(Originally published 1960, Paperback edition 323 pages)
My son's 9th-grade class was assigned "To Kill a Mockingbird" in their English
course. It has been over twenty years since I had read Harper Lee's classic and
only novel. The small, Alabama town of Maycomb is in the grips of the Great
Depression. Jim Crow is alive and well doing its worse by oppressing
African-Americans. The story is seen through the eyes of tomboy Scout Finch. It
highlights her growth from a six-to-nine-year-old girl. Ms. Lee created a
protagonist who still had a child's innocence about the world around her. She
isn't just confused about the illogical nature of prejudice but also by many of
the social norms of small town America. Scout's dad, the now iconic Atticus
Finch, is a poor, 50ish, intelligent lawyer of reason and high morals struggling
to raise his daughter and their 13-year-old son Jem. He fortunately has the help
of an intelligent black maid named Calpurnia. The climax of the story finds
Atticus defending Tom Robinson, an African-American accused of assaulting a
white woman.
Ms. Lee, who was born in Alabama, clearly expresses her disdain for many of the South's cultural mores. The story not only shows the actual manner in which blacks were treated, but ridicules the Southern obsession with family lineage and how your place in society is based purely on which hoo hoo you popped out of during birth. The story has some wonderfully colorful and highly believable characters. It harkens back to a tougher, simpler time and how most of these folks tried to live god-fearing, decent lives, but don't have the intelligence or courage to treat blacks as human beings; let alone equals. The N-word is appropriately used quite frequently in the book due to the nature of the times and location of the novel.
Ms. Lee's book is a well-written story that deserves its wide readership. It is also still very relevant in 2012. It would've been inconceivable to 1930 Southerners that less than eighty years later an African-American would be elected President of the United States. The reelection of President Obama just occurred two days ago and some of the very vulgar stereotypes expressed about him (especially on such mediums as Twitter) shows racism is still very much alive and well throughout America. Prejudice manifests itself in many ways. "To Kill a Mockingbird" humanizes the destructive nature that prejudice causes to the victims, perpetrators and bystanders. A great, sometimes funny, suspenseful work of art that challenges readers to look at themselves in the mirror.
Ms. Lee, who was born in Alabama, clearly expresses her disdain for many of the South's cultural mores. The story not only shows the actual manner in which blacks were treated, but ridicules the Southern obsession with family lineage and how your place in society is based purely on which hoo hoo you popped out of during birth. The story has some wonderfully colorful and highly believable characters. It harkens back to a tougher, simpler time and how most of these folks tried to live god-fearing, decent lives, but don't have the intelligence or courage to treat blacks as human beings; let alone equals. The N-word is appropriately used quite frequently in the book due to the nature of the times and location of the novel.
Ms. Lee's book is a well-written story that deserves its wide readership. It is also still very relevant in 2012. It would've been inconceivable to 1930 Southerners that less than eighty years later an African-American would be elected President of the United States. The reelection of President Obama just occurred two days ago and some of the very vulgar stereotypes expressed about him (especially on such mediums as Twitter) shows racism is still very much alive and well throughout America. Prejudice manifests itself in many ways. "To Kill a Mockingbird" humanizes the destructive nature that prejudice causes to the victims, perpetrators and bystanders. A great, sometimes funny, suspenseful work of art that challenges readers to look at themselves in the mirror.
(Meyers - A few years ago, I
started writing, under the pseudonym Franklin the Mouse, short
reviews at Amazon's web site. This is my most recent review #326)
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