A question often circulates in literature; what makes a book a modern classic? Is it the way it is written? The language? The story? Or can it bottle down to the controversial impact it creates in a culture?

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is undoubtedly a modern classic. You can tell why just by mentioning the title, as those around you who have read it will express their love for this novel. For me personally the book was given to me years ago and I picked it up off the bookshelf because I felt like reading something different. Different is certainly what I got and with it an awe for a new style of writing and an understanding of how powerful fiction can be.

The story is set in a small fictional Southern US town in the state of Alabama in the 1930's, during the Great Depression. It is viewed from the eyes of a young girl who recounts her tale of the events of the book. With a lick of humour, we enter a child's mind and how she observes the world around her. In fact, it is this child's perspective that allows us to see not only the ignorance of the issues surrounding her, but an honest curiosity and fantastic innocence. Lee draws us in with a sense of wanting to pull readers back to their own childhood memories. However things change as the girl's father is chosen to defend a black man accused of the rape of a white woman. Condemned before he has even spoken, the power of this book revolves around racism; issues that are still around in some cultures today.

Our narrative character Scout Finch is a tomboy who looks up to and often plays with her older brother, Jem and their friend, Dill. Scouts mother died early and the kids have been brought up by their father, Atticus. Throughout the story we see Scout question many aspects of life, including some of her ignorant opinions injecting that subtle humour in the book that makes you smile, as well as some of her more intelligent responses. It is hard to consider the narrator is only eight years old, though her upbringing has suggested that she has matured quickly. What I enjoy most about Scout is that she has a great sense of spirit and strength for a young girl living in 1930s America. She doesn’t act like a lady; she plays with boys and fights with boys.

The main character is Atticus who is a symbol for equality and probably the closest character to the author. It is clear through his words we hear the author's voice, which is probably why his words have become so dominant in the world of law, despite being a fictional character. In fact the Atticus is so admired, his name and the case revolving around the story has been treated as if this was reality. It is Atticus that makes this story a modern classic, and his timeless words and admirable morals epitomise him as a good father figure and man of true justice.

The issue of racism is one which is linked so closely with the obvious metaphor in the title of the book. Atticus warns his children who are learning to shoot: "It's a sin to kill a mockingbird." Why? This is later confirmed when Scout asks Miss Maudie, a neighbour: "Mockingbirds 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 mocking bird." This metaphor of innocence reflects not only the innocence of the children, but that of the black man accused of rape. Tom Robinson is so blatantly guiltless, that as a reader you are in hope he is found innocent, but you already know from the towns treatment of Negro’s the case has already been decided. He is a humble honest man, who seemingly just wanted to help his accuser, just like the mockingbird only sings. As Atticus even says, this is a case of black verses white.

From the moment you take in the first page of the book, we embrace the calm pace of the summer; a pace which changes gradually throughout the novel to the point where the book hits a turning point. As the story develops we see young adventures become harsh realities and Scout and Jem having to grow up in a short period of time. The author has an admirable ability to introduce everything about a character in just short snippety descriptions.  It was this capturing of character that really drew me into the novel and brought the town to life. Whether we hear about a character through the gossips of the ladies in the neighbourhood, or through our narrator, every character has a history that follows through the common attributes of their family and the individual.

As a whole I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. I felt this town was a representation of any southern US state that existed during the years of the great depression and brought that lifestyle to the reality to an English reader. The semi-autobiographical feel to the book is what gets us involved and connected as the audience, an ability that is essential for any writer.

I am glad this book was recommended to me, and this is indefinitely a novel I would recommend to others.  To Kill a Mockingbird had class, intrigue and controversy. A modern classic? Most certainly.