How to Kill a Mockingbird Is Relevant Today

Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird continues to be a valued text today because it teaches readers lessons that are universal and important, irrespective of the era in which a person lives. The three main lessons that it teaches readers are that justice is a fundamental human right that everyone is entitled to, that prejudices are harmful because it doesn’t give those prejudiced against a fair chance at a good life, and that maturity comes through learning moral lessons, like how to be empathetical and what true courage is. People of all eras can appreciate and relate to these lessons, which makes To Kill a Mockingbird a very valued and successful novel.

To Kill a Mockingbird teaches readers that justice is an unchangeable, fundamental human right that any human is entitled to, regardless of nation, location, language, religion, ethnic origin or any other status. The novel portrays justice as the maintaining of what is morally right, including fair treatment and due reward. The book also teaches us that this right is universal, applicable everywhere and at every time, which makes the book valued, as this lesson can be taught anywhere and in any society.

Harper Lee portrays this lesson through the trial of Tom Robinson, an African American. Robinson is not given an opportunity at justice in the courtroom, because the verdict given by the jury that he is guilty seems heavily based on the fact that he is a Negro, rather than based on the evidence and statements provided, which clearly pointed out that Robinson committed no crime. Atticus Finch, the morally perfect defendant of Robinson, discusses this with his son, Jem, when they arrive home after the jury hands down the verdict, as Jem is adamant that Robinson was not guilty. He says, "The one place where a man ought to get a square deal is in a courtroom, be he any colour of the rainbow, but people have a way of carrying their resentments right into a jury box.” Harper Lee uses irony in this quote to show how unjust the courts really are, even though the legal system’s responsibility is to give people their basic right of justice. Even Atticus, a lawyer, knows that the courts are unjust, as he says ‘people have a way of carrying their resentments right into a jury box’, making the courts biased and not able to deliver justice fairly. The irony in this quote emphasises the lesson that the novel is trying to convey, that justice is a basic human right, and everybody is entitled to it, no matter who they are, and this lesson makes the book valued in all societies, as this lesson is universally applicable.

To Kill a Mockingbird also teaches readers that prejudices are morally wrong and harmful towards those that are victims of it, because prejudices often influence those prejudiced against to self-fulfil the negative preconceptions that others give them. This results in people identifying themselves as bad people who will only do bad things, blocking them from having the opportunity at a good life. The targets of prejudice will suffer, as well as the people around them, of no fault of their own, which no person should have to go through.

Harper Lee explores these issues of prejudice by writing the novel in the first-person perspective of Scout, a young child. Children often view things differently to adults, in a more innocent and unbiased way, which allows Lee to contrast Scout’s views with those of the adult’s, and highlight how biased and negative the adult’s prejudiced views are. This contrast occurs in Scout’s class, where Scout’s teacher, Miss Gates, tells the class about how wrong Hitler is to persecute the Jewish people, as the book is set around the time of WW2. Scout is conflicted by Miss Gates’ views, and confides in Jem when she returns home that day, telling him, “coming out of the courthouse that night Miss Gates was talking with Miss Stephanie Crawford. I heard her say it’s time somebody taught ’em a lesson, they were getting way above themselves, and the next thing they think they can do is marry us. Jem, how can you hate Hitler so bad an then turn around and be ugly about folks right at home”. Miss Gates’ views are ironic and biased, as she hates Hitler for persecuting people based on religion but is fine with persecuting people based on race and prejudice. Her views are contrasted with Scout’s unbiased views, which are conveyed very well through the first-person narration, and this perspective allows the contrast to highlight to readers how morally wrong it is to have prejudice against people, and that you must think about your opinions of others when developing them, otherwise it will