To Kill A Mockingbird: A Timeless Classic

What make a classic timeless? Italo Calvino once said, “A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say.” Therefore, a classic is something timeless and abiding, which has a meaning that goes beyond analysis, and appears to have no absolute end to its significance. In order to be a “timeless classic”, a novel must have characters that are dynamic and complex and a timeless theme. Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird is a “timeless classic” because, throughout the course of the novel, Harper Lee creates dynamic and complex characters that give the reader a sense of realism and a timeless theme that readers of all eras are able to relate to.
One reason that proves that To Kill a Mockingbird is a timeless classic is

For example, In Allen Barra’s article “What To Kill a Mockingbird Isn’t”, Barra claims that “Atticus is not a morally ambiguous character for he is a repository of cracker-barrel epigrams”. Admittedly, when Atticus chose to not take Tom Robinson’s case to the supreme court, confirms what Barra claims of Atticus to not have moral ambiguity, since in the beginning of the novel, readers can distinguish whether Atticus was a good person or a bad person, but by having Atticus not take the case to the supreme court shows that he just gave up. Nonetheless, To Kill a Mockingbird is definitely a timeless classic because it has a timeless theme that provides the readers a message that is proper and appropriate for any time period. To Kill a Mockingbird also satisfies the criteria of a classic having dynamic and complex characters. As represented in the novel by Atticus and Scout. Scout changes over time, and Atticus is flawed. For example, how Scout matures and learns the true definition of acceptance and compassion shows how Scout matured over time and when Atticus chose not to take Tom Robinson’s case to the Supreme Court reveals that Atticus is flawed and that provides the readers a sense of naturalness of the