Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird

Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill A Mockingbird is an award-winning novel written by Harper

Lee. The novel was published in 1960 and the movie was filmed in

1961. A six-year-old girl by the name of Scout is the main character

and narrates the story line in the movie. The movie takes place in the

small town of Maycomb, Alabama. Maycomb is portrayed as a small,

sleepy, depression-era town during the 1930’s depression era. The plot

of the movie revolves around the arrest and trial of an unjustly

accused black man named Tom Robinson. Robinson, accused of raping a

white girl, is defended by Scout's attorney father, Atticus Finch.

Finch is known in the community as an extremely kind person and

respected lawyer. To Kill A Mockingbird illustrates to the audience

the true attitude of small-town life in the 1930s South. The story

reflects the unjust consequences of ignorance, prejudice, and hate as

well as the values of courage, honor, fairness and decency.

One of the main topics of To Kill A Mockingbird is “racism”. Maycomb,

Alabama is mixed community composed of both black and white residents.

The blacks and the whites have extreme racial views towards one

another. During the movie Tom is accused of a crime he did not

commit. He is judged and found guilty basically due only to the color

of his skin. Much of the white community in Maycomb agreed with the

court decision because of racial discrimination. Even though the movie

was fictional, racism was very real during this period of time.

The most important prominent focus in the movie involves the viewer’s

concept of discrimination in all forms. Clearly, with the Tom Robinson

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...ople continue to display open hostility and

discrimination to persons of different races. Sadly, there is still

very much ignorance and misunderstanding that continues in today’s

society. We must remember that racism is not a black and white issue

– it never has been. People of different nationalities, religion,

sexes, and cultures are also affected and involved. We can only hope

that if children are taught to resolve differences, openly

communicate, and learn to peacefully resolve differences will the

problem cease to exist. Until changes are made, children will reflect

the attitudes and beliefs of their parents throughout their life and

erroneously judge people because of individual differences. Until

people come together to get past racism and prejudice towards one

another, these problems will always continue.