to kill a mockingbird is my favorite book of all time if not my greatest the distinction is important. I was not going to do a review because it's so personal. I did not want to put my "personal biz" on the internet. my feelings and viewpoints are so intertwined so I will break my review into two parts what it means to me and a more analytical review. please feel free to skip the next "personal paragraph" as it does not pertain to mockingbird as a work of literature.

I am a little under half native American. our genetic background is a thing my family does not advertise living where we do in rural north Georgia. we are not obvious in appearance. my parents moved to ball ground Georgia from Atlanta in the 80's to raise their family. the reason I mention this is Maycomb is a lot like my home town. everybody was related and knew everybody for generations. we were the outsiders of town. my classmates about 90% had light hair and eyes, I obviously from my profile picture do not. I later found out it's because they were all related with the exception of maybe 2 or 3 of us. my classmates all talked about hunting, fishing and other cultural things mentioned in the book. my parents and family as a whole did not do those things. they seemed to live in the woods. we had a different appreciation of nature. my parents were also highly educated. I will stop there lest I sound disrespectful of my classmates you get the idea. so around the time I am starting to realize these differences my mom who was the Librarian at the newly build local library. gave me this book to read the first of real import I remember. I never knew why then probably to early, maybe because I was scouts age. maybe I reminded her of scout with my love pact with the girl next door playing every summer day outside with her. and how my brother and sister were just old enough to be to old like Jem. how I was smarter and more perceptive than the average child. I don't know but lightning stuck everything made sense, it all seemed to matchup. I wanted to understand those around me and this book was a window, a outsider obsesses over a culture more than those in it. I picked up the simple moral of the book as a by product, and have lived my life under the golden rule, compassion for all, and open mindedness every since. I always put myself in others shoes much to my own expense. I understand the power of literature because I was giving mockingbird at a young age.

Mockingbird is amazingly readable even to children. you would expect a book with such heady values to be a chore to little ones but it's as readable as treasure island or Tom Sawyer. Scout is one of my favorite narrator of all time. she being a tomboy seems relatable to everyone. she has the inquisitive wonder to appeal to a child while her intelligence is evident which is amusing to adults. it's told in pseudo child like speech. that speaks to the soul you discover simple truths through a child perspective. the effect is remarkable. the part where dill gets sick in the courthouse sums this up. adult life is so complicated but children see everything so plain. you can't live life like a child but you can try to keep some of that. the characters and setting is a real as it gets Atticus is the ultimate role model. Jem is embodiment of a older sibling that you respect but still hate. Aunt Alexandra is also a good character representing societies expectations on children to grow up a unconscious idea embodied by a character and in some cases actual family members. Maycomb seems to me to be a lot like my home town but I believe could be like anywhere giving any stand in group or circumstance. people are all the same everywhere that one of the lesson learned from the book. Tom Robinson dignity seems extraordinary then you realize there is no reason for it to be extraordinary he is just a normal person. that is the second lesson from the book. i think the fact that Tom is black in the south is immaterial he can be any member of a oppressed people anywhere in the world. and the impact is the same! the fact that Mockingbird deals with universal themes is why it's one of the greatest novel of all time. and the fact that it's so personal is why it my favorite of all time!

To Kill a Mockingbird has become such a potent cultural symbol in the Western world, especially in the United States, that you risk being seen as an insensitive cynic or a heartless bastard if you sound a dissenting note. From a moral standpoint it attacks institutionalised racism against the black people in the United States back in the day when it was common to treat them as subhumans. This is a noble goal, but judged on criteria of literary merit, I contend that there's not much in the book.

Flannery O'Connor called it a "children's novel." She did not intend it as a compliment. The novel suffers from a saccharine dose of sentiment, and it is fair to label it as a black-and-white cliché, literally. I found the characters two-dimensional, singly pursuing their idea without meaningful conflict that could have lent them some humanity. Atticus Finch, a morally upright man and gentle father, is the author's moralising mouthpiece who, supine and misty in the early stages of the story, is catapulted into action when he takes upon himself to defend the black man. If there's more to Atticus, I'm sure to have missed it completely. There is an oft-quoted famous line that goes like this:

n  You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view. Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.n

A bit of Captain Obvious wouldn't you say? It would have been illuminating if Ms Lee could make the reader climb inside the skin for a walk.

You can split the book into two separate novellas, neatly, like a cake; so big is the disconnect between the first half which reads like an interesting ghost story and the second half which is no more than a reportage on the proceedings of a criminal case in a court of law where a black man is facing (false) charges of rape. Through these court proceedings Ms Lee tries to paint a dismal picture of the times when hapless black people didn't stand a chance once a white man accused them of wrongdoing.

If one is to judge a work of fiction, one is to judge it for the style of its narrative method and what the writer has attempted to do in it; but there's a common fallacy, as I'd call it, of judging art's worth based entirely on the subjective moral urgency of its social content. This is not to say that I do not understand the need to incorporate minority voices that had been suppressed into mute existence for many centuries (But this story, unlike Toni Morrison's novels, is written from the white man's perspective). Quite a few famous post-colonial novels fall in this category: thin on literary craft but still appreciated for their social or political import. So I can understand why an average novel like this one spoke so strongly to the changing zeitgeist and struck a chord with millions of readers.

December 2014

A blackbird used to sing outside my window. He put a smile on my face when I woke every morning, and he was there when I went to sleep. His song was the first thing I heard when I walked up my path after having been away from home for a while. He would sing all day and even some of the evening and night, proudly chorusing his own short refrains, the songs he had taught himself. He had three songs, all of just five notes each, and one of these was his especial favourite which he would repeat over and over again. Not for him were the complicated warbles and song structures of his fellow birds. Occasionally he would experiment; a twitter here, a different note there, but then he would confidently return to his favourites, and sing them loudly, his heart fit to burst. He gloried in his song, and I delighted in it.

Then last week nothing. There is a hole in my life now; something is missing - something of beauty has gone. I feel bereft, as if someone close to me has died. And sometimes, reading this book I would fleetingly experience a similar sense of loss.

"Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy... sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."

Mockingbirds are a recurring theme in Harper Lee's only novel. To Kill a Mockingbird, first published in 1960, is justly a classic. It won the Pulitzer Prize, and is studied by almost every schoolchild in the USA. In the UK it has been on the National Curriculum on and off for a few decades.

The first half of the book deals entirely with a small town in the Southern United States, a fictitious small town of Maycomb, Alabama. It describes the events there, during three years of the Great Depression 1933-35. The events are described as if they are seen by a young girl, six-year-old Scout Finch. She talks of the special places she loves, the townspeople who live there and their daily lives. For an English reader it is very reminiscent of "Cider with Rosie," in that it conveys a particular place and time, which has now been lost. Also like "Cider with Rosie" the child's point of view evokes feelings of nostalgia, but without sentimentality.

