To Kill A MockingBird

To put it straight at the outset, I must say I am not qualified enough yet to review this book written by Harper Lee. I had set my mind to do so while I was reading the novel, but by the time I reached the end, I found it to be beyond my literary acumen. The reason I say this is because of the mixed reactions I had on reading it.

I can’t say just to sound academic that I found the book very entertaining. It was boring at times, in fact, so dull that I had to flip the pages to go to the next happening part. I also took a long time to complete it. But there was something inherent in it that kept me linked to it and that something was never revealed to me even after the end. I am yet to master the art of reading between the lines :(

The book revolves around the lives of a widower and lawyer, Atticus Finch and his son, Jem and daughter, Louis. To be more precise, it is about his fight for the rights of a Black Man in the White People dominated society of Alabama, US during 1930s. The story is narrated through the innocent eyes of her daughter, Louis who presents the impartial and untarnished view of the things. Many times she wonders about the badness of our society and more importantly, indifference to it by the so-called learned people. The words spoken to her by her father symbolize the whole theme,

“Shoot all the Bluejays you want, if you can hit’em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a Mockingbird”

The real mockingbird in the story is the Black Man, Tim Robinson, who had been wrongly charged of raping a white girl. Despite the righteous indignation of one and all, nobody except Atticus decides to challenge the system. Tim is nevertheless not spared, and he has to pay with his life. One poignant story told…

But where Lee scores is presenting another mockingbird hidden all along in the story and coming out only in the end. He is the enigmatic, Boo Radley, a spooky subject of interest for the children. He saves the lives of Jem and Louis, but also has been apparently coddling and helping them with other gifts. Nothing more than Louis’ disbelief on actually seeing him exemplifies how our chained ways of thinking have killed the mockingbirds of our society. Boo was a very good child and student, but his father’s insane and manic treatment rendered him to be permanently home-ridden.

The story is just amazing told in the most unobtrusive way, and it cuts across the ages. That’s why it is still a classic.

I also watched the movie after reading the book. Few movies match up to the excellence of their conceiver, but this movie actually was an add-on to the mesmerizing effect the book already had on me. Gregory Peck’s acting was superb in the movie, none more so famous and impelling than his courtroom histrionics which actually brought him the Oscar. The kids too were very adorable.

All in all, it was an unchartered territory for me. I need to move away from the Forsyths, Archers and Loodlums now, so that I don’t have to read others’ reviews to understand and write my own.