To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Intangible things are powerful. We don’t see them, but they can steal one’s peace of mind, bring trouble, and they can also kill. Prejudices are invisible. Yet, they root deeply in people’s minds and it takes years or even decades to pull them out. It is easier to destroy a physical thing, no matter how durable. To pull out a prejudice that was nurtured and encouraged for a long time is practically impossible.

“To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee is about the power of intangible things. At least that’s what I saw in this story. People are prone to cultivating prejudices. It begins in childhood when the imagination runs wild, having no guide marks of experience to rely on. When we are little, we see the world as a mysterious place full of enigmas. And we are still completely fearless, having not experienced failure, pain, disappointment, and true fear, and jump head first into solving them.

The book begins with three children trying to solve the mystery of their neighbour’s house. Scout, Jem, and Dill are fascinated by ‘Boo’ Radley whom no one in the town seems to have seen for years. And since grown-ups are reluctant to shed light on what happened in that family, children become obsessed with unravelling this secret. They do silly things and end up in pseudo-dangerous situations, which seem frightening only when you are little. Adults scold them, but it doesn’t stop them from persisting in their investigative pursuits.

As the story progresses, another mystery comes to the forefront. A man is accused of rape. The court has to determine if it is true. Yet, it seems that for everyone in Maycomb, Alabama it isn’t a mystery at all. They aren’t waiting for a verdict. They are expecting the accusation. Because of the deeply rooted prejudice, the trial is a form without content. Everyone knows the result, but still, cannot resist attending. The folk of Maycomb don’t need the law, the system, or the procedures of a fair trial to tell them what to think. The prejudice ingrained in them has already issued them all the answers.

And against this predictability, which hangs grim and pressing as a dark cloud which will inevitably bring thunder and a devastating downpour, Atticus Finch’s character stands out like a ray of light, too bright to look at without hurting one’s eyes – and readers’ hearts.

It was heartbreaking to follow a decent man’s struggle which was lost before he began fighting. It is especially painful, for, sadly, similar stories repeat across the decades and continents, with their participants belonging to different groups but with the gist remaining the same. One can fight for justice, but one can never win against prejudice.

A black man accused of raping a white woman could never be justified in the Southern Alabama in the 1930s. The elements vary across times and places, but the result of such situations remains the same. I find the real power of this novel in this truth, which can be fully conceived only if one looks at the story from a wider angle.

Only one moment in the book fell flat for me. I can’t explain it. I understood what the author wanted to show with it. It is logical and works well for the story. Yet, it didn’t ‘get under my skin,’ for the lack of other explanation. Maybe because I was a participant in a similarly acute episode, involving people similarly blinded by a similar prejudice. The outcome of that incident was also favourable as it is the book. But the reasons for me getting away unharmed were different. I don’t think there is any added value to trying to analyse it in a book review. It did make me think again about certain things I’ve gone through in my life. And still, for some reason, the episode as it is narrated in the book didn’t work for me.

It would be a futile effort to retell the plot of the book so much talked about and which millions of people have read. Besides, like any great story, it gives something different to every person who reads it. To me, “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee is about the things that stretch far beyond its story and its characters. To me, this book is about a sad truth that doesn’t change despite all the efforts made to change it. Blinded by prejudice, people know without learning, judge without trial and investigation, and issue a death sentence without remorse or mercy.



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To Kill a Mockingbird