Scout is caught up in her own world, involving her older brother, Jem, and her father, whom she calls by his name of "Atticus". The children befriend a boy named Dill, who stays nearby with his aunt each summer. They invent their own games, and fantasies, one of which involves a neighbour "Boo" Radley, the son of a reclusive family. This is fine fodder for the children, who are in turn terrified of, and fascinated by, Boo Radley, although few people have ever seen him. The narrator explains the history of the Radley family, and what has led to the present situation.

The first part of the book thus deals entirely with this childhood, and the reader learns through Scout's eyes, the habits and attitudes of the Maycomb residents, in preparation for what is to follow. Scout is beginning to develop both her attitudes and her moral compass. She has an aversion to all things girlish, and because this is a story reported in flashback, Harper Lee shows that Scout is to become a feminist, for the narrator Jean Louise ("Scout") still has an ambivalence about being a Southern lady. The child Scout also has burgeoning feelings of her sense of fair play, constantly challenging instances in her life, both great and small, which seem wrong to her.

One of the most humorous early parts of the novel is the description of the hapless teacher, unused to these Maycomb children, trying to instigate her modern city ways and educational methods. The indignation Scout feels at being disbelieved when she tells her teacher that she can already read, is very entertaining. Scout is told that she must undo the damage Atticus has done, and forbid Atticus from teaching her further. Scout's first day in school is of course a satirical treatment of education; Harper Lee is mocking it.

This part of the novel only refers obliquely to what will be the main theme of the second part. The reader learns that their father has been asked by Judge Taylor to defend Tom Robinson, a black man who has been accused of raping a young white woman, Mayella Ewell. The children become very involved with events, and these teach them about the endemic prejudice in this small town, enabling them to form ideas about those who maintain an unjust system, and those who are fighting against it, in varying degrees. The story is exceptionally moving, involving mob mentality, courage, murder, rape, class and gender issues and conflicts, courage and compassion.

Harper Lee has said that she thinks an author, "should write about what he knows and write truthfully". She has denied that this novel is an autobiography, and yet there are many parallels with people and events from her own childhood. For instance, Harper Lee's father was an attorney, similar to Atticus Finch, and in 1919, he defended two black men accused of murder. (It was his final criminal case; they were convicted, hanged and reportedly mutilated.) Her father was also the editor and publisher of the Monroeville newspaper. In To Kill a Mockingbird Scout's mother died when she was a baby, so is absent in the novel. Although Harper Lee was 25 when her mother, (whose maiden name was "Finch") died, she did have a nervous condition which made her mentally and emotionally absent. The author also had a brother who was four years older than her, just as Jem was four years older than Scout. And the family had a black housekeeper, who came daily, just as Calpurnia does in To Kill a Mockingbird.

Harper Lee once said, in a 1964 interview, that her aspiration was, "to be the Jane Austen of South Alabama." On a superficial level, anyone less like Jane Austen would be hard to imagine! Yet they both have the same underlying sentiment. They both challenged the social status quo and valued individual worth over social standing. For instance, in one episode Calpurnia chastises and punishes Scout, because she embarrasses her poorer white classmate, Walter Cunningham. Atticus respects and endorses Calpurnia's judgment, even later in the book standing up to his formidable sister, Alexandra, when she wants to fire Calpurnia. As Scout herself grows and develops through the book, she begins to view the women of the town, the "Missionary Ladies" with a satirical eye, thus alienating herself from their influence.

The character of Tom Robinson seems to have been inspired by several events, rather than one actual person. When Harper Lee was 10 years old, there was a story and local trial covered by her father's newspaper. A white woman near Monroeville had accused a black man of raping her. Another case at the time was of a black teenager, who was murdered for flirting with a white woman in Mississippi in 1955. Others have claimed that the book might have been partly inspired by a notorious case in which nine black men were convicted of raping two white women on negligible evidence. However, in 2005, Harper Lee denied any one influence, although she said that several of them served "the same purpose" - that of displaying Southern prejudices.

It is now thought that this novel, in particular the Tom Robinson character, acted as a catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement. The jury at Tom Robinson's trial were poor white farmers, who convicted him despite overwhelming evidence of his innocence. In the background many more educated and moderate white townspeople hid behind the law and supported the jury's decision. Atticus Finch speaks here, as reported by Scout,

""Why reasonable people go stark raving mad when anything involving a Negro comes up is something I don't pretend to understand...I just hope that Jem and Scout come to me for their answers instead of listening to the town"... I never figured out how Atticus knew I was listening, and it was not until many years later that I realized he wanted me to hear every word he said."

This second part of the novel tells unpalatable truths. It reflects a whole spectrum of views, many nuances of prejudice. But it is very tough to read. Harper Lee had a piercing eye, and she did not flinch from telling the truth about people, ugly as it is. Significant social change was inevitable, but also was the fact that it would be conflict-ridden.

The parallels in To Kill a Mockingbird with Harper Lee's own life continue. Down the street from them lived a family whose house was always boarded up, and when the son got into some trouble the family's father kept him hidden at home for 24 years out of shame. This family seem uncannily like the Radleys.

But perhaps the most striking resemblance to her life is the character of Dill, whom Harper Lee based on her childhood friend, Truman Capote. As a child, Truman Capote lived next door to Harper Lee, with his aunts, while his mother visited New York City. The author has built Capote's imaginative talent for fantasising and story-telling into the character of Dill. Just as the two children were both boyish (the author was a tomboy) but also loved to read, so were Scout and Dill. Both felt alienated from their peers.

Because of these strong connections, and the reticence of Harper Lee to be interviewed about To Kill a Mockingbird a sort of mythology seems to have grown up around the author. It is claimed that she is reclusive, and there are even rumours that Truman Capote, with his greater acknowledged body of work, was the true author of this novel too. But in a 2011 interview, Harper Lee finally said why she never wrote again,

"Two reasons; one, I wouldn't go through the pressure and publicity I went through with "To Kill a Mockingbird" for any amount of money. Second, I have said what I wanted to say and I will not say it again."

Additionally a letter written by Truman Capote has been donated to Monroeville's Museum. (Monroeville was the town where she grew up, which is represented in the novel as Maycomb.) The letter dates from 1959, and in it Truman Capote wrote to a neighbour in Monroeville that Harper Lee was writing a book soon to be published.

Shortly after the publication of To Kill a Mockingbird, in 1960, Capote and Lee both travelled to Kansas. They were to investigate the multiple murders which would provide the basis for the first ever "factual novel", a nonfiction novel by Truman Capote. (Here is a link to my review of "In cold blood".) The authors thought, lived and worked so closely together, that perhaps it is unsurprising that there are some stylistic similarities and approaches.

