To Kill A Mockingbird

“Summer was everything good to eat; it was a thousand colors in a parched landscape.” I couldn’t but be fascinated by the lovely way Scout, the protagonist of this book, narrated her ordinary life. From a six-year-old girl’s perspective, everything was flat but splendid. This southern town, Maycomb County, was so small and plain that everyone knew everyone else. Therefore, the favorite activity of Scout and her brother, Jem, was to induce Arthur Radley, the phantom neighbor nicknamed Boo by them, to turn up. Somehow, in the process of reading this book, I came across plenty of silly games played in the past as if I were still a six-year-old girl.

In the book, Scout and Jem lived an innocent life with their honorable lawyer father, Atticus, until a litigation knocked on their door. It stormed in this town, and fermented people in town, including Scout and Jem.

Based on my first impression, I looked upon this book as a typical novel dealing with the serious issues of rape and racial inequality. Nevertheless, after thinking over and over again, I overthrew my original idea utterly. “To Kill A Mockingbird” is not only the title of this novel, but also the very gist. Mockingbirds simply provide pleasure with their songs, and they do nothing but sing their hearts out for us. Accordingly, Atticus admonished his children, “It's a sin to kill a mockingbird.”

To kill a mockingbird is to kill that which is innocent and harmless—like Tom Robinson. In the perspective of Scout, we can see how irrationally people go stark raving mad when anything involving a Negro comes up. No matter how guiltless Tom Robinson was, he still had to be accused of raping a white female, Miss Mayella, by virtue of the color of his skin and therefore, he had to be executed by shooting.

On the other hand, “Boo Radley” was another mockingbird. Having been misunderstood with tainted glasses, Boo shut the door between himself and people. Nevertheless, he still kept his hope and love toward people, and accordingly observed Scout and Jem secretly. Boo made Scout realize the words Atticus had said, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view—until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”

The murderer of Boo and Tom Robinson was the prejudice in people’s nasty mind. People in Maycomb County have a tendency to believe that descendants take after their ascendants. In my opinion, this custom is entirely ridiculous. As the words go, “Do you know what we call opinion in the absence of evidence? We call it prejudice.” You can't dwell on what might have been and it's unfair to condemn one for something he hasn't done. Nowadays, people judge others easily with their justice. Little do they know they kill many and many a mockingbird.

Atticus is the most impressive and respectable character to me. No matter how many things he might lose, Atticus rose up to the arduous problem involving the racial discrimination and had to fight against the selfish residents in town. Nevertheless, his rational mind was convinced that people in town were kind after all.

When we are like Carte Blanche, we believe in justice and the bright side of human nature. After change upon change, we fail, suffer injuries and feel puzzled like Jem. Nonetheless, the facts of life are ugly but we should accept it. No matter how dark life seems to be, raise our sights and see the possibilities. Always see them, for they are always there, and just as Atticus answered, “Most people are nice, Scout, when you finally see them.”

Atticus once said, “Before Jem looks at anyone else, he looks at me, and I’ve tried to live so I can look squarely back at him…” Not only did Atticus serve as a moral hero for many readers, but he also set a model of integrity for lawyers and above all, his children. Atticus manifested to his children that his conscience didn’t abide by majority rule. How I wish that I could become a dauntless lawyer like Atticus and always look at the bright side of humans.