Finished on 2018/1/4
To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, is a story of love, kindness, and prejudice. It centers around a lawyer Atticus and his two children Jem and Scout, who see, experience and learn the bitterness of the world.
As father and children, as adult and kids, they are given two different counterparts. Jem and Scout has long been curious about their neighbor Mr. Boo Bradley who never goes out of his house, while Atticus is required to defend Tom Robinson, a black man who has been charged with raping a nineteen-year-old girl. There are dual plots. One is Boo's mistery and the other is Tom's verdiction. But they're not irrelated. Boo and Tom both play as the mockingbird, which does no harm but sings beautiful songs for people. Both are the incarnates of kindness, but somehow be discriminated.
I have to admit that I didn't expect such a story. Think of Boo, who due to physical illness, was edged out by crowds. Therefore he crawls in his snail. And Tom, a honest and compassionate black worker, was shot not for guilty. I felt pain when I read that. This isn't fair. This isn't right. This isn't what we want.This isn't what we embrace and encourage. From here I can see how black were disputed by white, how poor is disrespected by rich. It's so fortunate that we now all pursue human equality. And I deem that we all strive for whole equality.
It's true that "People generally see what they look for, and hear what they listen for." So Tom Robinson was verdicted guilty, and was shot. We are prone to choose what we are in favor and ignore what we distaste. So we hardly understand others because we don't climb inside his skin and walk around it.I think of how many times I had been self-centered and wayward. Had it hurt my friends and family much? I bet so.
The main character Atticus is no doubt most people's favorite. I see his goodness and gentility, and mostly, his tender love for his children. He is too great to exist. As a lawyer, he does what the justice would do. He has no bias against anyone. He lives with his conscience, and he doesn't abide this by majority rule. He knows he won't win the case at the very begining, but he agreed gallantly, for the reason that he bears his integrity and virture. He does undertake a lot, since he's helping a lowdown black man. People's words is forever the hardest thing to endure through when you overleap their thoughts. "Courage is not a man with a gun in his hand. It's knowing you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what.” Atticus is by no means some ordinary lawyer. He's a dexterity. And as courageous as he is, he fits in a heroic image perfectly. Meanwhile, as a father, he shows his love for his children a lot. He teaches them in his own way, a way that's supposed to be the trend of education today. He teaches them to be what children should look like—— free, happy, innocent and kind. But also, as they grows, he has to reveal some ugly facets of this unjust world. "There's a lot of ugly things in this world, son. I wish I could keep 'em all away from you. That's never possible." He says to them, feeling somewhat pensive but also a little expectant. Like what Miss Maudie explains to Jem, Atticus's being appointed to be defense for Tom is a leap, though it wouldn't be a changing one. So there's hope that children now, adults later, may change these unfair rules and make a better world. There may be people who stand up and say out It's not fair. Yes he's right. Furture is the black stand and strive for what they deserve. Actually I still am not clear who killed Bob Erwell, the man trying to kill Jem and Scout for getting off his revenge. I thought it was Jem. But some others said it was actually Boo. Atticus wants to help this mockingbird so he insists Jem did it and refuses to hush anything up. (He is truely an integral man.) Fortunately, the kind Finch family isn't alone. Sheriff Mr. Kate lives also with his conscience and kindness. And he and Atticus are both stubborn. He holds the idea that Jem is innocent, though Atticus doesn't accede. "Let the guilt fills the guilt. Let us finish all this. " When sheriff said this, I was very touched. Sometimes justice is not wholy justice. It's just for people with virtue. And It's the best ending that Atticus gave in finally.
The mockingbird's singing stops, and people get used to it.