The narrative throughout is straight to the point and direct, despite the fact that it deals with such serious issues. It is the sort of book which, when read, is deceptively simple, yet has a way of metaphorically reaching into your chest and tugging at your heartstrings. The matter-of-fact descriptions work well, because they are conveyed from the point of view of a young girl, Scout, yet this is part of the novel's greatness. Because Scout with her child's eyes can see the simple truth, there is no posturing and no pretence.

The writing is very engaging, although to a modern reader the attitudes displayed by some characters are ignorant and insulting. It may be a shock to come across the word "nigger" used so casually in the novel. It soon becomes obvious that this is characteristic of the time, especially when used by the white folk. Scout is mildly reprimanded for using the word by her father Atticus Finch, as it was "common". To a modern reader of course it seems far worse, but this was a separatist society. Even in the UK, the description "nigger brown" was in common parlance - on clothes, in paintboxes and so on - for the first half of the 20th Century. "Coloured people" is also a description now avoided in the UK, having had patronising overtones since the late 1960's. Yet in other countries "people of colour" is a perfectly acceptable term. There are worldwide far fewer pejorative words for white folk, perhaps because they historically hold the power.

In the Southern States, slavery was a more recent phenomenon than elsewhere in the USA or the UK. And by using such racial epithets Harper Lee portrayed the reality of the time at which it was set, the mid-1930s. It is additionally complicated for the modern reader, since Harper Lee wrote the novel to be told retrospectively. This means that the story is told from the perspective of the 1950s, and actually reflects the conflicts, tensions, and fears of that later time. Nevertheless, it is still extremely unusual for a white person from the South to write such a book in the late 1950s. The accelerating racial tensions clearly bubble under the surface. We can see that this book, by its very existence and popularity, must have had a profound influence on the growing civil rights movement of the 1960's. It was an act of protest showing the possibility of people rising above their prejudices.

Yet even this is almost a travesty of the range of views displayed in the novel. Harper Lee's approach to class and race is far more complex than rich versus poor, or black versus white. She does not even take the predictable stereoptype ascribing racial prejudice primarily to "poor white trash", although she shows that issues of gender and class may intensify prejudice, and not allow the existing order to be challenged. The complexity of perceptions of racism and segregation is shown in the novel. We gradually become aware of a silent revolution among Americans. Not many are willing to stick their necks out and tell the truth, as Atticus Finch will, but there are those who will support him in secret; there is a growing feeling that racial inequality is both undesirable and unfair.

Oddly, there appears to be a kind of caste system in place within the Southern States, which explains almost every character's behaviour in the novel. Scout's Aunt Alexandra attributes Maycomb's inhabitants' faults and advantages to their genealogy. Some families apparently have gambling streaks and drinking streaks. Towards the start the reader learns a detailed background of both the Finch family history and the history of Maycomb. Mayella Ewell, being from the no-good Ewell clan, is to be pitied for this, because inevitably she is unable to admit the truth about making advances toward Tom Robinson. The traditions and taboos within this small part of the USA, seems almost to drive the plot, and the characters are powerless puppets. Scout thinks that "fine folks" are people with good sense who do the best they can with what they have.

The "fine folks" shine out of this novel, Atticus Finch being very much the hero. In fact it had originally been named "Atticus", but was apparently renamed, when the author realised her story was going beyond being a character portrait. It is also said that at one point she became so frustrated by the novel that she tossed the manuscript out of the window into the snow, but her agent made her retrieve it. Atticus comes across as such a fair-minded individual, with very independent thoughts from the rest of the community, even though he is seen through a very young girl's eyes. He is especially unusual as he treats his children's views with respect - giving them equal consideration as if they are adult. His direct statements, although said to his children, are simple truths for us all,

"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it."

"before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience."

"I want you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is 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."

Frequently the character makes you gasp and stop in your tracks, just by the brevity and accurate simplicity of his words. At other times there is a wry irony which might make you smile,

"When a child asks you something, answer him for goodness' sake. But don't make a production of it. Children are children but they can spot an evasion quicker than adults." Or even,

"Atticus told me to delete the adjectives and I'd have the facts."

Now that child-like view could almost be a maxim for life!

This review has not attempted to tell the story, or even add a new analysis of a much-loved and revered book. It is a personal reaction, by a non-American, whose reading of this book has been long overdue. So I was left wondering, what does the title mean? Who actually represents the mockingbird in this novel?

There are references to a mockingbird when Tom Robinson appears, and also Boo Radley. Harper Lee herself could also, at a stretch, be thought of as the mockingbird. But personally I think it is more abstract. For surely the mockingbird is innocence. Innocence will fade. In a way this is good, because it is replaced with knowledge. But then knowledge itself can be very dark. The skill of this novel is that all human nature is here, in microcosm. Individual events represent great truths, great rights and great wrongs. There are parts a reader will hate to read, and it could be argued that there should have been more from the black point of view. Yet Calpurnia is a wonderfully drawn character, and we get a sense of Reverend Sykes's strength and dignity too. The scenes in his church are beautifully described with flair and expertise; they are a joy to read. Those in the gallery of the courtroom have a different focus, and in a way seem to have lost the sense of the individual. But this is perhaps inevitable with a story told from a white child's point of view. It does not prevent To Kill a Mockingbird from being a great and perceptive book.

Children for the most part grow up. They do not feel the trauma so keenly, but use it to develop and grow. There are signs that one of these children may never become desensitised. Would that be such a bad thing? This is part of the book's honesty and rawness. Yet most of us hope that children will manage to grow, and to varying degrees make the world a better place, without losing their "song".

My blackbird has gone. Yes, the majestic chorus is there in the background as I wake. And I can hear an individual working out his song even now, with its little tunes and curlicues. But the simple notes of my innocent friend, sung out with such confidence, clarity and truth are no more. They are lost for ever. I know it was inevitable. But I hope he wasn't killed.

لا تقتل عصفوراً ساخراً

يالمأزق الكتابة عن الكتب المطروقة، تشعر بأنك وفي أي لحظة ستعيد كلام أحدهم، ستتعثر بكلماته وأفكاره، تشعر بصعوبة البحث عن صوتك، وكتابة شيء أصيل، تقول فيه ما لم يقل بعد.

ويالمأزق قراءة هذه الكتب ابتداءً، فحتى لو كنت لا تعرف تفاصيلها، إلا أن ما قيل وما كتب عنها عالق في ذهنك، يكاد يوجه انتباهك، بحيث يغدو النص كما قيل، لا كما يجب أن تقرؤه.

