To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird


By: Harper Lee
Reviewed by: History Gurl, 15
Rating: It was amazing!


To Kill A Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, was ultimately the best book I have ever read, dealing with racism, injustice, childhood, and friendship. This beautiful story of two young siblings, Scout and Jem, portrayed the views of a different family in their Southern society, believing in slaves’ rights and equality.

When I first picked up this book and read the back cover, I expected a saddening story about the death of a never freed slave, as the back cover read, “from innocence and experience, kindness and cruelty, love and hatred, humor and pathos”. However, the story began with the friendship of Scout and Jem, including humorous tales of The Radley Place, a dark house on their block inhabited by a man who barely ever went out. A good portion of the story talks about the Radley Place, where an angry father whose occupation was to “pick cotton”, meaning he never did anything, was rumored to shut up his young son, Arthur, for taking part in a gang’s activities.

The young children, along with Dilan, a boy transferred to and from his relatives, create a mockery of this dark family, much to the disapproval of Atticus, Jem and Scout’s father. This scene created a symbolic understanding that people judge others, whether it is their color or culture. It also shows that the adults who had judged others for their color were no better then children. Much later in the story, Scout meets Arthur, and realizes that her mockery and foolishness had offended a person who was the exact opposite then she had thought.

Throughout the story is the main plot of Tom Robinson’s case, a good man accused of raping a woman while her abusive father was outside cutting wood. The book builds up to this case, along with the emotional abuse the town gives to Jem, Scout, and Atticus for helping Tom. Jem and Scout learn through this the lesson that everyone is equal, no matter their color. Jem and Scout proudly go to their black nurse’s church, even with the insults of one black woman, and without knowing it, break the barrier between black and white.

Even though the ending of the story is dark, To Kill A Mockingbird teaches many life lessons, and the title, to give you a clue, is connected to the idea of dark and light that is mentioned throughout the story. In fact, the entire book balances the little town using the dark, and light.


Recommended to: readers that wish to learn about social injuistice in the past, along with stories of childhood friendship.