To Kill A Mockingbird is without question, Harper Lee’s masterpiece, and is what we will remember the author for, long after her passing. To Kill A Mockingbird analyzes the illogicality of the adult mindset towards race and class, through the young eyes of Scout Finch. Set in the Deep South of the 1930, the novel is very relevant to the political racial views of the time, and is actually loosely based on Harper Lee’s own life.
The book is set in Maycomb, an old, tired town in the Deep South, U.S.A. and as expected, racial and prejudicial views are very prevalent in the small, and mainly old community.
Tom Robinson, a black worker has been accused of raping a white girl. Atticus Finch, Scout’s father, has been chosen to defend Tom; even
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She is an unusual child, both physically and mentally. Unlike most girls of her age she hates to wear dresses, much to the disdain of her commanding aunt. She is a tomboy, and proud of it, beating up other boys with ease. She is also much brighter than a lot of other children of her age, knowing how to read and write before any of her classmates. However, she is clueless as to the ways of her father, Atticus, and doesn’t understand why he would choose to be a “n****r lover”. This childish view on the world makes To Kill A Mockingbird comically compelling to the reader. But as the novel goes on, both Jem and Scout start to understand Atticus’s reasoning.
In terms of Genre, To Kill A Mockingbird is a ‘coming of age’ story. Jem and Scout both mature throughout the book. Both their personalities change, but Jem’s more so. He becomes a moody, sullen teenager, much to Scouts distaste and compels her to attack him at one point “ but he’s such a moody, stupid little boy, why won’t he play with me?” This is in fact quite comical to read.
The first person view is one of the best things about the novel. Through the eyes of Scout, we see a childhood of perspective with its sense of immaturity and misunderstanding which is very engaging to