وفي هذه الرواية تبرز موضوعة (ثيمة) العنصرية بشكل ظاهر، بحيث تستولي على كل حديث أو مراجعة عن الكتاب، رغم أن العنصرية كموضوعة لا تشغل إلا النصف الثاني من الكتاب، فلذا يبدو النصف الأول للقارئ الذي جاء إلى الكتاب باحثاً عن آتيكوس في المحكمة، يبدو ذلك النصف مملاً، طويلاً ومقحماً على الرواية، وهو كذلك لو كانت العنصرية هي موضوعة الرواية، ولكنها برأيي ليست كذلك، فالموضوعة الرئيسية هي الطفولة في ولاية جنوبية، ومن هذه الموضوعة تتفرع الموضوعات الأخرى، فهناك موضوعة العلاقة بالأب وتحوله إلى نموذج، وهناك موضوعة العنصرية بالطبع، وهناك موضوعة العدالة، كل هذه الموضوعات تتجاور ضمن حبكة القصة، التي تروى على لسان ابنة آتيكوس سكاوت.

سكاوت طفلة عمرها ست سنوات، تعيش هي وأخيها جيم الذي يكبرها قليلاً مع والدهما الأرمل (آتيكوس فينش)، في مدينة مايكومب في ولاية آلاباما، في ثلاثينات القرن العشرين، ولأن القصة تروى من وجهة نظرها، فلذا تركز على ما يشغلها هي وجيم، فلذا تحدثنا عن المدرسة، وعن الجيران، وعن الجار الغريب (بو رادلي) الذي لا يظهر للأنظار بعدما طعن والده بمقص، إنها حياة طفلة ومغامراتها مع جيم وصديقهما ديل – يبدو أنها استوحت شخصيته من ترومان كابوتي نفسه، صديقها منذ الطفولة -، من كل هذه الحكايات الصغيرة يبرز آتيكوس فينش، الأب الذي يتعامل مع أطفاله بأسلوب تربوي رائع، يحاورهم، يعلمهم، يعقد معهم الصفقات الصغيرة، لقد كتبت هذه الرواية بروح أنثى، تلتقط الأشياء الصغيرة التي ربما لا يلتفت لها كثيراً، ولهذا اعتبرت الرواية شبه تعليمية، مناسبة لتدرس في المدارس.

من أبرز اللحظات التي التقطتها المؤلفة، هي اللحظة التي كان فيها جيم وسكاوت يتبرمان من كبر سن والدهما، ويعتبرانه عجوزاً، عندها بعثت كلباً مسعوراً يطوف الحي ليتعرف الطفلان على موهبة مخفية لوالدهما، وهي أنه رامٍ بارع، يصيب الكلب بطلقة واحدة، وبلا نظارته، بحيث يفقد جيم لسانه، ولا يدري ماذا يقول لوالده الذي لم يعد عجوزاً الآن.

إن آتيكوس في الرواية وقبل أن يكون ذلك الرجل الأخلاقي الذي يرفض العنصرية والظلم، والذي يحلم بأن يتساوى الناس أمام القضاء، بحيث يحصل الأسود على ذات الحقوق التي يحصل عليها البيض، وقبل أن يكون ذلك الأب الذي يعامل طفليه بكرامة واحترام، إنه قبل هذا الجار الذي يصبر على أذى جارته العجوز، ويعلم طفليه كيف يعاملانها باحترام، وعندما تتهجم العجوز السليطة اللسان على جيم وأخته وتشتم والدهما، فيغضب جيم ويخرب حديقتها، يلزمه والده عندها بأن يحقق لها ما تطلبه لتسامحه وهو أن يقرأ لها ولمدة شهر كامل، إنها مهمة رهيبة، ولكن جيم يقوم بها تصحبه أخته، وفي النهاية وبعدما تموت العجوز يستخرج لهما آتيكوس الدرس، لقد كانت تلك العجوز مدمنة، عانت كثيراً لتتخلص من إدمانها قبل أن تموت، لقد كانت تعاني الألم وتتحمل، حتى خرجت من هذه الدنيا صافية، إنها برواية أخرى بطلة.

يأتي بعد هذا كله آتيكوس المحامي الذي يتصدى لقضية رجل أسود متهم باغتصاب فتاة بيضاء، إنها قضية خاسرة، في ولاية عنصرية، لا يمكن للمحلفين فيها إلا أن يدي��وا الرجل، مذنباً كان أو غير مذنب، ولكن آتيكوس يبرز المثال الأخلاقي أمام أبنائه وأمام الجميع، يتحمل تعرض المجتمع له ولأبنائه، يخاطر بحياته عندما يقف عند باب السجن في وجه عصبة مسلحة جاءت ليلاً لتغتال الرجل الأسود.

تأتي بعد ذلك أشهر فصول الرواية، المحاكمة التي جسدها على الشاشة وباقتدار الممثل الراحل جريجوري بِك، في تلك المحاكمة نتعرف على المدعين، الفتاة البيضاء ووالدها السكير، ونتعرف على المتهم توم روبنسون، نتابع التفاصيل التي يجلي فيها آتيكوس الظلم الواقع على توم، ورغم ذلك وكما هو متوقع تحكم المحكمة عليه.

لا تتجلى بشاعة العنصرية برأيي في الحكم على توم، ولا في الطريقة المهينة التي يعامله الإدعاء بها، ولا في نعت الناس لآتيكوس بأنه (محب للزنوج)، إن العنصرية تبرز أولاً في الحادثة ذاتها، في رغبة فتاة بيضاء مهجورة برجل أسود، والحالة الخانعة التي وجد نفسه فيها بحكم لونه، بحيث صار ينفذ لها ما تطلبه من أعمال منزلية، حتى جاء اليوم الذي تحرشت به فيه، وتتجلى العنصرية في اتهامها له باغتصابها انتقاماً من رفضه لها، وتتجلى أخيراً في محاولة توم اليائسة للهروب من السجن، حيث يقتل وتنتهي مأساته بجثة دامية، لماذا حاول توم الهروب؟ ألم يعده آتيكوس بالعمل على قضيته وأخذها إلى المحكمة الدستورية بعيداً عن هذه الولاية العنصرية؟ لم يحاول رجل بيد واحدة الهرب؟ لأنه بكل بساطة وضع في زاوية ضيقة بحيث لم يعد قادراً على التفكير والثقة بأحد، فلذا جرب الشيء الوحيد الذي يعرفه الهرب، هرب من الفتاة البيضاء التي حاولت تقبيله، فانتهى إلى المحكمة، ثم هرب من الرجل الأبيض الذي يريد أن يسجنه فانتهى إلى المشرحة، إن مأساته ليست في أنه قتل، بل في أنه مهزوم منذ البداية، قبل حتى أن يولد.

