To Kill a Mockingbird: A Heartfelt Story About Innocence and Life in the South
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, a historical fiction novel set in the 1930s after the Great Depression in the fictional Maycomb, Alabama, was famously known to be an ‘immediate bestseller,’ as Fortune puts it. It won the Pulitzer Prize in 1961, just a year after its publication. It was so well-received that its author, Harper Lee, only wrote two books (with To Kill a Mockingbird being the more well-known of the two) but still became famous worldwide for her writing. But what exactly gave this book its speedy success?
To Kill a Mockingbird is a gem treasured by many readers. It contains many elements rarely found in modern books. Its genuine and authentic storyline teaches young readers valuable lessons about life and the world but does so without shying away from harsher subject matter. However, it has also been challenged and banned several times in the past for this same reason. The novel conglomerates many elements, some simple and others complex, some lighthearted and others serious, into a single book that has deeply touched its readers’ hearts and inspired them to be better people.
The book’s young yet powerful protagonist is Jean Louise Finch, a six-year-old girl who goes by the nickname “Scout.” She lives with her older brother, Jem, and her father, Atticus (who she calls by name), who is a lawyer. The family, along with their cook, Calpurnia, live together in the small community of Maycomb, Alabama.
Early on in the book, Scout and Jem, along with the reader, are introduced to a young boy named Dill. The three become close and come to be interested in a mysterious house belonging to the Radley family, in which a man nicknamed Boo Radley has lived in for many years and has never once, to their knowledge, traveled outside the house. Initially, the obsession of Jem, Dill and Scout over Boo Radley and his seemingly eerie house appears to simply be a way of demonstrating their childishness as they set out to find methods to get him to come out. However, later, this piece of the plot comes to have a far greater importance.
Meanwhile, Scout starts school for the first time. Her excitement soon fades to resentment as she starts to realize that school is not for her. Scout is an incredibly gifted and intelligent child, and it becomes clear that all of this is due to Atticus. He taught her how to read, in addition to many other valuable skills, before she started school. Nevertheless, this poses to be an unexpected problem for Scout, as her teacher does not want her to know how to read as she is supposed to learn it the proper way. Scout’s disapproval of the education system gives a lot of insight into her personality. She despises school for its rigidity and inability to teach her what she wants to learn in a way that will keep her interest.
Later, Scout and Jem discover a tree in which gifts are left for them each day. They accept the presents as they speculate about who their well-wisher is. Dill returns and the three of them proceed to have a lot of fun during the summers, playacting as Boo Radley. Atticus discovers what they have been up to and immediately disapproves, telling them that instead of mocking Boo Radley, they should try to be more empathetic even towards someone they have never properly met. However, Atticus’ wise words of advice are lost on them. One night, they are caught sneaking onto the Radley property. Jem’s pants get stuck and he is unable to retrieve them immediately, but later finds the perfectly fixed, another detail that becomes significant later on. A similar incident occurs when one of the Finches’ neighbor’s house catches fire, and Scout is solaced with a blanket as she witnesses it.
A little while after, Atticus is appointed to Tom Robinson, an African-American man accused of raping a young girl named Mayella Ewell. Atticus courageously accepts, despite knowing the backlash he and his family will soon face. Scout and Jem are teased for what Atticus is doing and call them names. Scout, provoked, feels the need to defend Atticus, but he warns her against it. Scout controls herself, feeling as though if she tries to fight, she will be letting her father down. This is yet another instance of Scout’s unbelievable maturity.
However, the teasing is merely a sign of what the Finch family would have to face later on. One night, Atticus is confronted with a mob of men who disapprove of his actions and are intending to lynch Tom. Shockingly, it is Scout who comes to Atticus’ rescue, talking to one of the men who she recognizes to be a classmate’s father. She asks him about his son, which throws the man off guard and breaks apart the crowd.
Atticus tells the children he does not want them to attend Robinson’s trial, but then manage to witness it anyway, watching from the balcony. Through a series of clever questioning, Atticus manages to establish clearly that the Ewell family is lying and that Tom Robinson did not assault Mayella. He also suggests that it was not Robinson who hurt her, but rather her own father, Bob Ewell. Ultimately, Atticus’ intuition is correct, but due to the power of racism during that time in a place like the American South, the jury convicts Tom regardless.
Worse yet, Tom is subsequently shot to death while trying to escape, and all hope is lost. Atticus is extremely disappointed, having had faith that Tom could still be saved. It is also very obvious that the incident has deeply affected Jem, who seems very disoriented, lost, and above all, hurt. Even though Robinson had been convicted and killed, Bob Ewell still decided to seek out vengeance as Atticus had somehow deceived him and ruined what little reputation he had.
