TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

The main theme of the movie To Kill a Mockingbird was based on the segregation that some people had to face in the small town of Maycomb because their skin colour was black and not white. The black people were misjudged badly and at that time there was no one who really stood up for them. This strongly brings out the character of Atticus Finch (Gregory Peck) and how he really believes in his morals as he went ahead to defend Tom Robinson (Brock Peters), the black who victim accused for the rape of Mayella Ewell (Collin Wilcox) who was white. He tried and did his best to prove that Tom was being falsely accused and was about to be punished by the law for crimes he clearly could not have committed due to the injury he had which led to the muscles in his entire left hand to cease from functioning normally. And though the court was also doubtful of Tom actually being guilty of the crime they refused to accept that he could be innocent because he was black and at that time blacks were not thought of as humans beings with equal rights. The movie plays on with Scouts narration throughout as she shares her feelings and views about her past as the movie unfolds in the present. In the beginning we learn about the Finch family and their helper Calpurina (Estelle Evans) this clearly portrays the attitude of the family that they were not victims of racism. Later we learn about Scouts and Jems new friend Dill (John Megna), who visits Maycomb every summer. Together the three of them set out to explore the neighbourhood and unfold the mysteries of the town which to them majorly comprised of daring each other to enter the supposedly haunted house of the one and only Boo Radley (Robert Duvell). At that time according to them Boo was someone known to eat raw squirrels and freeze flowers with his breath. But that opinion completely changes towards the end of the movie as they learn to understand what their father meant when he said "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view - until you climb into his skin and walk around in it."- spoken by Atticus Finch, by Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird. They then realise that Boo was in fact all along just trying to be their friend and that he was being misjudged by the people of the town because of the harsh childhood he faced which led people to jump to conclusions about him. He was in fact looking out for them and that was how he saved Scout and Jem when they were attacked by Bob Ewell who was a poor white man who was ready to harm any one involved in the case of defending Tom Robinson. In this point Jem and Scout are an example of the mockingbirds in the movie. Mockingbirds a s quoted in the movie don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.'" Hence it would be morally wrong to kill or harm them in anyway like how Scout and Jem had to be victims just because their father was defending a black man who clearly had not committed the crime he was being accused of.

As the movie unfolds the character of Atticus is revealed and he is seen as a morally strong man. He was aware of the difficulties it would put him and his family in if he took up the case to defend Tom Robinson but he was still prepared to face them. I believe that this really emphasises an admirable character seen in him because at that time whites who went against whites was not commonly seen. Later on there was a time when Tom Robinson had to be guarded from the people of the town of maycomb and even then Atticus was prepared to stand guard for him and did not let his spirit die. As the case of Tom Robinson comes to court and everyone in the town of Maycomb feel the need to attend it and Scout and Jem wouldnt miss it as well. This day was quite a turning point in their lives as they realised how innocent peop le could be convicted by the law as well and this changed how they looked at the world. Tom Robinson then gets shot as he tries to escape on his way to jail after the trial and here he is seen as the mockingbird a s he is merely just another innocent, harmless victim who was unnecessarily harmed along the way.

As the movie plays on, and the summers go past Scout and Jem grow up and realise things and learn lessons like courage, acceptance, injustice, racism, etc. These are shown through situations like when they realise who Boo really was and learn to accept it, when Scout stands up to the entire crowd about to kill Tom Robinson outside his place and saves the day by merely saying entailments were bad... her courage as a child is brought out, also the judgement given by the court on Tom Robinsons case inspite of how he was very clearly innocent and could not have committed the rape of Mayella Ewell as he was being accused of as his entire muscles in his left hand did not function normally and so he could not have harmed her that way and the way his life ended taught her about injustice. These are the things in the childhood of Scout and Jem that built them as stronger people morally as they grew up. Finally in the end Boo Radleys murder of Bob Ewell is best thought to be hushed up according to the police officer sheriff Heck, this brings out how he felt guilty of the end of the story of Tom Robinson. Also in conclusion though Atticus was not able to win the case as he planed unknowingly he made a slight difference in the way people looked at blacks and that is quite an achievement in deed.

According to the human rights declaration, All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination. And this principle of equality is important for minority groups which will obviously possess less power in comparison to that of the majority and thus result in injustice. In the movie To Kill a Mockingbird, blacks were not treated as people with equal rights but Instead as dishonest people with lower self respect being subjected to discrimination and it was a usual tradition for them to be treated as Slaves as their race was a minority and was looked down upon. But what needs to be realised is that the law is the same for everyone and should not vary from person to person depending on the colour of the skin of the people in rule. And application of this law should also be done in a just manner which would allow anyone to be questioned and treated equally. Moreover the court should be a place where criminals should be convicted based on the proof given and not the skin colour. Like in the case of Tom Robinson who was accused of rape based on the word of a whites over a blacks. If that is the case then what sh ould be the need for the court, jury or judge at all?

By Shakthi Meenakshi