إن فهم هذا جيداً، يجعلنا نقدر ما قام به الحقوقيون في أمريكا على مدى سنوات طويلة، وعذابات لا تنتهي، ليقضوا على العنصرية، ويغيروا قناعات الناس وأفكارهم، بحيث تتم محاصرة العنصريين في زمننا هذا، حتى لا يجرأ أحدهم على التصريح بعنصريته علناً.

تنتهي الرواية بحادثة تغلق الدائرة، الجار الذي كان الأطفال يحشرون أنوفهم في حياته (بو برادلي) يتدخل لينقذ حياتهم من المجرم الوحش الذي لم يكتفِ بحياة توم روبنسون، فحاول قتل أبناء المحامي الذي أذله وفضحه في المحكمة، ولكنه انتهى مجندلاً في شارع مظلم، هكذا تنقلب الأشياء في أعيننا، فالرجل الأبيض هو الشر مجسداً، يسكر ويضرب ابنته، ثم يجعلها تقود رجلاً بريئاً إلى حتفه، ثم يحاول اغتيال أطفال لا ذنب لهم، والرجل الآخر الذي ينظر له المجتمع على أنه مختل محبوس في منزله، هو صورة الخير، إنها الدنيا مقلوبة في أعيننا، ولكنها صحيحة تماماً وفي موضعها في عيني طفلة صغيرة كسكاوت.

Me: "What impacted you the most when you read To Kill a Mockingbird?"
Sis: "Let me think... Probably Atticus, he was a great father to Scout."
Me: "Is it just me or does he remind you of our dad too?"
Sis: "Mmm... oh, yes, definitely."
Me: "Do you remember that anecdote of me coming back crying from school because the boys had bullied me for not looking like them, and he sat me down to explain all about that? Atticus explaining race to Scout is so like what he told me."
Sis: "Haha, yeah, he did things like that with me too. I was so nosy and asked him so many questions!"
Me: "Do you think he would've seen himself in Atticus Finch if he had read this book?"
Sis: nostalgic sigh "Yeah... But he'd say he would've been stricter with us girls. Not with you, he only threatened you with dire punishment!"

The above is part of a long conversation I had yesterday with one of my sisters, fourteen years my senior and with more memories of our father than I, because I needed to make sure I wasn't imagining things and it wasn't the rosy glasses of nostalgia what was making me see my father in Atticus Finch. She confirmed that, yes, he had been with me like Mr Finch was with Scout, and he had been like Mr Finch with her as well as to the next youngest sister, to all three amongst his daughters who were the closest to him. My father was like Atticus Finch, and taught me all about treating people, not getting into fights with schoolmates, not sneaking into the neighbours' orchards, to be nice to the old ladies, to understand race and never allow others make me feel uncomfortable about mine, to not spy on the "village idiot," to love books, to not touch guns I didn't know how to fire, to fish, swim, care for my little animals and my personal patch at the orchard . . . He was my hero, and the only person that could manage an active, inquisitive, scrapes-prone tomboy with too many questions and opinions for her own good.

I'm not used to seeing anything from my life in a book, I don't think I've ever found anything this relatable in any book, so To Kill a Mockingbird is extremely exceptional in this regard. They say that when you don't know how to review a book, go for what impacted you personally and unroll from there, and this is it for me. My father is no longer alive, but if anyone were to ask me what it was like for me with him, I'd have said it was like the father/daughter relationship in this book.

I could also say that the story itself is beautiful if bittersweet and tragic at times, that the characters are so well-done, that I liked the POV structure of telling the story through a child's eyes, with a child's voice and child's understanding of the world, but with enough mature evocative power that you understand far more than Scout does through the words she repeats without fully grasping the meanings. For example, in the courtroom scene, you are told just enough to understand what Scout doesn't about Mayella Ewell, the white girl who accuses Tom Robinson. It's this kind of understated horror barely buried under the surface that makes the narrative so much more powerful, in my opinion. Scout is so innocent because she's young and has been raised to expect the best from people, but you know there's rotten things in Maycomb. She expects justice with a child's faith, but you know this can't end but in tragedy.

And speaking of tragedy, the only complaint I have is that I believe the fate of Tom Robinson could've been different. The miscarriage of justice should've run its course and ended in the penalty he was sentenced to, to underscore just how deeply flawed and racist the trial had been, instead of having Tom die from being shot by guards whilst trying to escape, because that somehow makes it look like the ending is Tom's fault. A completely innocent man should've had a completely innocent end instead of giving them an "excuse," so that didn't sit well with me. Although, when I think on it some more, I can see how that ending also does highlight how tremendously unfair the whole case was, just not powerfully enough for me.

In any case, it's the Atticus/Scout dynamics what will always live in my memory from this book. Wish I could talk to my father once again and ask, "What does Appomattox mean?" and get a lecture on not reading books for adults without his permission right before I fell asleep on his lap thirty seconds into his long tale about the America in his Westerns.

کتاب "کشتن مرغ مینا" روایتی است تلخ از دنیای تاریک و بی رحم بزرگ ترها که با زبان شیرین کودکانه و از نگاه معصوم دختربچه ای هشت ساله نقل می شود
حکایت کتاب حکایت غم انگیز جهل و تعصب و تبعیضی ست که زخمش هیچ وقت کهنه نمی شود. قربانیان داستان نه اسیر فقر و تنگدستی که بیشتر از آن اسیر جهل و نادانی هستند که به پشتوانه آن انجام هر عمل ناپسندی را حق خود می دانند ولو این عمل قربانی کردن انسانی بی گناه باشد
بچه های داستان ما می دانند که مرغ بی آزار مینا را نباید کشت ولی سر در نمی آورند که چرا مردم کشتن انسانی بی گناه را ، که آزارش به هیچکس نرسیده و تنها گناهش پوست سیاهش است، جشن می گیرند
کتاب علی رقم عمق و محتوایی که داشت بسیار ساده و قابل درک نوشته شده بود. شخصیت های اصلی کتاب یکی از یکی دوست داشتنی تر بودن خصوصا "اتیکاس" که به نظرم بهترین بابایی بود که در دوران کتاب خوانیم باهاش آشنا شدم. خلاصه که بی نهایت از خوندنش لذت بردم