As a result, Jem and Scout are attacked by Ewell on the way home from a Halloween event. Jem is injured badly, but in the midst of all of the chaos and confusion, a mysterious man who Scout is unable to recognize at first, rescues the two. They are taken back home by the man, where Scout asks if Jem is going to do. She is incredibly relieved when she is told that Jem will recover. Meanwhile, the Finches find out that Bob Ewell had been stabbed and died, and it is revealed that the man who rescued Scout and Jem is none other than Boo Radley.
Sheriff Tate and Atticus have a discussion about what had happened that night. After a confusing conversation, the two agree to refrain from telling the town exactly what had happened that night, and make up a story about how Ewell had died by accident. Scout walks Boo Radley to his house. Before leaving, she takes a minute to look at life from Boo’s perspective. This is a moment in which both Scout and the reader are finally able to understand all that Atticus had been trying to teach her. She finally sees him as a human being, and understands all the good he has done in his life. She feels great empathy toward him and becomes a more compassionate person. And with that, the story comes to an end.
Most of the story’s lessons can be learned by examining the journey of Scout Finch, our fateful protagonist and the eyes through which we see Maycomb County. Scout is a particularly unusual character, starting the story as only a six-year-old child and ending it just a few years after. At times, it is incredibly hard to believe that Scout is just a child. It is clear that she is far more mature than and most characters in this book, despite her young age, and we see very clearly that Scout is the result of Atticus’ teachings. She has a very moral and practical approach to life and sees things simply.
For example, her extreme distaste for the modern education system but love for learning display this very well. Before she actually went, Scout was thrilled by the prospect of attending school just like her brother. However, she soon came to the realization that school was very different than she thought it would be. It was very rigid, not allowing Scout to use the knowledge she had previously that Atticus had taught her, forcing her to forget all of it and learn “the right way.” She learned almost nothing from school, and it ended up being a large waste of time for her as it is in the eyes of many students in the present day.
Additionally, Scout seems to have a large disdain for hypocrisy, making several comments about it throughout the book. Scout is known to be a tomboy, but a little deeper into the book, she makes it explicitly clear why she does not want to comply with feminine norms of the time. While overhearing a discussion between several women, she makes a remark that as casual and apathetic as men can sometimes be, at least they are not hypocrites like women. This makes sense given how the only women Scout has ever been exposed to act.
In another instance, she observes how her teacher condemns Hitler for his treatment of Jews despite allowing herself and others to treat African Americans the same way. These observations show how sharp-eyed Scout is and how she has the ability to recognize hypocritical behavior, even some that was considered appropriate of the time. She criticizes and takes note of everything, a quality that makes her a particularly fair-minded character.
While incredibly stubborn, as most six-year-olds are, Scout shows the positive side of obstinance, displaying her perseverance, virtue and altruism on many occasions. For example, she is unafraid to question even people like Atticus, a person whom she trusts and who is far older than she is. At one point in the story, she reproaches Atticus forcefully for sending Jem out to apologize to someone for something that is not his fault when it is dangerous to do so.
Scout serves as a character who trusts the compassion and altruism that humanity possesses, despite the many things she witnesses that show her otherwise. She chooses to believe that most people are good at heart and people who are pure of intent exist. Even after the trial of Tom Robinson, she realizes the importance of sympathy and care for others in spite of all of the evils of the world. This definitely shows in her personality, especially in the changes she experiences by the very end of the book.
It also reflects in her innocence and childlike quality, despite witnessing great wrongdoing for herself. Children are often associated with the qualities of kindness, brutal honesty, and purity of intent, as well as gullibility and adamance. We can see all of these qualities to some extent in Scout, and the result of that is the extremely righteous belief that humans are controlled by a desire to do good rather than evil even though this has literally been disproven right before her eyes by Bob Ewell. The way she still keeps her faith in humanity shows her immense strength, and displays how childishness and maturity can at times go hand in hand.
On the other hand, Jem serves as a character who questions humanity’s goodwill, often confused and shaken by the horrifying sights he sees, specifically the trial of Tom Robinson. He is appalled by the way Tom dies despite being completely innocent, and wonders how just and equitable life actually is. Jem is, in many ways, a perfect complement to Scout. However, both share one thing in common: they were both deeply influenced by Atticus, being brought up by him. Despite Jem’s turbulent beliefs, we can still see Atticus’s impact on the man that Jem becomes.
This is why, by the end of the book, Jem is no longer the fragile and deeply perplexed character he was immediately after the trial. He has regained some of his faith in humanity and we can see that his experiences have instead began to shape him in a more positive way. For example, he becomes more caring and cautious, advising Scout not to squash a bug, something he would not have done before. This is an example of him beginning to protect the vulnerable. In a way, Jem is one of types of people that Scout has faith in to save humanity, even if she doesn’t see it.
Atticus is another integral piece of the story, possibly the most interesting character in the book. In fact, the novel was originally going to be named Atticus rather than To Kill a Mockingbird, according to Bookpal. He is the driving force for the story, both causing many of the events to take place, and inspiring the characters to act the way they do, specifically Scout and Jem. However, he also seems to have a great deal of influence over Maycomb County as a whole.
