To Kill a Mockingbird

Fiction is a popular genre of writing in which the characters and events are a creation of the author. Through their characters, the authors convey the views they hold on certain matters. Books for young children deal with situations that the young citizens of our world can relate to. Such books generally depict the triumph of good over evil. The book To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a story that exposes the cruelty of prejudice toward the African American population. The book The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold is a depressing book about a little girl name Susie who got raped and murdered. Both of these books definitely teach the young readers a valuable lesson in life.

To Kill a Mockingbird is a story that expresses the cruelty of prejudice toward the African American population back in the 1930's. The story is told through the eyes of a young girl named Jean Louise Finch (Scout.) Scout and her older brother, Jem are both raised by their widowed father, a lawyer named Atticus, in a small town of Maycomb County, Alabama. One summer, Scout and her brother meet a young boy named Dill who comes from Mississippi to spend the summer with her aunt. Scout, Jem, and Dill become good friends and become fascinated with a man named "Boo" Radley, who has not been seen outside of his house for many years due to his scandalous past since he was in prison. Life for the Finch family changes drastically, and not for the better when Atticus decides to represent an African American man named Tom Robinson. Tom Robinson was accused of raping and beating a white woman named Mayella Ewell, a town local. The town lunges with bared teeth at this, as their beliefs don't include an African-American man ever being declared innocent in a courtroom. As far as they're concerned, Tom was voted guilty the moment he was accused. Being the children of Atticus, Scout and Jem are being constantly harassed by the residents. Scout is deeply bothered by this, but Atticus assures her to keep her pride and not let anyone tell her otherwise. During the trial, Atticus defends Tom brilliantly, making it very clear to the judge and jury that Tom could not have committed the offense, and that the blame lay squarely on the victim's father's shoulders. Even given this evidence, the jury still declares Tom guilty just because he was African American. The lesson learned in this book is how sometimes, we as people can be prejudice and intolerant without reason. This book shows an interesting glimpse into the cruelty that someone people had to go through in the 1930's. Reading this book shows the evil affect of racism and it teaches us how we should all walk a mile in a person's shoes before we judge them.

There always seems to be something extremely upsetting when we hear about the murder of a child. When we hear about tragedies of this nature through new or television shows, one can only imagine the pain and grief the family is going

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