TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

- Rishika

“Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”

    Mockingbirds are considered to be the most harmless kind of birds, because apart from singing, they rarely affect our daily lives. The birds hold a particular kind of talent of mimicking the songs of other birds. Harper Lee’s choice of the title might seem a little bit confusing at first, but as we get through the book, we start to see its significance.

The story is narrated by a nine year old girl, named Jean Louise Finch, or for us, Scout. We get to see 1930s America and the effect of the Great Depression on its people. The events of the book takes place in an imaginative place called Maycomb county, in Alabama, where the prejudices and rumours and stories about people (that are rarely true) is one of the only sources of entertainment. The book covers part by part a lot of social and political issues that unfortunately still persist in our so-called “modern world”. We find how people are treated (or mistreated rather) based on their class, race and even gender.  

This book depicts some serious and deep socio-political issues in a rather simple language, getting us to see the incidents through the eyes of a kid. We get to see how adult hypocrisy, racism and social inequality can affect people’s mind and their decisions. It can make people and a society torn between opinions, the line between the wrong and the right thinning. Dare I say, some of us like to act like a child, when we are asked to place an opinion on any injustice happening around. Somehow we all turn into nine year old Scout, when it comes to raising voices against the wrongs, against the ones in power doing something wrong, because the less you say, the less you get in trouble.

The events of the book take place in a course of three years. We get to see two major events taking place in the course, one of them being the case around Tom Robinson, an African-American man who was accused, falsely, for raping a white girl. Along with Tom Robinson, we get to see the story of another man named Arthur “Boo” Radley, who is branded as a societal monster by the community.

Boo Radley, an autistic old man, was confined in his own house by his father since the time of his teenage years. As a result of this, he became even more closed off from the public eyes, which led to several sorts of ugly rumours around him. This is also, one of the perspectives, that Harper Lee put forward to show how society can turn against a person, with collective effort of rumours and false criticism. Thus Arthur Radley became “Boo” Radley, and his story (made up in bits by the community) became a nightmare for the children. Boo Radley’s story points out how society is quick to judge someone, based on one event, that we forget to acknowledge the person without their flaws. Boo Radley is later seen to be turning out a hero, saving Scout and her brother, Jem from an attempted murder, breaking their prejudices around him in the process. 

For the second half of the book, we see how the race of a human can turn an innocent into the highest level of criminal. Tom Robinson, a young black man is seen to be accused for raping a white american girl. Atticus Finch, Scout and Jem’s father is seen to be fighting this case in defense of the black man. Atticus Finch is the kind of character the world needs, when it comes to fight for the rights and wrongs in society. The character is believed to be inspired from the author’s father, who was a lawyer himself. Atticus’s strong belief in equality, unprejudiced approach to societal norms inspires both Scout and Jem throughout the book. Being a single father, he doesn’t falter from teaching his children the right ways, or rather to say the unprejudiced view of the world and to treat everyone equally with respect. 

“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.” 

Tom Robinson’s case turns out to be nothing but false accusations, made by the white girl to conceal her father’s alcoholic misbehaviours. What is most surprising, is that everyone in Maycomb county strongly believed the accusation, without even analysing the facts around them, all because the accused was a black man. Some are seen to go the extent of making up stories around the man, of other crimes that he may have committed. The hatred towards the black community became powerful enough to make one forget to see past the prejudices surrounding them. The collective hate became so loud, that despite Atticus’s efforts, Tom was sentenced to imprisonment. His attempt to escape from prison only ended up in bloodbath, when he was shot 17 times by the policemen.

Mocking birds are believed to be the most innocent kinds, despite their ability to mimic other birds, and one must ask themselves while reading the book, why this title? I guess at the end of the day, it’s because the innocent always has to fall, while the wicked survive. And when we realise this, it is too late to regret it. Which is exactly why when Scout tries to wrap her little mind around such heavy societal problems, she can only think of the question “why?”

I think we can all agree, when Scout tells her father, “Atticus, he was real nice.” and Atticus replies,” most people are when we get to see them .” We all feel the need for understanding between ourselves, going beyond the social issues of class, race, religion among others.

And the mockingbirds of the book? Boo Radley and Tom Robinson, whose innocence couldn’t be saved from the evil eyes of the orthodox people.