Atticus is a particularly fascinating character because he is unlike other fathers, something Scout herself notices. Being a single parent to Jem and Scout and having the sole task of raising them and simultaneously being a lawyer, Atticus has many responsibilities. Nevertheless, he is able to handle both his job and his role as a parent flawlessly, raising Jem and Scout in a way that was somewhat unorthodox for the time. Instead of pressuring Scout to be ladylike, he focuses on teaching her positive morals and principles and encourages her to be an upstanding member of society who is not afraid to question the immoral actions of others.
Atticus himself is extraordinarily intelligent, somewhat similar to Scout. As a lawyer, he has a keen sense of observation and is incredibly cunning. However, he uses his abilities for good, such as for defending the wrongfully accused Tom Robinson. Using his sharp eye and quick wit, he is able to prove that Mayella Ewell is lying about being assulted by Robinson through a series of seemingly tangential questions.
Another key characteristic of Atticus is his righteousness. No matter the risk, he is always willing to stand up for what he believes in right. Knowing that he would face backlash by a town of mostly racist residents and he and his family would be in danger, he still chooses to defend Robinson. Even so, Atticus manages to be a uniquely open-minded character, always willing to listen to others and never being too steadfast in his beliefs. Scout learns from him how people have both positive and negative traits and to believe in the good of humanity despite all of the harm that befalls innocent people.
Jem and Scout are initially embarrassed by Atticus due to his pecularities, such as the fact that he is older than most fathers of children Scout and Jem’s ages and how he does not participate in activities typical of fathers. However, Scout and Jem learn to be proud of him by the end of the book. It is also clear that Jem looks up to and relies on Atticus greatly, which Atticus even mentions at one point towards the end of the novel. Scout also develops a loyalty towards him and a desire to keep his faith in her, which she demonstrates when she expresses that going against his wishes, even though she wants to, would be letting him down, which is why she cannot do so.
Another part of the novel that gives great insight into its key messages is the ending. During Sheriff Tate and Atticus’s discussion about Jem and Scout’s attack, Atticus believes that it is Jem who killed Bob Ewell, whereas Tate knows that it was Boo Radley. Atticus does not want to hide the truth from the town despite knowing what happened, because he would be acting unethically and letting Jem down. However, he soon realizes what had actually happened, and both agree not to tell anyone how Ewell had died to maintain Boo Radley’s obscurity. Afterward, Scout walks Boo Radley home, and is finally able to see the world through his eyes and realizes how much her perception of him changes. Scout finally understands the message that Atticus has been trying to convey to her from the very beginning. She learns that, as the book itself states, most people are nice when you finally get to know them.
Only the ending of the book truly reveals what its title, To Kill a Mockingbird, actually means. Surprisingly, the ‘mockingbird’ is only mentioned twice throughout the three-hundred-page novel. The first is when Scout and Jem are learning how to shoot birds but are warned against shooting mockingbirds. They are told that shooting a mockingbird is a sin as mockingbirds do no harm to anyone else, they simply sing beautifully. This part explains almost explicitly the symbolism of the mockingbird, but has little importance for the rest of the story until its next mention.
The second and final mention of the mockingbird comes at the tail end of the story when Scout remarks that exposing to the town that Boo Radley was the one who rescued the children and exposing Bob Ewell would be somewhat similar to killing a mockingbird. Here, we realize that from Scout’s understanding, Boo Radley is a mockingbird. This makes sense as Radley does no harm to the town, he simply stays in his house and never leaves. Without receiving anything in return, he rescues Jem and Scout solely out of the goodness of his heart. Boo Radley helps Scout realize that there is still hope to be found in humanity because of the benevolence and selflessness of people like him. Using this information, the reader can also infer that Boo Radley was the one who gave Scout and a blanket and left them gifts in the tree. We can see that he was there, helping her and caring for her, all along.
In a way, Boo Radley is not the only mockingbird of the story. Tom Robinson is also a mockingbird in that he never actually hurt anyone. He was wrongfully accused and convicted of a crime he did not commit, and later was literally shot to death. Tom Robinson’s tragic end essentially represents the killing of a mockingbird. Scout and Jem are also mockingbirds as the symbolism of the mockingbird correlates to innocence as it means helping others just for the sake of it without getting anything in return, a trait that children often possess. Scout and Jem were not responsible for ruining the Bob Ewell and his family’s reputation, but because they are Atticus’ children, they are still attacked so that Ewell can hurt him.
All in all, To Kill a Mockingbird is a captivating, heartfelt novel that explores many life-changing themes that readers young and old will be astounded by while also having its fair share of lighthearted, funny moments that will make readers smile. It pulls readers in with its soft and sweet storytelling and leaves them stunned with its extraordinary insight and powerful messages about innocence and the good of humanity as well as important lessons about history and life in the South. There is no question why a book as astonishingly beautiful as this one became so admired and beloved so quickly.
