To Kill a Mockingbird By Harper Lee

It took me 6 months to read the book to kill a mockingbird which allowed me to fully understand and learn about the context and storyline of the novel. Harper Lee has written a great book here which also has hints of pure genius when it comes to the symbols throughout the novel.

To kill a mockingbird is a story retold by Jean Louise Finch who is mainly referred to as Scout throughout the book. We follow her from the age of about 5 until she starts to understand the world much more and the ethics of Maycomb county in Alabama where the story is based. It looks at Scouts and Jems, her brother's life including school and them pestering Mr Arthur 'Boo' Radley. At the climax of the novel Atticus Finch, the father of both Jem and Scout who is a Lawyer in Maycomb has the duty of defending Tom Robinson who is an honest black man accused of raping Mayella Ewell. Tom Robinson is sentenced but before his appeal, he gets himself killed from trying to escape from prison. During the resolution, Bob Ewell is responsible for all sorts of events towards Tom Robinson's wife, judge Taylor and Atticus Finch.

This book is great as it covers the themes of Racism, Law and Education to name just a few of the themes and they are covered using a variety of methods which interests the reader throughout. Some may say that Lee tried to cram as many themes into the book as possible and tried to make it work but I disagree. By using many different themes we cover a wide range of topics which was unique about America's history and this keeps the reader interested as Lee presents all the American issues of the time. Furthermore, throughout the novel, Lee use's genius symbolism, this includes the mockingbird which is symbolic of innocence and vulnerability which is significant throughout the novel, Many characters in the novel face physical or mental challenges and this just highlights that everyone has weaknesses with them and finally The Rabid dog is symbolic of racism in the town and somewhat foreshadows the events that happen later in the novel.

Some key quotes include “Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” This shows the reader how it is a sin to kill someone who is innocent amongst other things and then finally this following quote looks briefly at the racism in America at the time this novel is based, “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.” This is just some of the key quotes in the novel but I highly suggest you read it yourself instead of me telling you everything.

In Conclusion, although there were parts of this book which I was not so keen on altogether this is a great book which I will never forget. This book highlights a lot of themes and this is what makes this book so great. I highly recommend this book to all adults and teenagers and maybe all who read this book will learn a few life lessons. Altogether I would rate this book my top rating of 5 stars for keeping me interested throughout the novel and for including so many themes in one which is just great. There is defiantly a hint of genius within this novel.

If you have read and enjoyed the book Of mice and men, then I highly recommend that you read this book as I would say they are set in similar times and cover similar themes and life lessons. I have read both the books and thoroughly enjoyed both.

Charlie Medcalf

Reviewer