To+Kill+a+Mockingbird

In the novel __To Kill a Mockingbird__ by: Harper Lee, a lot of sadness and hurt occurs. Not only that but many surprises, plenty of prejudice and not guilty people getting hurt as a result of that. Friends become enemies. Families make sacrifices. People get hurt and lives are lost. What all these people went through is something nobody should ever have to go through, but in reality, many people go through this everyday still.

In this time era and where the book takes place all relate to the prejudice actions that occur. Most people still believed black people deserve to have no rights. There were kids going around saying “’Well, Dill, after all he’s just a Negro!’”-Pg 198. They say it as if because he is a Negro, nothing matters. Because the book takes place in the 1930’s and in the south a lot of the ways people see things are different. In the book __To Kill a Mockingbird__ a trial takes place with an innocent man named Tom Robinson. Tom Robinson was accused of raping a girl, which did not happen. In the trial he was charged guilty for no other reason that the fact that he was a black man. In Maycomb County a black man might as well be a dog, no, not even a dog, a dog was treated better than they were.

Then there was some one quite opposite of a black man. There was Boo Radley, who had been hiding in his house for many, many years now. The people of Maycomb County had some crazy ideas about Boo. They would say that he had eyes bulging out of his head, he ate squirrels, and so mnay other wierd stories. "people said he went out at night when the mooon went down, and peeped in windows."-Pg.9 The little girl Scout in the book was not so sure about it though. Though she was not sure, to take precautions,she kept her distance from the Radley house. She always wondered what he really looked like. Then came the night of her and her brothers attack. Boo Radely had saved not only her life, but also her brothers. She met him and saw that he was not what every one said he was at all. Boo Radely was just like any other regular guy, just more pale from hiding away in his house for so long. Other than being really pale, Boo Radley was a nice, life saving, normal, but very shy guy. He wasn't some crazy guy who ate squirrels, had eyes bulging out of his face or anything like that. In reality, he was just a kind hearted, extremely shy guy who didn't want to be around people and there is nothing wrong with that at all.

"' Atticus-' said Jem bleakly. He turned in to the door way. 'what son?' 'How could they do it, how could they?' 'I don't know, but they did it. they've dont it before and they did it tonight and they'll do it again and when they do it- seems only the children weep. Goodnight.'"-Pg.213 If you read alll of that, just go back and read the last sentence again, Atticus seems to believe that children don't know what is best. All they do is complain about thing. In some cases that is true,but because Jem thinks it is wrong that an innocent black man was sent to jail, well that makes perfect sence, Jem's opinion is just as valid as anyone elses, he shouldn't change it because the man is black. Most of the adults think that it should. The children seem to disagree, for all the right reasons too. In this story it doesn't matter though, no opion from a child matters.

In reality, this book teaches alot. One, as a kid your opinion doesn't matter at all. Two, predjudice is a crazy, horrible, confusing thing. Third, maybe someone isn't who you thought they were. So, in other words, never judge a book by its cover, the inside is always a better story.