To Kill a Mocking Bird

To Kill a Mockingbird", by Harper Lee, is an outstanding work of American literature, discussing issues of 'race' in Southern states. To Kill A Mockingbird is set in a more religious era but Harper Lee wants us to know that there were no people in Maycomb who are more religious than the Negroes. The white people are Christian because it's right and good but the black community is faithful from the heart.

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I hope to explain why I think "To Kill A Mockingbird", by Harper Lee, merits the description "an outstanding work of literature."

"To Kill A Mockingbird" has a good, strong structure, which forms the basis of the plot. Harper Lee has decided to split the book into two parts, enhancing the structure. The first half sets the scene, introduces us to the characters and the plot - leading up to the trial in the second half. The second half builds cleverly upon the first, maintaining the suspense that has been created. When I read the book it was more like reading from inside the plot than looking at the lives of the people from the outside.

When describing the setting Harper Lee uses personification to create a vivid picture in the mind of the reader. In the first chapter Harper Lee uses the descriptions:

"Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired old town when I first knew it."

"It was hotter then: a black dog suffered on a summer's day; bony mules hitched to Hoover carts flicked flies in the sweltering shade of the live oaks on the square. Men's stiff collars wilted by nine in the morning. Ladies bathed before noon, after their three-o'clock naps, and by nightfall were like soft teacakes with frosting of sweat and sweet talcum."

This is a wonderful way in which to introduce us the mid-thirties setting and sets an almost comical scene.

All the characters are varied and individual, not one being dull - however a small part they play. Mr Dolphus Raymond is not mentioned a lot but when he is it is hard to forget him! He prefers the company of the Negroes...