Harper Lee pens an excellent portrayal of
racial tensions found in a small Southern town during the early twentieth century in America. On the first page of the book the reader is introduced to three of the main characters,
children; Jem and Scout who are siblings, and Dill a friend who visits them each summer, staying with his aunt who resides across the street from Jem and Scout. Jem is the oldest of the three and throughout the book he grows into a young man showing the same tendencies of fairness that complement their father, Atticus. Scout is first introduced as a precocious, but highly intelligent young lady who is filled with curiosity about unfolding events happening in the town. Dill is a seven-year old young man, who is older than Scout but younger than Jem, and is the perfect buffer between older brother and younger sister. Dill is game for anything the other two cook up, as well as many ideas he concocts himself. One of their ongoing ventures is to spy on a young man living down the street who has been confined to his home for over fifteen years. Rumors are rampant concerning the man, and if the rumors weren’t so pathetically sad, they might even be humorous. Needless to say, they find him quite an intriguing prospect. The children also intently watch as Atticus is given the responsibility of defending an innocent man
accused of
rape. Tom Robinson, a negro, is accused of raping a young white woman, who, if found guilty, would receive the death penalty. The young girl was forced by her father to level the accusation after he discovered her making advances on Tom, which Tom vigorously resists. As tensions mount, Atticus is buffeted by the town’s colliding viewpoints, at one point he is even accosted by a mob. The mob consisted of men intent on hanging Tom before he received the benefits of a fair trial. The situation is defused with the arrival of Jem, Scout and Dill whose presence reminds the men of their daytime societal duties that would be negated by their intended nighttime
actions. The actions of many of the townspeople affect how Jem, Scout and Dill view their world, while it also portrays the growing up process that most individuals contend with at some point in their life. The book’s conclusion is a crescendo of events that show how the ‘
mockingbirds’ of society can sometimes offer much more than just music from behind the bars of a gilded cage. Through the actions of the story’s mockingbirds, the children discover that all is not quite as tranquil as what society would have individuals believe.
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