To Kill A Mockingbird…Revisited

Mark Lees

With the release of Harper Lee’s second novel, Go Set A Watchman, over five decades after her debut I thought it would be a good time to revisit the novel that made Lee a legend to see how it has stood up to the test of time. For those who have read To Kill A Mockingbird before please bear with the brief overview in the following paragraph. For those that have never read the book before, please enjoy the brief overview in the following paragraph.

To Kill A MockingbirdFrom its release in 1960 To Kill A Mockingbird has been considered an American classic. Set in America’s Deep South during the Great Depression, before the civil rights movement begun in earnest, it follows Atticus Finch as he defends a poor black worker who has been charged with attempting to rape a white girl. Narrated by the six year old daughter of Atticus, Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, we see racial tensions and prejudice shown to be absurd through the innocent eyes of a girl as she grows and struggles to understand the complex relationships in her town.

To avoid spoilers that is all you are getting on the plot but re-reading it now against the backdrop of Migrant crisisthe European refugee crisis and the ongoing international War on Terror, with all of the associated xenophobia, it amazed me how relevant To Kill A Mockingbird remains as a lesson on prejudice and tolerance in a world that is at both wildly different and unnervingly similar to the world that Lee creates for us. Scout is horrified at the anger and violence she sees from the adults around her and is left dumbfounded as they dehumanize the black workers and “white trash” in town while espousing their own virtues and ignoring their vices. It is all painfully reminiscent of British Prime Minister David Cameron describing migrants fleeing from war zones with dehumanizing language such as “swarms” while his government take pride in looking after hard working citizens.

Through Scouts’ innocence and the moral compass of Atticus we learn about how insidious prejudice can be without it ever feeling like a sermon. Instead it is in turns comic and tragic, serious and flippant. Not content with just satirizing prejudice Lee also addresses perceptions of class and femininity. To Kill A Mockingbird is a novel for the ages.

Given the lessons we have still to learn maybe I should leave the last words to Scout. When she found out how the people of the town were angry about Hitler’s treatment of the Jews she asked the simple question “…how can you hate Hitler so bad and be so ugly about folks right at home.

Did you know…Harper Lee was a close friend and school mate of another literary legend, Truman Capote, even assisting him while he was researching for his classic American novel In Cold Blood.

 


 

Mark Lees is a writer, lecturer and family man. For more about his latest projects please follow him: https://www.facebook.com/markleeswriter

 


 


 

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1 Comment

  1. Elisa M

    I just read what Mark Lees wrote about the book To Kill A Mocking Bird. While I was sitting here thinking about what I wanted to say I realized Mr. Lees said it all, especially better than what I would have said. To Kill A Mocking Bird is as relevant if not more so today than it was when originally published. During the time the book is set in people did not understand or did not want too the deep impact that their prejudices had on their families (especially the children), the community and even the world perception. The fact that these same prejudices STILL continue to exist is sad and, even worse, frightening. In my opinion it demonstrates that we have NOT grown or learned as a people. WHAT A SAD STATMENT ABOUT PEOPLE AS A WHOLE!!!!!!

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