To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - Essay Example

Essay – To kill a mockingbird One of the most influential pieces of literature which I have ever read is To Kill a Mockingbird (1960) by Harper Lee, which has helped me realize the importance of leading a value-based life. I consider this novel as the most influential work of literature in my life because it gave me an essential lesson which I cherish most: we should try to see life from another person’s perspective before we make any judgment of others. To me, it has become the golden principle of my life and I am highly impressed by the moral lessons of To Kill a Mockingbird.

Thus, I was greatly captivated by Atticus’ defense of a black man named Tom Robinson, who had been fallaciously accused of raping a white woman. Through the predominant theme of the novel, that is race and color, the novelist makes the reader realize the importance of having the right judgment of the ‘other’. Specifically, I was impressed by the way the lawyer defended an African-American, irrespective of the trends of the period and the society he lived in. To me, the real hero of the novel is Atticus, for whom “living with oneself is a precondition of living with God; they might almost be synonymous.

” (Gilmore, 236) According to him, he could not go to church and worship God if he did not defend Tom Robinson. Atticus believed in the service of humanity more than the worship of God in church. Thus, this literary piece has helped me understand my role as human being and I intend to dedicate my life for the service of humanity in all the possible ways. In short, To Kill a Mockingbird has greatly influenced my perception of my role as human being and I am determined to serve the humanity by means of my education, profession, and life.

Work Cited Gilmore, Alec. “Perceptions of ‘The Other’.” Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird: New Essays. Michael J. Meyer. (Ed). London: Scarecrow Press. 2010. P 236