Book Review: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Yey! Finally, I’m done reading this book. I chose to read the book when I saw the video from Sparknotes.com. I have plenty of 10 mins videos from them and I started to listen to each of them. I liked the way they review the whole story and the lessons you'll have to learn from it. This is basically a family and growing up story since it involves a family living in an old county in Alabama. 

The story revolved around with the main characters, Scout, Jem and Atticus Finch in a sleepy town of Maycomb Alabama. Atticus Finch is a lawyer and a widowed father living with his two children Scout and Jem with their loyal black cook Miss Calpurnia.  One summer, Scout and Jem befriended this boy named Dill. They would play around the house. One day, Dill was fascinated by the mysterious house on their street which was called the Radley place. The house was owned by Mr. Nathan Radley living together with his brother Arthur and usually known him as Boo in their small town. Then Dill dared the two that they will let Boo come out of his house. Boo has been in the house as long as Scout or Jem could remember and they never had seen him before, not even his shadow. They have made attempts to no avail. 

Then Atticus soon learned their scheme and reminded Scout a very important lesson.  You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view until you climb into his skin and walk around in it, said Atticus.  Scout was just a little girl, she never understand at that time but as the time goes by she eventually learned what was that mean. 

 “Remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” That was the only time I ever heard Atticus say it was a sin to do something, and I asked Miss Maudie about it.
“Your father’s right,” she said. “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy . . . but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” 

Atticus agreed to help a black man named Tom Robinson who has been accused of raping a white woman named Mayella Ewell. On this part of the book you can sense the racial discrimination. Most white people in their community don’t like colored people as what they labeled Negroes. Well, Atticus tried his best to defend the poor man but the all white jury ended a decision that Tom was guilty. Tom later on tried to escape from prison but was shot to death. Bob Ewell, the father of Mayella holds a grudged to Atticus because of what happened in the court. He said he would take his revenge. 

When Jem and Scout walked home from Halloween party, Bob Ewell attacked them that ended Jem’s left arm broken. Suddenly, Boo intervenes and killed Bob Ewell just to save the children. Boo carried them home and later on Scout realized that it was Boo who saved them in that shocking incident.The Sheriff in order to protect Boo insisted that Ewell tripped over a tree root, fell on his own knife and killed himself eventually. Scout understands that making a hero out of Boo would be like killing a Mockingbird.  Scout now finally absorbed her father’s advice to practice compassion though life may be so unfair at times. 

I liked the story a lot. I learned a lot of things and lessons worth sharing. The best part for me was the end part, Chapter 31. She learned the moral outlook metaphor in killing a Mockingbird.  I felt sorry about Tom Robinson’s, clearly racism was present. It was hard living that way but they managed to live their life in a simplest way as they could.  I would definitely recommend this one to a friend. Sometimes it takes a single occurrence to realize you have to broaden your mind and understand an individual, which you have to consider things from his point of view, climb into his skin and walk around in it. 

Personally I wanted to thank Sheena for introducing this book to me, at first I never give it that much credit then I realized that why not give it a try since it was one of Sparknotes top books. I truly digested a lot of positive lessons from this book. Please if you have time read this one.  

All photos credited to: SPARKNOTES