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Project 2


Samuel McDuffie
English 205
Professor Joellen Hiltbrand
To Kill a Mockingbird
            The story ‘To Kill a Mockingbird” which is written by Harper Lee was published in 1960. This book has been known because it won a Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and has been translated into almost 40 different languages across the globe (Foca, and Fine). Harper Lee or also known as Nelle Harper Lee was born in 1926 at Monroeville, Alabama. Lee attended the University of Alabama and took law as her course, however, Lee moved to New York without finishing her degree. She first works as an airline reservationist but later in life, her friends give Lee financial support in order to write full-time, this is the time when Harper Lee transformed the short stories she wrote into To Kill a Mockingbird (Fine).
            The setting of the story occurred during the Great Depression in which there is a great economic downturn from 1929 to 1939 (Romer, and Pells). This story has a sense of the coming-of-age story of a girl which is the protagonist and the idea of consequences of prejudice and racism in the society before (Foca, and Fine). To Kill a Mockingbird can be considered as an artifact of history because mainly it discusses the idea of racism which is an issue before and could still be seen in some part of the United States. The idea of racism can be seen in the part when Atticus one of the characters in the story tries to defend a Negro which is Tom Robinson, he was accused that she rapes a white woman (Lee). In this context, we could see the prejudice of having dark skin, we all know that racism has been part of America’s history knowing that white men have used black people as slaved before in order to build this great country. In addition to this, this can still be seen in our modern society in which people who have dark skin tend to become the most target of police brutality and arrest.
            To Kill a Mockingbird teaches us numerous lessons about our history, one of which include the idea of an unfair justice system towards black people. In the story, it shows the idea of how black was treated both in the eyes of justice and in the eyes of society. In the story there is a line which says:
“I’d rather you shoot at tin cans in the backyard, but I know you’ll go after birds. Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit’em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a Mockingbird.”(Lee)
The mockingbird could be used a sign of racism and considered to portray two characters in the story, Tom Robinson and a guy named Boo Radley. A Mockingbird does not have its own song like other birds, they only mimic the other bird’s song this characteristic can also be seen on both of the characters they are only known by things people have said about them. This could be considered as racism, judging someone without knowing their own stories, their own “song”. Before, when society still has an unfair justice system, people in the court tend to listen on hearsay and base their decisions on the appearance of a person. That is why, before, the most convicted people or race tends to have a dark skin color.
To Kill a Mockingbird is a story of history, however, it is different on history book in a way that it gave us a direct insight on what is happening during that time. In history books, it only gives us the idea of what happened during that time, in the story, it provides us the setting, the emotions, and the idea of what is happening on that specific era. The history books teach us about the great depression and the idea of racism, however, in the story it gives us a glimpse of what occurs during a trial of a black person during that time. We see the idea of the unfair justice system and the idea of how white people treat other people.
After reading the story of Harper Lee I could say that it leaves the reader three important lessons in life, the first one is not to kill a mocking bird in a greater term, do not hurt someone who is not doing something wrong. The mockingbird does not hurt any plant that is why in the previous sections of this essay states that “..it’s a sin to kill a Mockingbird”, because a mockingbird does not harm any other living things. Another lesson is the idea of fighting for the right even though you may still lose. This can be seen on the part where Atticus stands for Tom Robinson even though they know that they will not win due to racial discrimination during that time. This shows that whatever happens, whatever obstacles we might face we should still fight for what is right and should not forget the value we have in life. Lastly, the lesson of putting your feet on the other person’s shoe. This can be seen on the part in which Boo Radley saved the children, the children want to make Boo Radley as a hero, however, an officer tends to stop it because he wants Boo Radley to have a simple and private life. If Boo Radley was labeled as a hero his privacy will be invaded, this is why we should always look at another person’s life before doing actions that could affect their privacy. This is the reason why the officers want to make it a secret and create a different scene on what really happened in order to protect the private life of Boo Radley.
The story of Harper should be read by people because it is not only a simple story but a story that teaches us numerous lessons in life. It tackles sensitive topics that most stories hesitate to discuss. Understanding the idea of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird” will be an eye-opener for everyone knowing that it discusses the issues of racism in the United States and how it affects people of color back in the days.

Link for the previous Project 1 Blog:  https://mcduffieblog.blogspot.com/2019/03/project-1.html
References
Fine, Laura. "Harper Lee | Biography, Books, & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica, 2019, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Harper-Lee.
Foca, Anna, and Laura Fine. "To Kill A Mockingbird | Summary, Characters, & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica, 2018, https://www.britannica.com/topic/To-Kill-a-Mockingbird. Accessed 2 May 2019.
Lee, Harper. To Kill A Mockingbird. Mcintosh And Otis, Inc., 1960.
Romer, Christina D., and Richard H. Pells. "Great Depression | Definition, History, Causes, Effects, & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica, 2019, https://www.britannica.com/event/Great-Depression.


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