To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Publisher: J.B. Lippincott & Co.
First Published: July 11^th 1960
Finished Reading:  January 9^th 2012
Genre: Drama
Rating: 4/5

The themes explored in To Kill a Mockingbird are heavy, such as racial inequality, gender stereotypes and morality, and they are explored very well. The story focuses on a small, fictional town called Maycomb in Alabama, set during the three years of the Great Depression. Quite often references are made to life in the Southern states, as well as mentioning the Confederacy and the Civil War. This sets the scene well and on a personal level, I could easily form a picture in my head of the town after visiting Louisiana and Texas.

It is also unique in the way that the narrative is provided through the eyes of Scout (Jean Louise) Finch, who is six years old when the story begins. This means that the reader is able to view life through the eyes of a six year old but also have the sudden realisation of events falling into place as Scout grows up. Furthermore, the innocent opinions of a child contrast greatly with the prejudice views of many adults in the story towards the black community, and it gives a sense of perspective that may not be gained from adult eyes.

The way in which the setting is described is such that you almost feel as if you are there, sneaking past the Radley residence (the mysterious neighbours) or having tea with Miss Maudie, Lee does a very good job at making the reader invest in the story of Scout and Jem (her older brother) as they unknowingly encounter some very adult situations.

Atticus Finch, the widowed Father of the children, stands throughout the book to be a voice of morality and temperance as he faces strong criticism for defending a black man in court. Atticus is ever fair, calm and accepting of both his children and of the community as whole, describing even the men who aimed to lynch him as “good men”.

Although officially in the genre of drama, the book can also be categorised as regionalist due to the way that the South, with its traditions and taboos, integrates itself into every plot and subplot throughout the story. This is most evident in the description of the Southern caste system, where Aunt Alexandra puts any family trait, such as an ambling streak or a drinking streak, down to genealogy. This further enforces Aunt Alexandra’s belief that the Finch family are ‘fine folk’ because of their history and standing in Maycomb County.

Obviously the theme of racial inequality is rife throughout the book and forms the main storyline of Tom Robinson, a black man, being accused of rape by Mayella Ewell, a white woman. However, it is also a symbolical topic. For example, when a mad dog is loose in the town and it is Atticus alone who shoots it, even though it is not his responsibility mirrors the fact that Atticus must also stand alone in the court room against a white community that can also be described as ‘mad’. Carolyn Jones comments that “[t]he real mad dog in Maycomb is the racism that denies the humanity of Tom Robinson.... When Atticus makes his summation to the jury, he literally bares himself to the jury's and the town's anger.”[1]

Although on the whole To Kill a Mockingbird has been very well received in the last fifty years, there have also been criticisms of the book. When it was first introduced into classrooms in 1963, there were many complaints over the subject matter of rape being central to the story, so many complaints in fact that the American Library Association placed it 21^st out of 100 in most frequently challenged books from 2000 – 2009 and back in 1968 it was placed 2^nd on a list of books receiving the most complaints from private organisations by the National Education Association. In the 1970s a shift in attitudes towards racism saw the book be judged for not being harsh enough towards racism and is accused to marginalising the black community, for example in the case of Calpurnia who is argued to be an updated version of the ‘contented slave’.

Despite this, Lee’s writing is regarded to be a pivotal piece of literature that could only have aided the Civil Rights Movement in 1950s America, where it “arrived at the right moment to help the South and the nation grapple with the racial tensions (of) the accelerating civil rights movement"[2] Personally, I found the story compelling, even though it was almost two stories running parallel; one of racial inequality and one of Scout growing up in Alabama. I found that the narrative was especially engaging because whilst giving you all the information, you often had to read between the lines to interpret and translate the opinions of a small child.

"This time we aren't fighting the Yankees, we're fighting our friends. But remember this, no matter how bitter things get, they're still our friends and this is still our home." (9.27) – Atticus Finch

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[1] Jones, Carolyn (Summer 1996). "Atticus Finch and the Mad Dog" Southern Quarterly: A Journal of the Arts in the South, 34 (4), pp. 53–63.

[2] Flora, Joseph "Harper Lee" in Southern Writers: A New Biographical Dictionary Louisiana State University Press (2006).