Introduction:
Harper Lee’s classic novel is built on two main themes, racial injustice and the disruption of innocence which are skillfully interwoven together to create a complex web of intricacies that continually develop throughout the book. Coming from Alabama, Lee is a fine author who has the pulse of the state’s social injustice in her hands and the film brings out this incredible hatred especially well. The courtroom scene is particularly harrowing where we observe the segregation of the races as well as the rampant histrionics of the so called accused white woman compared to the stoic calmness of Jim the negro.
The film brings out the injustice which reeks in the Southern state of Alabama and the principled stance of the lawyer Atticus Finch when confronted with the moral dilemma of defending a black man for rape. The acting of the children is particularly good and forthcoming. They are brilliant in every way. The film also brings out the sleepiness and stillness which permeates the town of Maycomb. The concluding scene when the large boy is found by Scout and her friends is also a very poignant moment.
The theme of racial discrimination is rampant in the old Southern town of Maycomb in Alabama which positively reeks with the heat of injustice. However Lee is interesting in the sense that she manages to create a link between the innocence of children who do not think about racism in their heart of hearts but can observe it first hand through the noble doings of their father, the lawyer Atticus Finch.
Works Cited:
Lee H; To Kill a Mockingbird; Random House reprint 1999
