To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Many books are destined to be forgotten shortly after being read, while others become classics. The reasons for a book being a classic are many: it may be an enjoyable read; it might have truths that need to be explored; no matter when it is read, it has the ability to inspire, teach, while getting under one's skin. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is such a classic.

Jean Louise (Scout) Finch lives with her older brother Jeremy (Jem) and father Atticus in Georgia during the Great Depression. They are helped by their housekeeper, Calpurnia, as their mother died with Scout was two.

Part One of the book sets the stage for the story. Scout and Jem spend summers playing with Dill, a boy who is shuttled between relatives, and who spends summers with his Aunt Rachael. Their first summer after meeting Dill, the three decide to see if they can lure reclusive Boo Radley from his house. This lands them in trouble with both Atticus, along with being shot at.

During the school year, the reader learns how racist many of the minor characters are. This is the southern U.S. during the 1930s, so many of the characters use the "n" word when referring to African-Americans. However, when Scout uses the word, Atticus tells her not to use it, as it is derogatory.

We learn early on that Atticus is an attorney, and a highly respected man by most of his neighbors. At one point, he is been appointed to defend Tom Robinson, a black man falsely accused of raping a white woman. The job of defending Tom should have gone to another lawyer, but Atticus was chosen (we learn in Part Two) as he was the best attorney to defend Tom.

At the end of Part One, Jem and Scout get involved with Mrs. Dubose, a racist woman who screams at the two about their "n...-loving" father. This causes Jem to get into trouble. His punishment is to read to Mrs. Dubose every afternoon for more than a month.

After the month is over, Atticus is called to Mrs. Dubose's house; when he gets back home, he announces that she has died, and that, despite her disapproval of Atticus defending Tom Robinson in Tom's upcoming trial, she was the bravest person he knew. The reason he gives is that she had to fight a battle at the end of her life where the chances of winning were almost non-existant. However, to her way of thinking, she had to fight this fight, knowing that she probably wouldn't win. This exemplifies a big part of why Atticus defends Tom in Part Two: even though he knew that they would probably lose the trial, defending Tom was the right and honorable thing to do, as Tom was innocent.

Harper Lee's writing in To Kill a Mockingbird is wonderful; there is nothing in the book that doesn't move the story forward. While Ms. Lee considered this to be a love story, it goes beyond that. It is a story of right verses wrong, about people having to sort out their feelings and prejudices, and challenges the reader to consider his or her prejudices and how best to confront them. (Not bad for a book published more than 60 years ago.)

If you haven't read To Kill a Mockingbird, I highly recommend it.

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Scout, Atticus, and Boo: A Celebration of Fifty Years of "To Kill A Mockingbird"

Scout, Atticus, and Boo: A Celebration of Fifty Years of "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Mary McDonagh Murphy
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

When one considers how popular Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird is, it makes sense that someone would write a book celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of its publication. Scout, Atticus, and Boo: A Celebration of Fifty Years of "To Kill A Mockingbird," by Mary McDonagh Murphy is that book.

Murphy explored To Kill A Mockingbird and asked others how Harper Lee's book affected them. While it might be tempting to compare the two books, this would be an injustice to Scout, Atticus, and Boo; it would be analogous to comparing an art appreciation book with DaVinci's work. But Murphy's book does help the reader understand how loved Lee's work is.

Definitely a must read for anyone who has loved To Kill A Mockingbird.

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To Kill A Mockingbird

Here is another repost from my blog Life In The Left-Hand Lane (http://life-in-the-left-hand-lane.blogspot.com).

I'm a writer, and I'm also a reader. I feel that the two are strongly connected; most of the writers I know also read a lot. Some of us touch base periodically to get caught up on books, articles and stories we've read: "Just started reading..." "Oh, I read that last month. Loved it; couldn't put it down," or "I really couldn't get into to at all because...Finally had to put it down."

I've picked up several books - and enjoyed them - on the word of other writer/readers. I've also felt better knowing that someone else whose writing I enjoy and whose opinion on good books is similar to mine says that he or she really couldn't get into whatever book I found lacking.

Most of us have favorite books that we go back to time and again. One of my favorites is Harper Lee's classic, To Kill A Mockingbird. I just finished it again for the umpteenth time this morning. The copy I put back on one of my many bookshelves is easily the tenth (or more) copy I've owned; I tend to reread it until it falls apart. One copy that I'd bought did manage to get gift-wrapped and sent to my mom several Christmases ago; that one doesn't get added to the count.

"Thanks for sending To Kill A Mockingbird this year," Mom said when she called. It had been years since she'd read it, and had been meaning to pick up a copy. Several weeks later, she called to tell me it was better than she remembered. I'm always glad when the two of us agree on a book; reading is one of the loves she passed on to me.

One of the many things I frequently find interesting in Harper Lee's book is how she manages to tie Atticus Finch's thoughts on Mrs. Dubose's bravery at the end of Part I to the fight Atticus faces in Part II. While Mrs. Dubose's thoughts on Atticus's defending Tom Robinson are a reflection of many of the townspeople's sentiment - as well as the nation's sentiments on race during the 1930s, they are drastically different from Atticus Finch's sentiment, as well as that of several of the people who fit prominently in the book. Atticus Finch may have been appointed to defend Tom Robinson by the court; however, he intends to actually defend the innocent man.

But back to what Atticus says about Mrs. Dubose: After he returns from her house and tells Jem and Scout that Mrs. Dubose has died, he says that she was the "bravest person I know." Why? Jem wants to know. How can Atticus say this, when Mrs. Dubose held such different views from his own? It turned out that, while dying, she was addicted to morphine for the pain from her illness and she wanted to come off it before she died. Courage, to Atticus's way of thinking, isn't "'...a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do. Mrs. Dubose won, all ninety-eight pounds of her...She was the bravest person I know.'"

Before and during Tom Robinson's trial, Atticus tries his hardest to win Tom's freedom. Miss Maudie tells Jem and Scout afterwards that while the verdict was a foregone conclusion - the American South, 1930s, a black man's word against a white man's word - that Atticus was the only lawyer in the area who could keep a jury deliberating for as long as it did. Afterwards, Atticus intended to appeal the verdict. True, this may be something lawyers are supposed to do, but considering the time/place/race issue, many lawyers may not have pushed the issue. Atticus knew, going in, that it would be an up-hill battle, but he was even more courageous than he had given Mrs. Dubose credit for.

The ending - when Bob Ewell attempts to kill Jem and Scout, only to die by falling on his own knife as the reclusive Boo Radley rescues the children - is as moving as the rest of the book.

The somewhat battered copy is now back on the bookshelf, and will be retrieved in another year or so to be reread.