Books in '16 | To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

We have an innocent girl, not even in her teens yet, unaware of the prejudices all around, questioning everything, hardly subdued when confronted. One cannot not help but appreciate the brilliance of Scout Finch pointing out the hypocrisy in Americans criticizing Hitler of discrimination against Jews while they themselves were doing the same to their black folks back home.

Midway through her childhood adventures, her father, Atticus Finch, a lawyer by profession, is appointed by the court to defend Tom Robinson, a Negro. Things were not in favor of Tom. First, he was accused of raping a woman which in itself is such a heinous crime that the public convicts you even before the court does. Second, he was a Negro and the woman concerned was white. The prejudice only made it worse. According to the law, any person whether white or black has the right to defend himself. But defending a Negro is a disgraceful act, or so the common herd consisting of the whites, believed. Atticus Finch is faced with two choices: either to consider the hearing as merely a formality or the tough one, put his back into the case and bring Tom Robinson, the Negro, to justice. He chooses the latter.

Atticus Finch so accurately brings out the inaccuracy associated with the quote, 'All men are created equal'. We aren't created equal. Some are born rich, others are not. Some are gifted and are better at things than others. It is only one institution that considers everyone equal: Our judicial system. Everyone is equal in the eyes of law.

The case was laid bare. All evidence, or more appropriately the lack of it, pointed to the accused not being guilty. Still, the final decision rested with the jury. And jury consisted of people, the common people. They did what they had always done. The law can only take you so far. It's a stick, purposely a walking stick, but might as well use it for a beating.

Immorality and trustworthiness are not virtues restricted to one particular race. In 1930 Alabama, a small girl registers this fact while mature adults fail to do so. It's immoral and sinful to persecute an innocent just the way it is a sin to kill a mockingbird.

View all my reviews

Comments

LIFE AND LIES #67 | The Shortest Story

Dedicated to a friend of mine who is no longer in this world. ********************************* A friend had died. Still, the world Hadn't come to a stop. Perhaps, it should have. Because I gave my presentation Smiling from ear to ear. And later at night, I drank to my fill To honour him. Because life is too fricking short, But at times, Feels too bloody long. If you google 'Shortest Short Story' You'll get the following result: "For sale: Baby shoes, never worn." Popularly attributed to Ernest Hemingway. Ernest, I'm sorry But I ended up writing Something similar myself. "Hang in there, my friend. He did." I'm not proud of what I wrote. It is what it is. "Who is this about," my friend asked after reading my poem. "He was my batchmate in school," I replied. "He committed suicide yesterday by hanging." "Why? What happened?" "Nobody knows. He had cut himself off from everyone." "Was he i...

LIFE AND LIES #77 | The English Teacher

When we are young, the world is full of possibilities. We can do anything, and become anything. We antagonise anyone who even hints at thinking otherwise about us. It's probably why most of us have a story to tell where the villain was a school teacher. Even I do. I don’t remember exactly how I ended up in the Headmaster’s cabin that day. All I remember is that back then I blamed my House Master for it. It wasn’t just me who had bunked the STD XII Pre-Board exams. There were many. But he made a scapegoat out of me. And the moment, I set foot inside the cabin, I received a big slap from the Headmaster. My ears rang. But that wasn’t the worst thing that happened that day. The Headmaster instructed him to call my father. Tell him to come or his son would be rusticated. I wasn’t a notorious student. I was good in my studies and had no disciplinary complaints against me. Had this incident not occurred, I would have completed my schooling in a few months with a clean record. My fat...

LIFE AND LIES #61 | The Summit Within

Dehradun to Sankri On an early morning, towards the end of March, I was sipping a cup of tea in Dehradun, surrounded by a bunch of strangers loading their backpacks on a traveller which was going to take us to Sankri, the starting point of Kedarkantha Trek. A thought struck me. Somewhere around this place, not so long ago, Ruskin Bond was racking his brains to come up with the name of a fictitious town. Subsequently, he came up with the name: Dehra, having spent his early adolescent days in Dehradun, the place which inspired many of his characters and stories. Ingenious, huh? I am struggling with a similar challenge. Let’s see what I come up with. I finished my tea. And soon we headed on our way. The first view of the mountains came when we were about to reach Mussourie. A smile spread across my face automatically in its unique way, like it happens when you meet an old friend after a long time. I was hoping to spot Cambridge Book Depot on the way, or even Ruskin Bond if I w...

Life and Lies of M R Maiti

Search This Blog