To Kill a Mockingbird: Book Review

Submitted by:

Meenal Khorwal

Division: D

Batch 2021-26, BA LLB.

PRN: 21010223031

Symbiosis Law School, NOIDA

Symbiosis International (Deemed University), Pune

In

November 2021

Under the Guidance of

Dr. Kiran Degan

Course-in-Charge of English

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 CERTIFICATE

The project "To Kill a Mockingbird: Book Review" that I submitted to Symbiosis Law School,
Noida for the English Communication course is based on my original work done under the
guidance of Dr. Kiran Degan. Materials used in the research that were borrowed from other
sources have been properly acknowledged.
I realise that if plagiarism is discovered later, I may be held responsible and liable.

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First and foremost, I'd want to convey my gratitude to Dr. Kiran Degan for her excellent guidance
and assistance in completing my project. He gave me great insights that helped me comprehend all
of the project's fundamentals and answered any questions I had about it.

I'd also like to express my gratitude to the library department and professors at Symbiosis Law
School in Noida, who provided me with a variety of research sources and resources, allowing me to
complete my paper with the highest level of originality.

I'd also like to thank Symbiosis Law School, Noida, for presenting me with this assignment so that
I may simply and thoroughly comprehend the English communication.

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 Abstract

“To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee is a classic. It is set in the mid-1930s in the little Alabama
town of Maycomb, despite the fact that it was published in 1960. The storey is told by Scout Finch,
a six-year-old tomboy who lives with her father, a lawyer, and her ten-year-old brother, Jem. Jem
and his chum Dill try to persuade Boo Radley, their reclusive next-door neighbour, to leave his
house during Scout. Since he was a teenager, Boo hasn't been seen in Maycomb

Many people in Maycomb are racists, and Atticus is forced to defend Tom Robinson, a black man
falsely accused of molest a white woman, throughout the novel. Atticus accepts the case despite
the fact that everyone knows he has a slim chance of prevailing. Scout and her brother learn
important life lesson from their father, like tolerance, empathy, and understanding, as the reader
watches the trial unfold via Scout's naive eyes.

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 Introduction

This lesson introduces students to the setting of Harper Lee's classic work “To Kill a Mockingbird,”
which takes place during the Great Depression years of 1933–1935. Before students begin reading
the novel, use Part 1 of this exercise to help them grasp what life was like in the 1930s. Students
will analyse and respond to questions concerning census papers that contain unemployment data
and associated information in this section. After students have read the first few chapters of the
novel, they can go on to Part 2. Students will create a paper utilising the RAFT approach (role,
audience, format, and subject) to demonstrate what they have learned intermediary about the
1930s and what they have studied thus far.

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 To Kill a Mockingbird: Review

Almost everyone has read To Kill a Mockingbird at some point, whether as a school assignment or
simply to see what all the buzz was about.

Atticus Finch, a unique hero and role model noted for his morality rather than his athletic talent, is
at the centre of the storey. Morality, particularly in relation to religion and the concept of sin, is a
constant theme throughout the work. Mrs. Dubose, a morphine addict in recovery, believes that
she will die for no one or no cause. She believes that acting on her own desire to be a free human
being is the correct course of action

To Kill a Mockingbird focuses on gut feelings of right and wrong rather than merely latent laws.
“Shoot as many blue jays as you can if you can hit ‘em,’ the quote reads, but remember that
murdering a mockingbird is a sin.” While a simple message, the concept of "doing what's right"
takes on a different meaning depending on when and where the book is read. When the book was
published in 1960, America was in the midst of a moral upswing, with social inequality gradually
being eradicated. The majority of people were involved in expanding campaigns for women's and
black rights, with some turning to violence in the process. Do you think Atticus Finch would
legalise of this?

The storey takes place during the Great Depression in America in the 1930s. Due to economic
constraints, the American Dream was migrating further and further away at this time. We might
presume that Atticus Finch thought his own ideal of a just and moral society was on the wrong
track as well.

