“Few great works of literature get by without at least a touch of idealism. But it’s the books to which audiences can truly relate that stand the test of time(To Kill a Mockingbird: Still relevant after 50 years). A book that can can truly relate to people must use universal themes, just like the ones used in the book To Kill a Mockingbird. The book To Kill a Mockingbird is told through the eyes of Scout Finch, a little girl from a fictional town called Maycomb, Alabama. She lives with her brother Jem and their widowed father Atticus. Atticus is chosen to defend a black man named Tom Robinson who was accused of raping a white woman, which is the main plot of the story. The book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper lee should be required reading …show more content…
One example of injustice occurs during the trial, when Judge Taylor is reading off the verdict, “Judge Taylor was polling the jury: Guilty… Guilty… Guilty…” (Lee 282). Judge Taylor reads off the verdict and all of them are guilty. This is injustice because Tom Robinson did nothing wrong, but because he is black he was still found guilty. This was very unfair to Tom because he will go to jail for a crime he didn’t commit. A second example of injustice occurs when Atticus is speaking to the court and doing his closing statement, “I am confident that you gentlemen will review without passion the evidence you have heard, come to a decision, and restore this defendant to his family. In the name of God, do your duty”(Lee 275). Atticus is trying to get the court to really look at the evidence and realize that Tom is innocent and Bob Ewell is the real person that is guilty of beating Mayella. But deep down he knows that because Tom is black and won’t be freed. But Atticus is still trying and pleading with the court to make the right decision. In conclusion the book To Kill a Mockingbird should be a required reading because it teaches the universal theme injustice. This theme is important to learn today because it is still a problem that is going on today in the court system. This theme is used when Judge Taylor is reading off the verdict, and when Atticus is doing his closing