The Art of War

To Kill a Mockingbird is a story that reflects its time. It delves into the issues of racial discrimination and the struggles of classes in the Southern United States during the 1930’s. The narrative centers on a court case where a black man was accused of raping a young white girl. The delivery of the story moves this generation into finding justice amidst prejudice.

Despite tackling a very controversial issue, the book comes across as innocent, taking the perspective of a child in Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression. This book follows the life of eight year old Scout Finch, her brother, Gen, and Atticus, the father of the two children.  Throughout the ordeal, Harper Lee decides to tell the story from what the children saw, inviting a gentle look on the problems of justice, class, and race as well as the pain of the children as they grow up.

Since the setting of the story is in rural Alabama, a state known for its slow-paced lifestyle, Lee was able to project the relaxed and quiet atmosphere through the tone of the story. The first few chapters discussed what the children are occupied with during the summer – playing, reenacting scene from the Dracula, and coming up with all sorts of child’s tricks.

When the story shifted to the rape of Mayella Ewell, a young white girl who is the daughter of a violent and mostly drunk farmer, the children were not able to notice the jarring event. It is only when their father, Atticus, came up to defend the accused did the children realized that they were put in a position that they cannot comprehend. Even when the children were getting lost to the central discussion, they learned a lot from the people around them. Slowly but surely, Scout was able to understand that no matter the skin color or the class that you belong in, people are kind when you really see them.

This Pulitzer winning novel has a lot of lessons to teach. First, the child’s perspective does not breed prejudice as they constantly see the innocence in every situation. It also teaches that it is important to stand up for what you believe is right even if are likely to be shunned by the people around you.

Although its message is more relevant before than now, the book continues to speak to every generation as it drives home the lessons that are still important today as before. It teaches us how to look over our difference and to stand up for what is right. To Kill a Mockingbird has a child storybook narrative where you do not have to labor through the words to finish the book. Instead it speaks softly, innocently and reassuringly. It speaks of having the will to act and finding the motivation to walk the walk. The book sets an example of a moral litmus test where we find the child wondering why people have so much hate for a guy who is falsely accused, if the child was able to see goodness in the man, why not us?