To Kill A Mockingbird, written by Harper Collin is one of the best books to have probably been written. It is the type of book that anyone would want to go back to from time to time. If you haven’t read it, then it should be on your to-read list. It is the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for American Literature. Here are a few features that make it a timeless classic!
Amazing characters
The characters in this book are so nuanced, so well-developed, and so endearing. Right from Atticus Finch, a favorite of anyone who has read the book, or seen the movie( where he is played by the legendary Gregory Peck), to the children, Jeremy and Scout, Calpurnia, and Dill Harris who was a best friend to the children, to the largely hidden but perpetually present Boo Radley. This book has a host of diverse characters, all of whom are unique, from different backgrounds, and with different perspectives of the world. These characters make the book so lively.
Addresses the Racial discourse beautifully
One of the reasons the book is a sensation is because the main plot is a court case. A colored person is accused of harassing a white woman. Atticus is the lawyer of the accused. What comes to the surface are the horrors of racial discrimination and the prevalent biases in society. It is not only through this case, but throughout the book, that there are instances depicting the racial currents commonplace in American society. There is a discussion on mixed races and even though the character of Calpurnia, who was a slave but the one who handled Atticus and his children, was almost like their family. These instances make the book so rich and exciting, and the story is hence extremely relevant.
About misfits, and judging someone
One of the best things about the book is the way that misfits have been represented. The attempt to uncover Boo Radley, who was confined to the house, by the children, the unusual forms of interaction with them and reaching out to them, and eventually the breakage of the stereotype that he is a scary ghostly grumpy person, through a surprising twist. It gives the message that we shouldn’t judge people, that there are sometimes people who have been invisibilized in society, and stereotyped, but these stereotypes are wrong. This story is about misfits.
For all ages
This book is for all ages, from 12 years onwards. It has every kind of perspective, and everyone will find something amazing in it!
