To Kill a Mockingbird – 3rd Reflection

 

The most apparent and easy to catch on theme in To Kill a Mockingbird is the injustice and unfairness some of the people were subjected to in the small and isolated town of Maycomb. The prejudice and hatred swirled in the place toward the black community, the poor ‘white trash’ community and the women since the first Finch founded and established the town. 

Harper Lee’s approach to expose the condition that the people were living in in the American south during the 60s is the most interesting writing choice to observe. Through the eyes of the 9-year-old that we follow, our hearts dance with her thoughts, her fears and her questions about the community. She herself had made the mistakes of putting people in a certain type of box, such as Cunninghams were supposed to be poor and uncaring for their own terrible situation, like Arthur Radley was a phantom that haunted the people of Maycomb for no apparent reason, and how Aunt Alexandra was this overly conservative and demanding woman that wanted to shape people to fit into her own ideology. 

But through Scout Finch’s gradual understanding of humanity, she realized everyone in this town; although sometimes would commit monstrous acts, was still human in their hearts. They have their own reasons, justified or not, to make those decisions. In the monumental case against Tom Robinson, we understood why Mayella Ewell lied in her testimony about Robinson assaulting her. We can never justify her lies, but we can all sympathize with her.

I recently watched a heart-wrenching crime documentary on the repent of people who sexually assaulted children, ‘What Drives A Family To Prey On Their Own - Incest: A Family Tragedy.’ The director, Edward Blackoff, interviewed a number of people who were assaulted by family members or had assaulted minors. And it was quick in the interview that the viewers would realize most of the offenders were victims once; they were preyed on by their own family members and lived in fear and pain one time. Of course, it doesn’t and can never excuse their hideous doings, but it opened up a brand-new perspective that this vicious cycle developed from a family tragedy and human psychology could never be stopped if we don’t act on preventing it.