Hesitation has always dominated my lexicon which in turn clouded my judgment over what's actually true as it is and what's just what my imagination or prejudice thought it is. This is exactly the case with To Kill A Mockingbird. I thought To Kill A Mockingbird would be Agatha-Christie-ish in term of genre; but as soon as I opened the first page, I knew I wrong all the way through. Moral of the story, just because it has "kill" in the title doesn't entail any significant clue in regards to its genre or even plot. Well, yes there was a murder case per se (or was it a "mockingbird killing case" as Scout eloquently put it?) but it was not the center of the book at all.
Where have I been?
You might ponder where I have been, If I have been around I must have known the book with its extraordinarily powerful story and message, therefore I must have been under a rock? Perhaps you are right, I have been living under a rock! And I deserve to be scolded for this ignorance.
To be fair, I knew quite well how significant Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird in America is. I knew that it is a mandatory reading in US junior or senior high schools. But, again, I was not aware of its story. Hence, I did not how powerful the story was.
Thanks God, a coincidence, if there is something as coincidence, saved my soul. Thanks to Marlyn, a former colleague of mine - one of the only few who is still in touch amid resignation - who had been given used books by her school and told me that I could take some if I was interested. She gave me list of the book and I instantly laid my eyes on 2 books: To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee and Metamorphoses by Kafka. Too bad, there was only one copy of Metamorphoses, though Marlyn said I could have it, but I refrained because I was not sure I could finish it in a short period of time.
I was reading Michelle Obama's Becoming when I got the book. So I had to finish it before I jumped to this book. But once I started diving, it took me only 3 days which I am still very proud of to finish the book. Who can't resist Scout's unique narration, right?
What did I find out?
1. To Kill A Mockingbird is Not A Hardcore Thriller Novel
I personally has issue with books, films or anything that contain violence. Imagine my relieve to know that this book though it has a few dead body but it was not graphically described and I would say that I still tolerate its level of violence. And yes, you were to bring this up, I am fully aware of the "catharsis" argument. Though it may be true to some people, I just, as said, personally dislike violence in general.
So what is To Kill A Mockingbird, really? I came to learn that it is such an extremely beautiful story which showcases the complexity of a child's process coming to an age and the kind of mindset they are building as they grow older. Sets in Maycomb, Alabama, To Kill A Mockingbird, also displays the complexity of life people of color have to face and the dynamic it creates for the White vs. Black in many aspects of life such as social life, justice, access to education and many more.
The story is told through the young version of Scout who was then between 6 to 9 as the book progresses. Scout's real name was actually Mary Louise Finch but somehow she was called Scout throughout the book. She is the youngest child of Mr. Atticus Finch who was also called Atticus by his children throughout the book. His a single parent and a working lawyer. Characteristically Atticus is a very responsible father whose parenting style, many might say, unorthodox. Although people many not know why he does what he does, he is very confident is his parenting. And there is Jem (Jeremy Finch) who is the oldest child. Scout and Jem have a very natural sibling relationship with Jem sometimes could be very pushy making Scout to do certain thing that Scout has moral contradiction on. For example when Jem and Dill wanted to get Boo Radley out of his house, Scout found this to be wrong and yet she tagged along.
2. Single Parenthood
To Kill A Mockingbird is specially interesting to me as it attempts at exploring the dynamic between two children, who have lost their mother, and a single working father. While domestically Atticus might not be involved much as they have a help named Calpurnia who had done an amazing job to keep the children well fed and taken care of; Atticus arguably still did a good job in instilling values into the kids.
Most parents, even today, very rare lending their trust that their children can learn life in their own terms. What most parents do is to instruct as oppose to guide. It's different with Atticus. He looked after Jem and Scout with trust. He avoided overbearing. He let them learn that making mistake is allowed and that said every action has its consequences. Atticus shows this very well when Jem killed Mrs. Dabose's plants as a vengeance for the things Mrs. Dabose said about Atticus. Consequently, Jem had to read for Ms. Dabose once a week for a month. And, what I admire the most from Atticus is that as father and also as a lawyer he never looses his temper. He never used physical punishment to the children either. I think that's the most difficult part of being a parent. Children can be very difficult to handle. Next thing we know we can't control our rage and that often leads to physical punishment. Bravo Atticus you can reserve yourself and for knowing what's best.
Generally Atticus is very progressive in so many aspects. Parenting, is definitely one of them. More than that, Atticus is also very progressive in regards to race, gender and social norm.
The lesson to learn here is that parents play a big role in children's upbringing which makes it very pivotal for parents to have certain quality. Atticus is teaching doing. Or as Ms. Maudie put it
It also affects every move Atticus made in his personal and professional life. He was aware that his children looked up to him and therefore he made sure that what they saw were the good ones (good according to his moral belief).Atticus Finch is the same in his house as he is on the public streets(Chapter 5, p. 52)
3. Racism
Racism obviously is the center of the story which summed up by Tom Robinson's case. Through this case we can learn how massively institutionalized racism was in To Kill A Mockingbird's Alabama. Though some people like Ms. Maudie and others who were more forward thinking in regard to race, they could not help it as it had been already internalized in them through their upbringing.
Scout, thanks to his father, went through a tough period rationalizing the contradiction between the values that she had been taught in school and in church about how people have to be equal and that we should be kind to everybody and the reality that was happening around her.
One of the most striking part for me was during the class project when Cecil presented a story about the Nazis. The teacher was very critical of the Nazis and as far as Scout knew we were not not supposed to hate people but Ms Gates made it clear that Nazis were bad and somehow it's okay to hate them.
What Scout had trouble comprehending was that how come we raged about morality in the far end country when we at home did the same thing? Was that because Jews are white therefore we had to sympathize with them while it's okay for Black people to be discriminated for their skin color? This signifies the contradictory nature of moral compass in Scott's hometown of Alabama.
4. Caste System
Though America has been known for its nickname as a free world which reflects its supposedly permanent detachment from the old world (Europe) and its rigid class conscious system; however, in this book we can clearly see that America has formed its own class system. It's perfectly summed up by Jem.
"You know something, Scout? I have got it all figured out,now. I have thought about it a lot lately and I have got it figured out. There's four kind of folks in the world. There is the ordinary kind like us and the neighbors, there is the kind like Cunninghams out in the woods, the kind like Ewells down the dump, and the Negroes."So, the privileged whites do not like other non privilege whites. And all Whites hate the Blacks.
5. Sexism and Female Role in Society
Scout, who is a girl, had been harassed many times in the book for her untraditional way of growing. Since she always hanged around Jem, she more or less, followed what Jem did. Thus unlike other girls how would dress up and play dolls, Scout enjoyed watching trial in the court and having a little adventure with the boys.
At one point in the book, Scout joined Aunt Alexandra' Christian group meeting and she was very unimpressed by the things that women do with their time. She even hated the conversation that was building. It was not overtly said but readers can see that Scout found the whole thing to be dull.
6. Unfair Legal Treatment
Racism and class system lead to an unfair treatment of the inferior groups. The Blacks were inferior in the book and they suffer from the injustice the most. This is a contradiction to their social and religious values but somehow it bothers them less.
All in all, Harper Lee had done such an amazing work with this book. I really admire her vision. This book showcases the problem in our society without having to do it in a preachy style. She wanted us to see the real condition in our society by ourselves and let us independently judge whether it is good or bad.
Finally, I can clearly see now why it is a classic and it's classy too I dare say. I am glad to have read the book. Everyone, do read the book with or without your teacher assigns it!
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