With the recent death of Harper Lee, her classic novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, comes to mind. The book was an iconic coming-of-age story that, it’s safe to say, most people read in high school, either for English class or for leisure. That being said, the novel had heavy themes that stuck with us, whether we’re aware of it or not. Here are a few ideas from the novel that might have influenced who you are today:
1. You treat children differently
Lee’s novel taught you that children aren’t blind to what happens in the world, but they do need help understanding the reasons behind it. After reading about how Scout and Jem were constantly aware of the dangers around them, you explained issues to children instead of changing the subject.
2. You see Atticus as the perfect father figure
Atticus was the ideal father in a sea of abusive and downright mean men in the novel. Not only was he raising his kids alone, but he was doing so while balancing his career as a lawyer and showing his children how to be the best people they could. He was seen as an admirable man to all of the people that knew him; how much better of a role model can someone be?
3. You question gender, racial and class “norms”
Atticus’ entire case was based on questioning his 1930s Southern town’s idea of “normal” when it came to equality of races, genders and social classes. This definitely set an example to readers and paved the way for us to do the same.
4. You know that there’s more to a person than what meets the eye
One of the ongoing ideas in the novel was that you can’t judge a person if you don’t know their story. When the children would play games and act out what they thought the mysterious Boo Radley was like, Atticus would remind them that they can’t assume what a person is like—because no one truly knows how someone will act except that person. These are definite words of widsom and mean a whole lot more than just walking a mile in someone else’s shoes.
5. You accept that life can’t always be fair
Unfortunately, (spoiler alert) Atticus does not win his case defending Tom Robinson, the African American man falsely accused of rape. Tom ends up being killed while trying to escape jail soon after his sentencing. This is probably one of the heaviest lessons for Scout and Jem, and us, to come to terms with in the novel. You learned that the good guys don’t always win, and you should never lose your will to fight that harsh reality.
6. You understand the value of innocence
Because the novel is a coming-of-age story, that means that innocence is lost. Scout and Jem learn from experience that the world is a cruel place and make the brutal transition from childhood to reality. Watching that occur makes you realize that innocence is of great value.
7. You don’t give up on what you believe in
Atticus had the majority of his town against him, and yet, he found the strength to keep pushing to try and get the results he wanted. This act of courage taught you to never give up on something that you think is right, no matter what the rest of the world is saying.
Harper Lee gave us countless words of advice and life lessons in her novel—ones that are relevent as ever nearly 60 years later. A true sign of a successful writer is being able to continue to affect readers, no matter how many years go by, and we think that there’s plenty of people that prove Lee’s work did just that.