Tolog Review: To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird
by Harper Lee
reviewed by Margaret Kalaw

The Pulitzer Prize winning, fictional novel To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, focuses on the story of Jean Louise “Scout” Finch and her older brother, Jeremy “Jem” Finch, as they grow up and become more aware of the inequity in their world. Being set in a small county in Alabama during the 1930s, young Scout and Jem are surrounded by discrimination toward African Americans – only they have yet to fully realize this. Fortunately, as they grow older throughout the novel, their loving father, along with other sincere adults, shape the children to be honest, unbiased, and compassionate, while simultaneously portraying the importance of these qualities to the reader. 

To Kill a Mockingbird begins when Scout and Jem meet Dill Harris, a quirky boy who sojourns in Maycomb county during the summer. Dill, Jem, and Scout quickly become friends, and they embark on a mission to see Boo Radley, a fellow neighbor who has not been seen outside his house in decades. After their major scheme fails and summer ends, Scout and Jem learn about their father’s new assignment. Atticus Finch, both father and respected lawyer of the county, is given a difficult case, in which he has to defend Tom Robinson, an African American man. As the story continues, Scout and Jem face the gibes of their classmates and adult acquaintances, as well as the cruel after effects of the trial, including a fatal attempt at revenge on the Finch family.

In her novel, Lee writes using young Scout’s perspective, providing the reader with an authentic view of everything happening. The choice to use a first-person point of view proves to be effective by the time of Tom Robinson’s trial, in which Scout relates the events and her opinions with the compelling sincerity and innocence of a child. Additionally, the author alludes to the expectations of a young lady in the 1930s by having many characters comment on Scout’s unladylike behavior. This is evident when she narrates, “I could not possibly hope to be a lady if I wore breeches; when I said I could do nothing in a dress, she said I wasn’t supposed to be doing things that required pants” (Lee 108). However, by an interesting turn of events, Scout learns that in times of crisis, keeping one’s composure is truly ladylike, and she strives to become capable of this. 

Additionally, the title Lee gives her book serves as a metaphor with a powerful message. She uses her characters to explain it when Atticus says to his children, “Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (Lee 119). Scout later finds out that mockingbirds are sweet creatures that never pester humans. Thus, because of Lee’s adroit comparison to a bird, both Scout and the reader are able to understand the gravity of harming someone innocent.