To Kill a Mockingbird

This is my first post as Miss LLB Hons. I finally have the fancy letters after my name! It therefore seems appropriate to write about the book which inspired me to become a lawyer in the first place. I have always been somewhat of a literary snob. As soon as I was competent enough to read at the age of 3 I did little else, it was either ballet dancing or reading. I was the easiest child to look after because you could stick me in the corner of a room with a book and I'd be content for hours. And by the time I had started primary school I was refusing to read "children's books", instead I read Lewis Carol. So the fact my favourite ever book is essentially a children's novel is a little contradictory, but it will always and forever be my number one book. So much that when I was told my hardback copy have been burnt by a scorned ex boyfriend I cried for the loss of my book rather than the end of the relationship. It is a book I believe EVERYONE should read at least twice during your life, once as a child and once as an adult. I have re read the novel many times. We had to study it during our GCSE's and I was shocked to be the only member of my class that had already read it! During my A-levels I wrote a comparative essay on the book and Arthur Miller's "the crucible" discussing the portrayal of injustice. Needless to say I know the novel inside out and it has been read a thousand times. Although I first read Harper Lee's novel when I was 11, reading it again when I was older had such a stark profound effect on me. I appreciated the quality so much more and the messages within.

The telegraph revealed that "To Kill a Mockingbird" was voted the most inspirational book of all time, beating the bible.  So what makes it such a fantastic literary creation? Perhaps it's the quality of writing and the vivid description which brings to life the small deep southern, Depression-ravaged town of Maycomb. The plot is relatively straight forwards, A lawyer (Atticus Finch) is picked to defend a black man charged with the rape of a white girl. But the subplots make it deliciously complex and grasping. Atticus is the moral backbone of the story, although some literary critics have claimed he's unrealistically perfect, I see him as an inspiration, both as a lawyer and a parent. He is rational, fair, and wise. He always see's the good in everyone and tries to understand and forgive their flaws. As a lawyer, he's committed to justice and would rather stand for what is right than bend to convention. It is a refreshing change to see a lawyer depicted as a hero, rather than as devious & callous. It is Atticus that inspired me to go into law, So I have Harper Lee to thank, or begrudge! 

Although set it the Deep American South, it easily translates to Britain and it's issues with prejudice, racism and class. It reminds me of something my old history teacher said whilst studying British Colonialism; even those on the bottom of the lowest classes in Britain thought they were better than the rest of the empire simply for being white and British. It's the exact same principle within the book. The "white trash" Ewells believe themselves to be better than Tom Robinson simply because of his skin colour. Furthermore, the jury could never be seen to convict a black man over a white man. The prejudice is painful and gripping, as a  reader there is no doubt whatsoever to Tom's innocence yet we have been so very well introduced to Maycomb's way of life & it's customs that we have little hope for justice. 

I am worried that if I keep talking I shall just spoil the enjoyment for everyone that hasn't read it. The film starring Gregory Peck is superb but does leave out some of the side stories which I believe to be crucial for the enjoyment of the novel. So if you're going to pick up a book this summer, forget the badly written porn that seems to be dominating the market, read to Kill a Mockingbird, you won't regret it, I promise.