Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Book Reflection: To kill a mockingbird, Harper Lee


Hi there! Just as I mentioned few days *or maybe weeks* ago in my twitter, I wanted to do some book reviews or book reflections or whatever you want to call it. Somehow book reflections sounds more interesting because I don’t really know a proper book review format. HAHA.

So, the lucky book for my reflection today is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

The reason why I bought this book is because it was suggested by google when I ran a searched on the list of books you have to read before you die. And somehow when I looked for it at the bookstore, the synopsis was quite simple and interesting to me *and the price was quite reasonable hihi*

“Life’s too short for unnecessary stress, so chill. Everything you do, make sure there’s fun in it.”

That’s the quote I wrote in the first blank page of the book. Where I got it or how I came across that? No idea. If it pops out when I write, I’ll make sure to tell you. So, let’s start now.

A wise gentleman

In this book, there’s a father, a very wise father that has been told from the perspective of a kid that is very smart and brave. I gotta be honest, somehow I was amazed with the wisdom shown by Atticus Finch while handling matters with his kids; Jem and Scout. Very young and close brother and sister. I admired their creativity on how they wanted to force Boo Radley out by doing so many things.

But the gentleman I was supposed to describe is Atticus Finch. I can’t really remember which occasions leads me to call him a wise man but from reading the book, I can sense that. He is a lawyer that fight for the minority. The way he explained to his kids about laws and how to be nice to other people. Oh yes, the incident when Jem Finch was punished by Mrs Dubose for ruining the flowers in her front yard. Atticus did not defend his child yet he told Jem to go apologize and do whatever the punishment Mrs Dubose asked him to. Well, the punishment was Jem need to go read to Mrs Dubose for a whole month every evening. Prolly because the punishment is a win-win situation since Mrs Dubose can actually get distracted with their company and would not think too much about her addiction; morphine. So, indeed, Atticus made a good choice by letting the kids to go read to Mrs Dubose as it helps both parties.

Children’s thinking

Reading this book from the point of view of a kid surely is something so pure. I mean, a naïve and clean way of thinking without any hatred or prejudice to analyse certain things. Reading it from Scout’s perspective is quite fascinating as sometimes it gave me a back thought of how I would have perceive the same situation if I was a kid. I like those parts when Jem and Scout talked to each other about matters; deep stuffs if you want to call it.

There’s this one part when they both were talking about how they thought folks are just folks but it is not.

‘That’s what I thought, too,’ he said at last, ‘when I was your age. If there’s just one kind of folks, why can’t they get along with each other? If they’re all alike, why do they go out of their way to despise each other? Scout, I think I’m beginning to understand why Boo Radley’s stayed shut up in the house all this time………………..it’s because he wants to stay inside.[1]

This part made me think of how people in this world truly are. There are so many prejudice and jealousy in this world that innocent people got to be blamed.

Anyway, I really recommend this book for everyone. It is a simple book but it has value in it. It has some humour in it and everything is quite relatable in normal life. Siblings’ fights, laws, courtrooms, thug life and so many things. So really, go get a copy of this book and start reading. I am sure you will not regret this book.

As for me, I am still learning to make it a habit to read books so I am starting with these kind of books first before I carry on with ‘heavier’ book. It has good values that can actually make you think a little bit more about it and not solely considering it as a fiction novel.

Anyway, I hope you like how my blog look now! At least I do. Haha. Till then, bye!

p/s: remember, whatever happens,
seeks for the good reasons


[1] To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee, page 247

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