TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

To Kill A Mocking Bird is a novel by the american writer Harper Lee, it was published in 1960. It deals with big issues such as rape and racial inequality at a time when racism was very present in the USA. It tells the story of a family who live in an invented "tired old town" in Alabama during the great depression. The story focuses on the two young children, Scout and Jem who befriend their neighbour Dill. Their father, Atticus is a widowed lawyer who takes on a very difficult and polemic case. He decides to defend Tom a young black man who is accused of raping a young white women. The children face mockery and criticism because of their fathers decision to defend a black man but they respect and agree with him entirely. Despite the fact that Atticus defends Tom brilliantly and makes it very clear that he is innocent, he is found guilty and shot after he tries to escape from prison. The children who secretly watched the trial are shocked and their faith in their country's justice is lost.

I think we can relate this book to the notion of myths and heroes thanks to Atticus's character. He is a honest and brave man who takes a big risk and put's his family's reputation at risk to defend Tom because he knows it's right. In many extracts of the book Atticus explains to his children why he made this decision and they both admire him hugely for his sense of justice. He is a very wise and calm man who raises his children very well despite the fact that he has lost his wife. He has become an image of true justice and many lawyers think of him as a true hero.  The scholar Alice Petry explains that "Atticus has become something of a folk hero in legal circles and is treated almost as if he were an actual person." He is seen as a true hero and has been honoured publicly many times in Alabama as has Harper Lee. The book was so successful that in 1962 the director Alan J. Pakula decided to make a cinematographic adaptation of the story. The film was very well received and the book is often studied in school in anglophone countries.