It's questionable whether children should be expected to study and go over the novel page by page,
as they should with all classics, without questioning the moral message's continuity or the book's
sheer originality. One of the things I like about writing is that the meaning of one's work must be
revealed at some time. As a matter of course, anybody who reads it will get insight that no one
else has. That's a lovely idea, however it appears that hunting for life lessons is getting lesser
common as time passes. Let us not forget that To Kill a Mockingbird is a true work of literature
with historical significance, and that Atticus Finch's message has to be heard now, in the midst of
all the foreign wars we hear about on the news every night.

It's heart breaking to think that authoritarian dictatorships or unjust legal systems are making
youngsters miserable all around the world, I suppose a modern-day Atticus Finch would concur.
I don't believe he'd be pleased to learn that injustice was leading people's bodies to be mutilated.
Because Atticus' reputation is founded on leery individuals accepting themselves for who they are,
he'd now be fighting for issues that Harper Lee had overlooked when writing the book, such as gay
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and lesbian rights. That is a moral position that anybody, no matter who they are or where they
were born, may have. Atticus Finch is neither xenophobic nor homophobic. He is neither racist nor
sexist in any way. Because he's human, he sees everything through his own eyes. What options do
you have? Atticus Finch could even be a loyalist of animal rights.

That is a moral viewpoint that anyone, regardless of who they are or where they were born, may
take. Atticus Finch is neither nationalist nor loophole. He isn't a racist or a sexist in the least.
He's human, and he sees everyone as he sees himself. What are the possibilities? Atticus Finch may
even be an animal rights activist.

Is it necessary to examine it, teach it in schools, and then criticise it? I'm not sure, but I'm not
against people reading for the sheer pleasure of it. I've loved a number of novels before putting
them down and forgetting about them. However, I believe that Mockingbird is a book that should
be read without complete immersion, whether in school or in adult life (or both). Because this
piece has so many levels of significance, it's easy to become lost in it. To Kill a Mockingbird is a
novel that has had a huge leverage on my life, and Every time I reread it, I find something new to
incorporate into my personal ethical code. While the task was challenging to complete, it was
ultimately well worth the time and effort.

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 Conclusion

Atticus displays his fairness, compassion, and bravery throughout the storey. He instils in the
reader the idea that people should not criticise others based on their skin colour. During the Great
Depression, he began to prepare the ground for equality, which would have been impossible. In the
1930s, racism was widespread, and no one would have sided with a black man against a white one.
Despite the fact that he knew he couldn't win the case, Atticus stuck up for Tom Robinson,
exhibiting his good character. If his actions did not have an impact on the entire town of Maycomb,
he certainly taught his children how to love and respect people of all races. He showed the reader
that it's what's on the inside that counts, not what's on the outside.

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GLOSSARY:
WORD MEANING
Lawyer one whose profession is to advise
clients as to legal rights and obligations
and to represent clients in legal
proceedings
Leave to have remaining after one's death
Molest to annoy, disturb, or persecute
especially with hostile intent or
injurious effect
Learned Intermediary a person and especially a physician who
is properly warned of the dangers of a
product by the manufacturer in
accordance with the learned
intermediary doctrine
Latent existing in hidden or dormant form but
usually capable of being brought to
light
Law a rule of conduct or action prescribed
or formally recognized as binding or
enforced by a controlling authority
Murdering the crime of unlawfully and
unjustifiably killing another under
circumstances defined by statute
Majority the status of one who has reached legal
age
Matter of Course  something that is to be expected as a
natural or logical consequence
Lesser  of less size, quality, degree, or
significance
Legal of or relating to law or the processes of
law
Miserable  being in a pitiable state of distress or
unhappiness
Mutilated to cut up or alter radically so as to
make imperfect

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 Leery  feeling or showing a lack of trust in
someone or something
Moral concerning or relating to what is right
and wrong in human behavior
Loyalist one who is or remains loyal especially
to a political cause, party, government,
or sovereign
Nationalist a member of a political party or group
advocating national independence or
strong national government.
Loophole a means of escape
an ambiguity or omission in the text
through which the intent of a statute,
contract, or obligation may be evaded
Leverage the use of credit to enhance one's
speculative capacity1

1
Merriam Webster, An encyclopaedia Britannica Company, https://www.merriam-webster.com/
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 REFERENCE
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Merriam-Webster, Inc.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOK:

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Merriam-Webster, Inc.

WEBSITE:

https://www.merriam-webster.com/

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