Saralee Says
When Larry and I selected this novel, we were both curious about whether we would have the same emotional reaction that we had when we each first read To Kill a Mockingbird (in hardback by HarperCollins, paperback by Little Brown) more than 30 years ago. Would this masterpiece by Harper Lee affect me the same way as an adult that it did as an idealistic teen-ager?
I view this book with reverence because, next to the Bible, it has had more influence on me than any other book ever written. I felt that way when I first read the book, and I am happy to say that I still feel that way. What impact did To Kill a Mockingbird have on you the first time you read it? The theme that I remember then and now is that life is not fair, and the law is not always just. Tom Robinson was convicted of a crime that he did not commit; Scout was a tomboy like I was; Southerners were vicious to blacks just like Yankees were, and I wanted to be like Atticus Finch when I grew up.
I read To Kill a Mockingbird right after I attended church camp in West Tennessee, where I first experienced overt racism. We sang songs like “Jesus loves the little children - red, brown, yellow, black and white,” but I saw and learned first hand that some of my fellow Christians did not really mean it.
As I read this book again, I wondered whether it would have made any difference if every school child in America had read it in 1964 when the civil rights legislation was enacted. Maybe only if the parents had read it along with their children. Do you agree? What about Harper Lee’s choice of words that are not uttered in polite society today? I certainly winced every time I read them as I did when she created the dialect for people who are the black characters. How did you react to such words the first time you read them, and do you feel differently today?
Today I view Harper Lee’s novel as a modern parable, which is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. She teaches without preaching — just like Jesus did. She lets her readers draw their own conclusions about what is fair and right.
As an adult, I am able to see Atticus’ faults, but he still tried to teach his children to walk in another person’s skin before passing judgment, whether it was Tom Robinson, Boo Radley or the devil himself — Bob Ewell. There are additional characters that I found courageous the second time I read the book including Calpurnia, Link Deas and Miss Maudie. Did you care more or less about certain characters when you read the book? We all make choices in life, and I believe Atticus summarized it best, “Before I can live with other folks, I’ve got to live with myself.”
Larry’s Language
A few years ago I got to vote for my choice of the best American novel of the 20th century, and I happened to vote for the book that won, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. Unlike some recent elections, it should have won. First, because it is a compelling story of innocence and courage. Second, because of Harper Lee’s storytelling ability. Third, because she was smart enough to have a child tell the story. Finally, because of the impact this book and others (Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin, If He Hollers, Let Him Go by Chester Himes, and Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison) had on the modern American civil rights movement.
What a story to tell. First-grader Jean Louise Finch, better known as Scout, takes us by the hand, and over three years draws us into her innocent world where she tries to understand her father Atticus, her brother Jem, her new-found friend Dill, her housekeeper Calpurnia, and the very class-conscious residents of a small south Alabama town in the 1930s.
Even if this novel omitted the highly dramatic trial of a black man accused of raping a white woman, it would still communicate lessons about race, justice and discrimination. Certain people in town believe they can associate with their own kind. Others think they can only worship or learn at particular places in very rigid ways.
Of course, none of that has any importance in the eyes of a young child. Her interests are what you would expect — playing games, climbing trees, running in the fresh air, and exploring the mystery of the strange and mysterious neighbor, Boo Radley, who has supposedly not set foot outside his home for many years. Scout could not care less who plays those games with her and whether her explorations transcend class or racial lines. So of course some adults are horrified by Scout’s lack of ladylike manners. That tension — plus the constant overriding strain of the unquestioning racism that supports the existence of this small town — makes this drama real.
Almost every page of this book raises issues and concerns. What is the moral obligation of a fair man when confronted by an insurmountably racist system? Did attorney Atticus Finch meet that obligation just by doing his job of actually defending the accused black man? Should any of the white churches have done anything to help attorney Finch and the defendant Tom Robinson like the black church did when its minister refused to let the congregation leave without giving more money to the Robinson family? Did author Harper Lee adequately portray the black people in this town, or was her concern only for the white point of view, which she does present from several different perspectives? How difficult is it to read this book in the 21st century with all its 1930s racist language?
To Kill a Mockingbird is a heartbreaking book that connects to real life with its echoes of the infamous Scottsboro cases of the 1930s as well as Harper Lee’s real-life childhood friendship with Dill, probably better known as Truman Capote. Lynchings were common place; racism was and is a part of ordinary daily life; aunts and uncles really do disagree about how a single parent father should raise his children; and some people show great courage at the right time, even if only for a moment, like Tom Robinson’s boss standing in the midst of the courtroom to proclaim his belief in Mr. Robinson’s innocence.
Our next book selection will be Q Is for Quarry by Sue Grafton. Look for our discussion of it on November 21.
