“To
Kill a Mockingbird” is the book I just finished and enjoyed very much. I would
like this book to stay as a part of the high school curriculum because there
are so many great lessons in it. Many, however, around the United States have
different opinions and believe it is outdated. The book teaches about
overcoming prejudice, stereotyping and having respect for others, especially
your parents. These are all valuable lessons for today’s youth.
The main theme of this book is based on a
belief from Atticus. He said, “You never really understand a person until you
consider things from his point of view… until you climb inside of his skin and
walk around in it.” This theme helped Scout, the main character of the novel,
to not have prejudices of other people and to understand them; not judge them. A great example of this is their neighbor
Arthur Radley because the whole town had a prejudice of him without even
knowing the facts. The town thought he was a scary man that was locked in his
house. They nicknamed him Boo even though no one really knew him, but based
their opinions on what others had made up. Even Scout and Jem, were afraid and
curious about “Boo Radley.” In the end, “Boo” saved their lives and Scout realizes
the truth in Atticus’ wisdom as she meets Arthur Radley and sees things from
his point of view. In the last scene of the book, Scout is viewing the
neighborhood from Arthur’s house. This shows how she finally realized Atticus’s
truth.
Boo Radley from the motion picture.
It also says in the book, “People generally
see what they are looking for, and hear what they listen for.” This teaches us
to have an open mind and not see or hear what we expect from certain people. This
would eliminate stereotyping. High school students could learn from this
novel’s lessons because in today’s society we stereotype people based on their
race, moral standards, dress and social class. This lesson is taught perfectly by Dolphus
Raymond who chooses to be with black people. People stereotype him as a drunk
and don’t associate with him because he is around black people. Scout learns
that Dolphus really doesn't drink and that he knows the world is very
judgmental and knows that children are the only ones that see people as they
really are. He chooses to do things that uphold the town’s perspective rather
than confuse them with the truth.
This
book can also teach today’s high school students to have respect for their
parents like Scout and Jem had for Atticus. This respect was shown in many
different examples throughout the book. One being, as Atticus was doing Tom
Robinson’s case, the family got persecuted for him standing up for a black man.
Jem and Scout respected him by obeying what he said, excepting his answers, and
calling him Atticus. A specific example
of this is when Scout and Jem were being bullied at school. Scout wanted to
beat up the kids who spoke against their dad, however she didn't because she
promised Atticus she wouldn't fight. She did beat up her cousin for calling her
father a name, but took the blame for the fight rather than confessing what she
had done. She wanted to maintain respect and honor him.
Scout and Atticus from the motion picture.
I
believe these lessons are important to today’s high school students because the
world really needs to work on these issues. These issues aren’t outdated like
many people think this book is. These issues are still relevant.