بخش هایی از کتاب
گاهی آدم هایی پیدا می شوند که آنقدر غصه ی "آن" دنیا را دارند که هیچ وقت یاد نمی گیرند در "این" دنیا چطور باید زندگی کرد
***
اگه کسی به تو لقب بدی داد ، لازم نیست بهت بربخوره . این لقب به تو صدمه نمی زنه ، برعکس نشون می ده که خود گوینده اخلاقا" چه قدر فقیره
***
هرکس حق داره هر طور می خواد فکر کنه و توقع داشته باشه که دیگران هم به عقایدش احترام بگذارند . اما من قبل از اینکه با دیگران زندگی کنم ، باید بتونم با خودم زندگی کنم . وجدان آدم تنها چیزیه که نمی تونه تابع نظر اکثریت باشه
***
لازم نیست ادم هر چی بلده نشون بده.نه خوبه که آدم به خودش بباله نه مردم از کسی که بیشتر از آنها چیز بلد است خوششون میاد
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خب پرونده این کتاب هم فعلا اینجا بسته میشه تا من یه بنده خدایی رو راضی کنم جلد دوم این کتاب رو به عنوان هدیه ی تولدم بخره :دی

i'm pretty sure someday i'm going to reread this, not enjoy it for a second, and write a not-that-negative review that will still have people reacting like i set a building on fire in front of them.

but for right now, all we have is the opinion of 14 year old me.

and she was a suck-up bookworm teacher's pet nerd who thought the name boo radley was the funniest thing in human existence.

so we find ourselves here.

part of a series i'm doing in which i claim to be reviewing books i read a long time ago

Tengo la gran suerte de vivir en el caluroso, pintoresco y quizás olvidado estado de Alabama. Suerte por un lado, porque pude empatizar de una manera muy especial con los personajes, el entorno y la trama de la novela. Pero también, porque he podido ser testigo de las heridas que han dejado los años de discriminación y segregación que ha y sigue recibiendo un grupo de personas en los Estados Unidos. Es por eso, que la novela que terminé entre el trayecto de Louisiana y Alabama, fue muy especial personalmente, y será una experiencia que jamás olvidaré.

Ahora si, la reseña.

To Kill a Mockingbird (en español, Matar un Ruiseñor), nos cuenta la historia de Jean Louise Finch (a.k.a. Scout) una niña de alrededor 7 años que vive en el ficticio pueblo de Maycomb, Alabama. La historia, también contextualizada en los años 30, en plena gran depresión, nos relata las andanzas de esta ocurrente, valiente e inocente niña, que acorde pasan las páginas, va creciendo y experimentando cosas que cambiarán su vida para siempre.

“As you grow older, you'll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don't you forget it - whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, he is trash.”

Scout, la narradora de la novela, nos lleva por esta trepidante historia que acorde avanzamos, va cambiando a tintes cada vez más oscuros. Pasando de unas ordinarias aventuras de verano, hacia un suceso que no dejará indiferente a nadie. Todo esto, mezclado con una gran cantidad de atractivos personajes, que le dan a la novela, todos los ingredientes para hacer una de mis mejores experiencias de lo que va del año.

El personaje que bajo mi punto de vista tiene más protagonismo e importancia en la novela es Atticus Finch, el padre de Scout y su hermano Jem. Este atrevido, audaz y apacible abogado es, no solo la única figura a seguir que tienen sus hijos (y yo), si no que es la única persona que fue capaz de tomar las riendas de un caso que era virtualmente imposible de sacar adelante. ¿Podrá un afroamericano, en el sur de los Estados Unidos (años 30), salir libre de una falsa acusación de violación?



Sin embargo, la novela escrita por Harper Lee, va mucho más allá de la resolución de las tramas principales. Ya que el verdadero sentido y objetivo que tuvo la autora norteamericana, fue la reflexión que el lector puede sacar de temas sobre la discriminación, el prejuicio, la juventud, la familia, el racismo, la honestidad, la integridad, el trabajo y muchísimas cosas más, que de una manera u otra, llamará tu atención.

En conclusión, la magnífica historia de Scout, tiene todos los ingredientes para ser una novela que encante a cada persona que se adentre en ella. Con un estilo crudo pero inocente y con decepciones y alegrías en partes iguales, Lee, logrará robar y meterse en los corazones de sus lectores, y quizás hacerlos añicos o lo opuesto. Pero eso, está a elección.

The first time I read this I was much , much younger and I remember loving it then . Over forty five years later, it still held so much for me - wonderful language and characters that I never forgot about and relevancy even so many years later .

I'm not sure I have an original thought or feeling that someone else hasn't already articulated. So I will only say that for me the beauty of this book lies in how Lee has so perfectly captured the time in the 1930's and the place Maycomb and the life in this small town and what it meant to be black then and there and how a young girl tries to make sense of what is happening around her . It's a portrait of a place that comes alive because of the richness of the characters . Yes, it's about racism in the south in the 1930's , and about family and how life in a small town can shape people or not if you are Atticus Finch but my heart belongs to Scout .

I decided to reread it in preparation for reading Go Set a Watchman because my first reading had been so long ago . I wish I had done what my GR friends Diane S. and Diane B. did in not rereading TKAM but choosing to read Go Set a Watchman and judging it on its own for what it is . I was more than halfway through TKAM when I saw their perspective on this and it was just too late - I was just too hooked on the book again. I remembered some but it felt as if I was reading it for the first time , being introduced to this time and place and this story and to beloved Scout , Jem, Atticus and Calpurnia , Miss Maudie and Boo once again.

There will just not be anything like this book and now I'm looking forward to reading Go Set a Watchman and approaching it for what it is - not a sequel but the seed of the iconic book . I think I'm going to wait a bit to read it . I want to savor what I've just read .

(A-) 83% | Very Good
Notes: On ugly truth, fading youth, dead appeals, courage, morals, community quarrels and fallible humans spoiling ideals.

*Check out progress updates for detailed commentary:

Progress updates:

01/01/2024 - Preamble:
(1) It's been New Year tradition for me to have either my first book of the year or the last book of the preceding year (some years both) be a super-popular novel.
- For 2024 it's "To Kill a Mockingbird."
(2) When I say "super-popular," I don't mean the YA novel de jour that practically no one outside Goodreads has even heard of. I mean books that everyone knows, possibly a classic or due to a hit adaptation.

