To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
By: Joanna Yates, Assistant Professor of Reading
“Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.”
― Charles W. Eliot
I have been an avid reader my entire life. I found it was easier to read and escape the problems of the world, than it was to dwell on them. In times that I felt alone, I would curl up with a book and it would become my companion. I connected with characters and immersed myself in their lives. I could drown out my own problems and replace them with a story that I knew would have a happy ending. Even, when I knew my own problems would not.
My favorite banned book is To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. This was a book that I was required to read as a high school sophomore. As first, when I read the synopsis of the story, I didn’t want to read it. I didn’t feel like I could relate to it, at all. I could not have been more wrong. As I began to read the story, I couldn’t stop. Although I couldn’t always relate directly to the struggles the characters faced, I could relate symbolically.
Morals such as learning to fight battles with your head, and not with your fist were etched into my mind. I learned to feel optimistic regardless of my situation. Even in the midst of tragedy.
One of my favorite quotes comes from the story. “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view.” I learned from this quote that judging a person does nothing to help the situation, but only makes it worse. We should treat others the way we want to be treated, and factors such as race or wealth mean nothing when learning about people’s character. I learned so much about loving others, my foundation of life and Christianity, through the pages of this story from Harper Lee—despite it not being an overly religious book.
