Analyzing the Influence of the Novel To Kill a Mockingbird What makes a book a classic? Perhaps it needs to teach a noteworthy lesson. Possibly, to be called "classic," a story must be more than fifty years old. Maybe classic books must be bestsellers and win awards, or always make it to the top of school reading lists. Or the term could require that the reader have personal ties with the story and its characters and essence. The novel To Kill a Mockingbird fulfills all of the above requirements. The story transports us to southern Alabama in the early 1930's, decades before America's civil rights movement made an appearance. It speaks of the struggle of a young girl; the struggle with her faith in humanity and the harsh realities of the world
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The main characters, while at times condescending towards certain colored people in their communities, are shown, in essence, to be allies of the civil rights movement. What stands out even more to me, oddly enough, is not how much they ally themselves with their colored acquaintances, but how much they verbally and emotionally oppose the townsfolk that support the conviction of the clearly innocent Tom Robinson, one of their black neighbors. Especially for people still getting used to the idea of African Americans fighting for their rights, the way the story slowly progresses and matures and darkens into a perspective that is real and almost tangible would have helped them learn the same lessons that Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, the most crucial protagonist, experiences. Her tomboyish nature, her innocent faith in the inherent goodness of the town of Maycomb, and her naivety about the lives and values of her black neighbors all ebb away for the most part, replaced with a developed understanding of the hatred and evil that is constantly being battled from all sides. This, I believe, was the intent of the author, Harper Lee. She writes, not the story that America was living, but the story that America was not living - what could, should, or would be, if her readers would open their minds and hearts. And they did. To Kill a Mockingbird changed many individuals, and society as a whole. Hopefully, we can continue this change today, because we are still fighting the same
The main characters, while at times condescending towards certain colored people in their communities, are shown, in essence, to be allies of the civil rights movement. What stands out even more to me, oddly enough, is not how much they ally themselves with their colored acquaintances, but how much they verbally and emotionally oppose the townsfolk that support the conviction of the clearly innocent Tom Robinson, one of their black neighbors. Especially for people still getting used to the idea of African Americans fighting for their rights, the way the story slowly progresses and matures and darkens into a perspective that is real and almost tangible would have helped them learn the same lessons that Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, the most crucial protagonist, experiences. Her tomboyish nature, her innocent faith in the inherent goodness of the town of Maycomb, and her naivety about the lives and values of her black neighbors all ebb away for the most part, replaced with a developed understanding of the hatred and evil that is constantly being battled from all sides. This, I believe, was the intent of the author, Harper Lee. She writes, not the story that America was living, but the story that America was not living - what could, should, or would be, if her readers would open their minds and hearts. And they did. To Kill a Mockingbird changed many individuals, and society as a whole. Hopefully, we can continue this change today, because we are still fighting the same