01/04/2024 - Chapters 1–5
(1) The most striking thing so far has to do with people's names. The brother and sister, Jeremy and Jean, are nicknamed Jem and Scout.
- It's notable that practically everyone calls them by their nicknames, which are both decidedly unisex—I can't be the only one who saw "Jem" and thought "and the Holograms"?
- Possibly it's to underscore a time of innocence, before sexuality kicks in.
- That goes for their friend Dill as well.
(2) Both children refer to and call their father by his given name, Atticus. It just feels wrong, especially for this very antique setting. I mean, these aren't hippies we're dealing with.
- Unless this is explained later in the book, I figure I'll just attribute it to regional or cultural quirks.
(3) Both Atticus and the cook Calpurnia have Roman names. They're the only ones that do, despite being different races. It doesn't seem to be a family thing, Atticus' brother's named Jack.
- It's established early on how these are the book's two moral compasses, so this might be to highlight that idea since Latin is the language of law.
(4) It's an odd inversion of roles, where the teacher, Miss Caroline, is the one comforted, protected by, and at the mercy of the children in her class.
- The children here act more like adults and she acts like a scared child.
- Additionally, it's her comic unfamiliarity with how things are done locally that reinforces how insular a community Maycomb is.
(5) Atticus' personal morality seems to be distinctly utilitarian: the greatest good for the greatest number.
- He explains how the town allows the Ewell family to break local hunting and truancy laws so their children won't go hungry.
- Scout mentions how Maycomb has its own "ethical culture."
(6) I wish I had an annotated version of this. I'm not doing so well with the Alabama vernacular and phonetic spellings of words.
- I have to keep googling what things mean, which isn't difficult just tedious.

01/05/2024 - Chapters 6–9
(1) "[Jem] went through a brief Egyptian Period that baffled me—he tried to walk flat a great deal, sticking one arm in front of him and one in back of him, putting one foot behind the other. He declared Egyptians walked that way."
- Hmm, I wonder if that's where The Bangles got it from?
- Rural American children learning about Egypt just seems odd. Greece and Rome seems more natural.
- I recall reading somewhere that early American education put an emphasis on learning Greek and Latin. Though, perhaps if learning to read hieroglyphs were viable they'd do that too?
(2) One of the big subplots at the start is the knot-hole in the Radley's tree, which is used as a kind of drop-off between the Finch children and some mysterious benefactor.
- My guess is that it's Boo Radley who's been leaving them little treats and trinkets. Which would be ironic, since the main focus of this first part has been the children trying desperately to catch a glimpse of and make contact with Boo. It could well be that Boo's been trying to make contact with them.
(3) We get quite frequent use of the N-word here, and mainly by children no less. I'm not the least bit squeamish about it, but I can understand if people are.
- Possibly I'd feel differently if I were listening to the audiobook version.
- I'm guessing this is why the book's so controversial and banned in many jurisdictions. Otherwise, it's a rather tame story so far: reminds me a lot of Laura Ingalls Wilder books, all quaint rural activities.
(4) So far, the book hasn't struck me as remarkable at all. Though, by the end of Chapter 9 it seems to be ramping up the heat.
- Atticus is conscious that his choices will negatively affect his children. It's the first time we've seen him show any vulnerability.
- It'll be interesting to see how Boo Radley fits into all this. He's so far been the focus of the book and I can't see how he'd naturally tie into the story going forward.
(5) School is canceled because of some unseasonably slushy snowfall.
- I live in Canada, so to me that's totally weak. Though, understandable if they don't have the clothes for the cold, poor as they are.

01/06/2024 - Chapters 10–13
(1) This is an odd sort of novel. So far, it's been more interconnected short stories than anything all that cohesive.
- Perhaps I'm just too used to the pace and plotting of modern books. Halfway through this and I don't really know where it's going, only an inkling based solely on the book's reputation.
(2) The whole First Purchase Church section is a fascinating bit of anthropology.
- It's a very binary environment. There are always two kinds of people. People who can read and people who can't. People who welcome whites attending their church and people who don't. People who meet the Reverend's moral standards and people who don't, etc.
- Also notable is how prevalent public shaming is in coercing desired behavior. Reverend Sykes calls out people by name, in front of the congregation, for their moral failings. He even shames the congregation, keeping them locked inside until the minimum weekly offering's met.
(3) We get a closer look at Calpurnia, who's very much a binary figure herself. She lives among blacks but works among whites.
- In this capacity she acts as a sort of bridge or translator between the two cultures.
- Scout goes as far as to say she's bilingual, the way she changes her speech to fit who she's talking to.
- She brings literacy into her community, having learned from her employers.
(4) It's very important to Atticus to instill in his children a very specific idea of courage. He very reluctantly, but very expertly, puts down a mad dog. His shooting skills having been hidden from his children.
- He goes to great lengths to hide it, in fact, having his out-of-town brother come teach them to shoot instead of himself.
(5) The whole section with Mrs. Dubose is meant as a lesson, to teach Jem the real meaning of courage by witnessing first-hand an old woman persist through morphine withdrawals.
- Atticus tells Jem that he would have made him visit Mrs. Dubose even if he wasn't forced to do so as punishment. That makes me think it was actually Atticus' idea, which he suggested to Mrs. Dubose.
- Of course, this lesson in enduring discomfort and pain is done to prepare his children for the inevitable abuse they'll get once Tom Robinson goes to trial.
- Atticus is sort of doing a Mr. Miyagi on Jem and Scout. Wax-on, wax-off.
(6) Scout says that Jem is all she has in life. Her accompanying him to his daily punishments with Mrs. Dubose is that sentiment put to practice.
- They're the only two children in a neighborhood of old people, which surely played a role in making Dill's visits every summer special.

01/07/2024 - Chapters 14–17
(1) This has been a real slow burn. Not that it's been bad, just it's been going at a leisurely pace and hasn't been at all what I expected.
- The story doesn't really find a clear direction until the jailhouse scene. After that it's been laser-focused on the trial of Tom Robinson.
- From Chapter 17 onward, it's been pretty much a pure law procedural, albeit from a child's perspective.
(2) "I kicked the man swiftly. Barefooted, I was surprised to see him fall back in real pain. I intended to kick his shin, but aimed too high."
- Quite a polite way of saying she kicked him in the balls.
(3) Dill runs away from home seemingly because he craves companionship. His parents buy him all the toys and distractions he wants, and just leaves him to entertain himself.
- Definitely shades of the future, how parents leave children to be raised by their televisions and smart devices.
- As well, it underscores a recurring theme of how children need to get out of the house and play with kids their own age.
(4) The scene between Scout and Dill discussing theories on where babies come from really brings attention to how young these kids are.
- Alexandra told Scout God drops babies down chimneys, whereas Dill believes there's a foggy island where a man breathes life into dormant newborns.
- Being so young is an important storytelling element, since it's the justification for a lot of exposition. Them learning things for the first time and all.
(5) Jem seemingly puts Atticus' lessons in courage to practice, openly disobeying his father to protect him from an angry mob because it's the right thing to do.
- You can actually argue either way on this. Though, he seems to be taking directly after Atticus' example, who does the exact same self-sacrificial act to protect Tom Robinson.
(6) Maycomb treats the trial as a cause for festivities. Everyone, regardless of race or background, gathers at the courthouse square for one big picnic.
- I guess small towns will take any opportunity to have a party.
- Reminds me a lot of modern-day football tailgating. The trial being the game everyone's gathered to watch.
- The way it's written, it's like everyone's at the theatre. People jostling for good seats and people being shushed for being noisy.

