To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee: My Review

                                       Written by: Harper Lee.

                                       Published on: 1960

Synopsis: To Kill a Mockingbird is primarly a novel about growing up under extraordinary circumstances in the 1930s in the Southern United States. The story covers a span of 3 years, during which the main characters undergo significant changes. Scout Finch lives with her brother Jem and their father Atticus in the fictitious town of Maycomb, Alabama. Maycomb is a small, close-knit town, and every family has its social station depending on where they live, who their parents are, and how long their ancestors have lived in Maycomb.

A widower, Atticus raises his children by himself, with the help of kindly neighbors and a black housekeeper named Calpurnia. Scout and Jem almost instinctively understand the complexities and machinations of their neighborhood and town. The only neighbor who puzzles them is the mysterious Arthur Radley, nicknamed Boo, who never comes outside. When Dill, another neighbor's nephew, starts spending summers in Maycomb, the three children begin an obsessive — and sometimes perilous — quest to lure Boo outside.

Not quite midway through the story, Scout and Jem discover that their father is going to represent a black man named Tom Robinson, who is accused of raping and beating a white woman. Suddenly, Scout and Jem have to tolerate a barrage of racial slurs and insults because of Atticus' role in the trial. During this time, Scout has a very difficult time restraining from physically fighting with other children, a tendency that gets her in trouble with her Aunt Alexandra and Uncle Jack. Even Jem, the older and more levelheaded of the two, loses his temper a time or two. After responding to a neighbor's (Mrs. Dubose) verbal attack by destroying her plants, Jem is sentenced to read to her every day after school for one month. Ultimately, Scout and Jem learn a powerful lesson about bravery from this woman. As the trial draws nearer, Aunt Alexandra comes to live with them under the guise of providing a feminine influence for Scout.

My Review:  To killing a mockingbird is a simple story about a complicated situation viewed through the perspective of a little girl in the Southern United States. The story is very passionate, dramatic, innocent, love and hatred. The author managed to showcase the cruel and unfair practices of hatred, class and race differences through the innocent eyes of a child. We could see the kids in the story struggling to understand the class and  race differences we have in our society.

The author effectively written the characters with depth and unique characteristics of their own. Every characters in the book feels very three dimensional. The descriptions of the world is very well explained that we get a clear picture about the small town, the small roads, all the houses in the town and the people living there.

there are a lot of things to learn from the story along with the little girl in the story.  The little girl Scout learns the importance of Family.Having no mother, she is raised by her father who is full of important lessons. Her brother becomes her best friend, and most of her lessons are escapades occur with him and their friend Dill. Scout learns that her father, brother and their maid do love her and have her interest at heart.

Scout learns the hard way that people are cruel. While racial discrimination was rampant and even accepted at the time, she is able to recognize the harsh treatment of blacks by whites.

She learns to dangers of gossips and finally she learns what it means to have courage and standing up for what you believe in.

To Kill a Mockingbird is a must read. It is very simple to read. The story and the characters are very gripping and interesting. And the sad reality is that the book is still relevant even after all this time, The rampant racial discrimination and the cruelty of people is still very much present in out society even today.

My Rating: 4/5