To Kill A Mockingbird

You may have heard by now that Harper Lee is coming out with a sequel. I have my reservations about it, given that the circumstances seem kind of sketchy, but let’s face it: I’m going to read the sequel. Since I hadn’t read To Kill a Mockingbird since middle school, I thought I should probably re-read it first.

Boy am I glad I did. First, because it’s a classic and everyone should be well-acquainted with it. Second, because it’s about so much more than race. Everyone plays up the race aspect in discussing this book, and it’s certainly significant, but it’s far from the only topic covered in the book.

I think it’s basically about growing up. I feel like a broken record because I read so much YA and all YA is essentially about growing up, but it’s true for this book, too. The narrator, Scout, is six when the story starts and eight when it ends. I think it was brilliant to have such a young narrator because, as children tend to do, she’s constantly asking “Why?” Why does her aunt think some families are better than others? Why does her teacher sympathize with the Jews, and not black people? It’s a great device for pointing out the inconsistencies of society.

Then there’s Atticus. How he managed to grow up without being jaded by all the hypocrisy and injustice all around him (especially as an attorney) is a mystery. Of all the terrible things people are capable of, Atticus is one of those who just always sees the good in people. For example, I really don’t see any justification for Mrs. Dubose’s behavior, but Atticus is not only unfailingly polite, but he actually admires her.

Then there’s the mob scene. First of all, I just want to say how amazing that was. Atticus’s bravery. Scout accidentally saving everyone. It was amazing. The thing that really got me was Atticus later telling Scout a mob is made up of people. I know psychology was in it’s infancy in the 1930’s, but I think Atticus could have used a lesson in mob mentality.

Yes, a mob is technically made up of people, but once it forms, those people cease to act like rational human beings. They do things they would never do on their own. I think that would have helped Scout better understand how one man could join a mob to kill someone, then turn around and do his best to save that someone. The same person in different situations will often act very differently.

The thing I really enjoyed was Scout’s rebellion against societal expectations of femininity. This was partly because I had completely forgotten it was part of the story, but also because Scout never intended to rebel. She never said “Skirts are for girls and pants are for boys and I don’t want to be girly.” She just liked to wear overalls. She got into fistfights because she was too proud to let anyone say anything against her or her family, and she wasn’t afraid of anyone (except Boo Radley). She’s tough and feisty and I love her.

I had almost completely forgotten about Boo Radley. Now I wonder how I could have done that, because the whole story really revolves around him. From Dill coming up with ways to try to get Boo to come out at the beginning of the story, to the very end when Scout realizes he had literally been watching over them the whole time. Everything her father tried to teach her in those two years about learning to understand other people and treat them the way they want to be treated culminates in Scout’s understanding of Boo at the very end. She takes just a minute to see the world from his perspective and it all makes sense.

Then she goes home, anticipating rubbing it in her brother’s face that she saw Boo Radley up close and in person, because after all, she is still an eight-year-old.