01/08/2024 - Chapters 18–22
(1) Mayella, we learn, has no friends. Even among her many siblings, they're always out with each other while she does the household chores alone.
- Of course, solitary individuals in this book are either taken as monsters (Boo Radley) or prone to making poor and impulsive decisions (Dill). Mayella is arguably both.
(2) Speaking of which, why was Boo Radley the primary focus of Part 1?
- He's barely mentioned in Part 2 except to say that the kids have grown out of bothering him.
- Meanwhile, the trial's barely given any attention prior to the jailhouse scene.
(3) Dill breaks down and cries during the trial because of the double-standard of treatment Tom Robinson faces from the prosecutor.
- Dolphus Raymond makes a point to say it's because only children can understand it, not yet being corrupted by society nor calloused to it.
- Personally, I find the idea terribly cliché, that the purity of children gives them a clarity adults don't possess. I mean, children are capable of terrible decisions and reasoning too, as evidenced in this book.
- Though I do appreciate the point that's being made. Cliché isn't necessarily a bad thing, and it may not have been cliché when this was written.
(4) Atticus gives very good closing remarks. Not that it gave me chills or anything. Just that it felt like an excellent school civics lecture.
- He states the year as 1935, which I suppose was right in the heart of the Great Depression.
- The closing arguments are also excellent rhetoric, taking into account the presumed prejudice of the jury and pre-emptively addressing their assumptions and concerns. He handles it in a way that doesn't sound admonishing or preachy.
(5) Throughout the whole book you get a clear dichotomy between people who live in the town and people who live outside it. Townsfolk being more accepting and tolerant of blacks than people who live rurally.
- Even people like Underwood, who's said to hate black people, helps Atticus defend Tom Robinson from the mob. Despite his personal feelings, he acts the way he's expected as a member of the community.
- With this in mind, the result of the trial was never in doubt, given what Scout says about townsfolk rarely ever being on juries: how they're always struck or excused.

01/09/2024 - Chapters 23–27
(1) Atticus: "There’s nothing more sickening to me than a low-grade white man who'll take advantage of a Negro’s ignorance."
- I feel like modern audiences reading this line, specifically "a Negro's ignorance," might be quick to label Atticus a racist.
- I know, it's ridiculous given the overall context of the book and of this quote. Though, I've seen harsher reactions to milder words.
- When I hear about this book being banned, and having now read nearly all of it, I can only guess that the controversy is about the language used. Not just the liberal use of the N-word but also of "Negro," the more politically correct term historically.
- The presence of racial language at all, even in decidedly positive usage, is often triggering and a red line for many people.
(2) Following the trial, Jem debates Atticus on the merits of the legal system.
- Here, Jem represents the reader, peppering Atticus with questions of injustice. Atticus, in his answers, defends the legal system as the best instrument that exists for achieving justice.
- It's an interesting conversation because we have Jem's idealism and faith in mankind broken as a result of the trial. Here, Atticus is sort of an idealist, faithful in the legal system to self-correct when the judgement is (inevitably) overturned on appeal. Spoiler: that doesn't happen.
(3) We get an answer to why no one in Maycomb wants to serve on a jury.
- Atticus explains that it's because the community's so reliant on each other that to even appear to pass negative judgement on neighbors might bring about negative social consequences.
- Indeed, we see this later with Atticus, Judge Taylor and Tom's widow, where Bob Ewell pesters, abuses and potentially commits crimes against them in order to get even for seemingly opposing his family.
(4) Jem comes to the understanding that Boo Radley doesn't leave his house because he simply doesn't want to.
- On the face of it, this may seem like clear agoraphobia. Though, in the context of Jem's discussion with Scout, you get the sense it's because not all folk are the same, nor treated the same, and Boo Radley doesn't want to come out to face the cruel world.
(5) There's a lot of openly racist talk during the Missionary Society meeting Aunty Alexandra hosts.
- It's a scene to make plain how seemingly civilized and genteel ladies may be done up pretty and polite on the outside, but are ugly on the inside and hypocrites when it comes to helping Africans abroad while persecuting Africans in their midst.
- It's during this that Scout gains a respect for her aunt, who continues to act like a lady during all this and particularly upon hearing of Tom's death.
(6) Speaking of Tom's death, it's a curious thing given how confident Atticus was in winning the appeal.
- Could it be the case that he wanted to die, knowing he could never show his face in town again? or to go back to being friendly neighbors with the Ewells?
(7) Jem stops Scout from squashing an insect.
- It's a relatively extreme position to take against the killing of innocents, which is more mental fallout from the trial.
- Scout calls it a phase, which it probably is.
(8) Underwood writes an editorial in the paper, mentioning how it's a sin to kill cripples. He says it's like hunters and children senselessly killing songbirds.
- This calls back to Atticus near the beginning of the book when he gives the titular line, "it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."
- Tom is the cripple Underwood mentions. So, in case anyone didn't figure out already, it's made crystal-clear that Tom Robinson is the book's titular mockingbird.
(9) We get another instance of hypocrisy from another adult woman in Scout's life.
- Her teacher, Miss Gates, hates Hitler for persecuting the Jews, but is overheard by Scout rooting for the persecution of Tom Robinson outside the courthouse.
(10) It's interesting how after the trial the book goes back to short events and anecdotes about the town. It's like a trial sandwich.
- It's as if to say that the goings on of the town stopped for the duration of the trial and then continued as it was, albeit with fallout pervading its stories.

*character limit

I’m not going to do my usual thing where I’d try to explain what I liked about this book. Normally, I would try to convince you why you should read it. I would speak about how important this book is and what message it could impart to its readers around the world. I would even say how it affected me personally. Today I’m not going to do that.

Instead, I will simply say that I loved this book. I loved its characters. I loved its plot. And I loved the eloquent way in which Harper Lee wrote it. It made me laugh and it made me cry. Her words are real and her story is truth.

This book is one of the wisest, most finely crafted, pieces of prose fiction I have ever read.

I didn’t want it to ever end.

Still five stars.

. . . It's a sin to kill a mockingbird . . .

. . . let the dead bury the dead . . .

. . . he was real nice . . . most people are . . . when you finally see them . . .

A well written novel about humanity, our differences, our beliefs, and our innocence. Told from the viewpoint of Scout who has yet to develop strong beliefs, prejudices, etc. - her mind is a blank canvas to learn about the world and its happiness and sorrows, its prejudice and tolerance, its fairness and injustice. Jen, Dill, and Atticus serve as her companions and guides on this journey. The characters they meet along the way are examples of the best and worst in all of us.

Even after all these years, there is still a lot we can learn from this book.