Spurthi Alluri I picked up this book cause it was recommended by one of my favourite book bloggers for Black History Month and I’m definitely going to go back to this book many times in the future. It’s both amazing and utterly devastating that you can still relate to this book that was first published in the 1960s.
First of all, I fell in love with the characters (mainly children), their innocent thinking, their endless curiosity, their desire to explore – attributes that most adults tend to lose over time, what a shame.
This book mainly revolves around the theme of racial discrimination. How easily people succumb to stereotypes, whether it’s hardcore racial hate (for God knows what absurd reason), or if it’s just trying to maintain an easy life – not standing up for what you know deep down is not humanly. People tend to not stand up against discriminators just to avoid conflict, to avoid creating a mess, to avoid that minuscule amount of effort. This book is a frank take on how prejudice comes in the way of kindness, in the way of common sense.
The book’s fatherly figure, Atticus, is the only white adult who is standing up for the black community of his village, bearing all slurs, threats, ill-treatment from his fellow villagers. He continues to stay true to his values, teaching his kids that kindness trumps all. Kindness and compassion is the way to live. He’s also amazed by how easy it is to inculcate a sense of equality in a couple of kids than an entire village of prejudiced adults.
I know this summary makes you feel that the book is set in a very serious tone, but surprisingly it’s very subtle. It’s all from a child’s perspective, it even has a bunch of comedy here and there. It’s actually a pretty entertaining read, very hard to put down.
So here we are in the 2020s, 60 years after the book’s publishing, and racial discrimination is still a thing of the present. Change starts with you. Change starts with us. Kindness is the key. And remember, it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.
Happy reading. 🙂
