Tolog Review: To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird
by Harper Lee
reviewed by Grace Tighe

The dramatic novel To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee is a timeless classic about injustice and prejudices. In the 1930’s the young Jeremy, Jem, Finch and Jean Louise, Scout, Finch spend their hot Alabama summer days playing pretend and wondering about the mysterious Boo Radley, their neighbor. Jem who is about four years older than Scout, acts as a protective, caring older brother who throughout the novel begins to mature and move away from Scout. Scout is the narrator of the story, she is a tomboy and follows in her brothers footsteps, “...you're gettin' more like a girl every day!" With that, I had no option but to join them” (Lee 69). Their father, Atticus Finch, is a defense lawyer who does his best to instill good morals in his growing children. In the novel Atticus defends Tom, an innocent black man, who is charged with the rape of a white woman. Throughout the novel, Lee shows the presence of racism in the south and how it leads to injustice. Lee also explains the mysterious Boo Radley and through indirect and direct characterization, you see how original presumptions are proved wrong. 

In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses a developing narrator, Scout, to show her change in morals throughout the novel. Lee’s way of describing each character causes the reader to have the same prejudices and make the same mistakes as Scout as well as creating a close connection between the narrator and the reader. Despite the difference in time frames, reading this novel has caused me to remember and relate incidents from my life to the novel. I admire Lee’s use of the title as a metaphor for the main motif of injustice throughout the novel. Lee uses mockingbirds to relate the unjust imprisonment of Tom, “they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (Lee 119). The moral of the novel has taught me to be more understanding of all and I recommend this book to everyone because To Kill a Mockingbird will really open your eyes up to the unfair treatment of others in our world today. Lee’s ability to have this story relate to our lives now shows how influential this book is. If you are a reader who enjoys books that will make you excited to flip to the next page yet are in search of story with good morals, To Kill a Mockingbird is a great book for you.