Exploring To Kill a Mocking Bird :: To Kill a Mockingbird Essays

Exploring the American Novel To Kill a Mocking Bird Good Morning I have been given the task of speaking to you about American literature and the impact that specific books may have on Australian readers. In particular my main focus today will concentrate on the issue of racial prejudice. One of my favourite books comes to mind when discussing this topic because it effectively argues for multi-ethnicity from different vantage points. â€Å"To Kill a Mocking Bird† is a Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Harper Lee, based on the defence of an obviously innocent African-American man, charged with raping a young white girl. One of the books important themes involves the threat that hatred, prejudice and ignorance poses to the innocent. Though society has changed greatly since the release of this book, the strength of the issues relayed in classics such as this one will never lose their appeal. While reading the American novel â€Å"To Kill a Mocking Bird†, it was obvious to me that this book was an example of one instance when right does not triumph. As uncertain as the political climate may be in parts of the world today, it was extremely more volatile in the 30’s, which was when To Kill a Mocking Bird was set. The book takes place in a small Alabama town, where racial equality was non-existent. The novel begins with Scout Finch, who is now an adult remembering the summer when her brother, Jem broke his arm and recalling the incidents that led to this event. She introduces her hometown Maycomb Alabama, her father Atticus Finch, attorney, Calpurnia their â€Å"Negro† cook and housekeeper, Dill and various neighbours. Despite the fact that Calpurnia was a Negro she was very influential in the character building of the two children. She was like a mother figure to them and taught them tolerance that took them beyond the prejudices of Maycomb society. She treated the children as her equal, rather than a black or white person. Calpurnia wanted the children to experience a different attitude towards race and prejudice. Therefore she took them to her church where and they sang and prayed. They felt welcomed by the black community and knew that this acceptance was probably due to the fact the their father, Atticus had supported Tom and believed in his innocence. While there are plenty of civil rights injustices to be found in the news headlines today, our attitude towards race relations has changed dramatically. The book however, reveals that to live in the 1930’s and be black meant living a life as an inferior being. The attitude of the townsfolk in this book was to let things stay as they had