“Atticus said to Jem one day, "I’d rather you shot at
tin cans in the backyard, but I know you’ll go after birds. Shoot all the blue
jays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a
mockingbird." That was the only time I ever heard Atticus say it was a sin
to do something, and I asked Miss Maudie about it. "Your father’s
right," she said. "Mockingbirds don’t do one thing except make music
for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corn cribs,
they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin
to kill a mockingbird.”
― Harper Lee,
To Kill a Mockingbird
One of the most popular and best loved novels ever written in the English
language is “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee. Semi-autobiographical, the
book is set in Alabama in the American “Deep South” during the
Depression, a time of great poverty during the early 1930’s. The novel is
narrated by the main character, a little girl named Jean Louise Finch, a
tomboyish character nicknamed “Scout” Her father, Atticus Finch is a lawyer
with very high moral standards. Scout, her brother Jem, and their friend Dill
are intrigued by local rumours about a man named Arthur or “Boo” Radley, who
lives in their neighbourhood but never leaves his house. Many stories and legends
have spread about Boo, and he is made out to be a kind of monster. Scout’s
mother died young and the family cook, Calpurnia is a motherlike figure to herself
and her brother during the novel.
Over time, however, it becomes clear that Boo is actually
a rather gentle soul, who leaves presents for the kids in a tree in their
neighbourhood.
The novel centres around the trial of a black man falsely
accused of rape and assault. Scout’s father Atticus defends the innocent Tom
Robinson. Even though he brilliantly proves Tom’s innocence in court, Tom is
still found guilty, showing the racial prejudice in that part of America that
existed back then.
The man that Atticus showed was the real villain behind
the crime, Bob Ewell, attacks the children towards the end of the book, but Boo
Radley emerges to save the day
As the book progresses through a three year period, the
children undergo a “rite of passage” as their characters change, realising that
unfortunately bad things happen in the world such as racism and prejudice.
The book was made into a famous movie, starring Oscar wining Gregory
Peck, who describes his love of the book here:
Here’s a nice summary of the book created by some American students:
Enjoy some clips and trailers from the movie version of the film below,
and see the excellent Spark Notes animated summary
Some good resources to help study and understand the novel can be found
here.
For an
appreciation of what life was like in America during this time see:
For help in
understanding the geography of this part of the USA check out:
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