Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird is one of the great American novels. It's told from the perspective of an 8-year old girl. Taking place in Alabama in the 1930s, it's about racism, religious prejudice, equality, fairness, justice, and doing what's right.
Scout, our narrator, doesn't quite know what's going on, but she tells us anyway. Her father, Atticus Finch, is a lawyer who's been assigned by the court to defend a black man who was (obviously falsely) accused of raping a white woman. Most of the town hates him for truly defending the man, rather than going through the motions.
The other story line revolves around a reclusive neighbor who hasn't been seen for 25 years, Boo Radley. Scout, her brother, and their friend pass through summers of being obsessed with catching a glimpse of Boo.
On treating people fairly, Atticus tells his kids, "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, that white man is trash."
Scout is a little tomboy, and when her aunt moves in to try to civilize her, it is not an easy adjustment. Her brother asks Scout, "She's trying to make you a lady. Can't you take up sewin' or somethin'?"
Her response: "Hell no."
It's so good it makes me really sad that Lee never published another book.
Monday, June 8, 2009
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