Book Review- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The book was already on my to-read list, and I instantly grabbed it. The decision and the suggestion to read this book were fruitful. This 1960-released book was a refreshing treat to my mind and heart as it deals with critical issues most humbly.
The plot and characters are loosely based on Harper Lee's observations of her family, her neighbours and an event near her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama, in 1936, when she was ten.
The protagonist is Jean Louise (“Scout”) Finch, an intelligent and curious though uncustomary girl who ages from six to nine years old during the course of the novel. She is raised with her brother, Jeremy Atticus (“Jem”), by their widowed father, Atticus Finch. Atticus Finch is a prominent and popular lawyer in the town who encourages his children to be empathetic and just. He encourages them to follow their heart but act morally correctly. He notably tells them that it is “a sin to kill a mockingbird,” alluding to the fact that the birds are innocent and harmless, albeit we should be gentle while dealing with others.
The story also contains a darker drama about the roots and consequences of racism and prejudice, probing how good and evil coexist within a single community or individual.
The story unveils human nature to reveal both its goodness and its warts. It made me experience innocence, kindness and cruelty, love and hatred, humour and pathos.
My takeaways from the book (parenting tips)-
1. The belief that ”deep down, everybody’s actually good” should not be taken for granted. Not everybody is“good”. And yet, we must still persevere to see things from other's perspectives, and though we may not justify their ways, we must strive to understand them – though we might not follow them, we must try to be as kind to them as possible.
2. And then, there comes a time when some people need to be put down – we must follow the call of our conscience and yet be kind to them in the process, as much as we can and gently cut the ties.
3. It is simple to stereotype people, classify them neatly into convenient square boxes and systematically deal with them based on those black-or-white prejudices! But the actual understanding comes by genuinely talking to people without any prenotion mindset.
4. In fact, let us try to robe a prejudice in the opaque, oppressive garment called “Common Sense” and display it boldly - I guess we shall solve the biggest difficulty of life – knowing how to treat people.
5. Try to live the life we get once by enriching it with good books and people. Let us try to be out of all fake-ism and, in fact, any kind of “ism”.
6. Do your duty honestly and legally despite people saying anything in front of you (or behind you).
My suggestion -
If you haven’t read To Kill a Mockingbird, please try the novel. If not for the genuine enjoyment of reading the story, try this novel to feel the powerful emotions stirred by Lee’s literary masterpiece.
Quote from the book (of my liking)
“[...] Before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience.”
“I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand.."
“Most people are [nice], Scout, when you finally see them.”
“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.”
“Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing.”
“People generally see what they look for, and hear what they listen for.”
“When a child asks you something, answer him, for goodness sake. But don't make a production of it. Children are children, but they can spot an evasion faster than adults, and evasion simply muddles 'em.”
So happy to see you enjoyed reading my favourite book. Loved your takeaways.
ReplyDeleteKeep recommending me more books to read. Thank you, mam, for reading the blog post.
Delete