It's A Sin To Kill A Mockingbird

If you're one of those people who can't enjoy a book after hearing an important piece of the plot, then don't read this.

My reading material is pretty random. I have a hard time reading an entire series and I skip from genre to genre--Science Fiction, Biographies, fiction and nonfiction Adventure, Christian, Classical Literature.

The most recent book I finished was To Kill A Mockingbird. I first read this book when I was a sophomore in high school and I immediately loved it. Recently I've been re-reading books I enjoyed reading in language classes in high school, so this was the next one in line.

Unlike some books, I think the title really captures the whole message of the book. I've never actually seen a mockingbird, but they are apparently very nice birds. They don't dig holes in bad places. All they do is sing nice songs and they're never annoying. They never did anybody any harm and all they do is make nice music, so it's a sin to kill them.

One of the main parts of the book is the story of a black man who was falsely accused of raping a white woman. The accuser knew fully well what had really happened, but he knew he could shift the blame to the black man because of his low status in society. The black man never did anything wrong, in fact, he was incredibly generous to the accusers and was repaid with a rape accusation. After overwhelming evidence for his innocence, he was proclaimed guilty by a jury of white men.

In one of the final scenes of the book, Scout, the main character was in her 3rd grade class. The teacher was teaching them about Hitler's persecution of the Jews.

"An inquiring soul in the middle of the room said , ' Why don't they like the Jews, you reckon, Miss Gates ?'

'I don't know, Henry. They contribute to every society they live in, and most of all, they are a deeply religious people . Hitler's trying to do away with religion, so maybe he doesnt like them for that reason.'

Cecil spoke up. 'Well I dont know for certain,' he said, ' they're supposed to change money or something', but that ain't no cause to persecute 'em.They're white, ain't they?' "

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It's amazing how we can put on blinders and ignore what's going on right next to us.