A Must Read by Rachael

A Must Read by Rachael - February 2015 Scholarship Essay

“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.” This famous quote is from one of my all time favorite books, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I read this book as a freshman in high school. I strongly believe that every high school student should read this book before they graduate. To Kill a Mockingbird is an important novel to read before you graduate because it educates readers on racism, inequality, and good vs. evil. Every reader should be exposed to these things, and the best way to learn something is through reading.
To Kill a Mockingbird is full of themes that can educate the public, but one particularly important is racism. Racism has been around a long time, before we had even established the thirteen colonies in the United States. Racism is when one race believes they are superior to another race. In To Kill a Mockingbird, racism deals with whites believing they are superior to blacks. High school readers need to be exposed to the problems of racism, so they can understand how wrong it is. Exposure to racism will educate the students and ultimately lead to mature student as well.

Another theme in To Kill a Mockingbird is inequality. Not only are blacks treated unequally but some whites are treated unequally too, just because of their social status. If someone is poor, they should not be interacting with the rich. Scout, the protagonist, does not understand why all people cannot be equal, which is the way it should be. Because Scout is also the narrator, readers will understand why it does not make sense that social inequality is still in existence. The exposure to Scout’s questioning of social inequality will also educate them on an important topic that is still alive today.

Good vs. evil is another important topic readers must be exposed to before they graduate, and To Kill a Mockingbird supplies that exposure. There are signs of good and evil through out the novel. But, the character of Atticus Finch, embodies the idea that yes, evil is strong, but good is still out there. This is an important lesson that high school readers need to be reminded of. Forget about the bad and always seek the good. The idea of good vs. evil is a powerful one and before graduation, students must understand the difference between the two, and not to always be down about the evil To Kill a Mockingbird is a great tool to educate these students on this topic.

To Kill a Mockingbird is a great tool to educate high school students on real world topics before they enter the real world after graduation. Students must be exposed to racism, inequality, and good vs. evil before they leave high school. It is important to learn about these topics, and not just high school students. Reading To Kill a Mockingbird is an easy way to be exposed and educated on important topics. I believe high school students should be exposed and by reading To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a great way to do that.