience. I especially like the part - in the last chapter - where Scout's mind drifted to events of the past from summertime to fall to winter, back to summer and finally to autumn again. Reading that summary of main events is like watching a drama which has been fast-forwarded except that it is in my mind's eye. I am impressed by the imagery employed by the author to create a lyrical emotion. Even as I take my time to read, I find myself all too soon at the end of the story. Amazingly, there is still one more thing to like about it, the story ends as well connected and brilliant as the way it begins.

Looking back, perhaps it is a blessing in disguise - of a sort - that I did not read this book during my high school days. After all, I am one who enjoys reading for leisure much more than reading and studying the same for a paper. In any case, I am just happy to have read this book finally; one more item that I can now cross off my bucket list on top of checking it off my Reading List.


Publisher: Arrow; New edition edition
Publication date: 1 Oct 1989

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The unforgettable novel of a childhood in a sleepy Southern town and the crisis of conscience that rocked it, To Kill A Mockingbird became both an instant bestseller and a critical success when it was first published in 1960. It went on to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and was later made into an Academy Award-winning film, also a classic.

Compassionate, dramatic, and deeply moving, To Kill A Mockingbird takes readers to the roots of human behavior - to innocence and experience, kindness and cruelty, love and hatred, humor and pathos. Now with over 18 million copies in print and translated into forty languages, this regional story by a young Alabama woman claims universal appeal. Harper Lee always considered her book to be a simple love story. Today it is regarded as a masterpiece of American literature.

*Blurb from Goodreads*

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