This 1960 novel and I have a long history together. Of course I used to teach it. Then I wrote a GCSE study guide for Philip Allan Updates (now absorbed into Hodder) along with a big A4 folder of photocopiable resources, both of which I rewrote in new versions when the syllabus changed. I have reread it again now, in connection with a fiction project I’m working on, and it was like spending time with a very much loved old friend. And it’s incredible how I can still spot things in it which I’ve never noticed before but perhaps that’s one of the criteria which marks a masterpiece.
It is set in 1935 in Maycomb, a fairly remote, small town in Alabama based on Monroville where Harper Lee grew up. Scout (Jean Louise) Finch, who narrates, is presented as an adult looking back at events in her childhood. She and her older brother, Jem, are the children of lawyer Atticus Finch who is a widower. Atticus is assisted in the raising of the children by his housekeeper Calpurnia, a black woman, whom he treats with great respect and as an integral part of the family – which goes against the grain of the prevailing racism amongst many other townspeople. The plotting is complex with various, immaculately observed and skilfully woven tangential strands, but at the heart of the novel is the trial of Tom Robinson, a disabled black man, for the rape of a white woman, Mayella Ewell. The point is that Tom is a decent family man while pitiful Mayella is “white trash” – that is: poor, put-upon abused and out of her depth. Of course Tom, defended in court by Atticus, is inarguably innocent but an all-white local jury in 1935 Alabama is never going to find in favour of a black man under these circumstances.
One of the (many) joys of this novel is the subtlety of the characterisation. Of course Atticus, kind, wise and fair is a fine father and advocate. And Miss Maudie, whom he has known all his life, is a colourful ally. We emerge from the novel very fond of Calpurnia too, not to mention the children’s rather troubled friend Dill, whom Lee based on her friend Truman Capote. But there are some fascinating peripheral characters too. Link Deas is a white man who believes in the equality which the black community was supposed to have been granted after the end of the Civil War in 1865 but, in practice, wasn’t. He employs them, treats them decently and takes care of Tom’s wife, Helen. Heck Tate, the sheriff, is a man of integrity too in contrast with Bob Ewell, who is effectively the villain of the piece but Atticus tries hard to make the children understand the problems faced by such men. Miss Stephanie Crawford, meanwhile epitomises the comfortable local belief in the segregation laws. Then there is the children’s fascination with the mysterious Arthur “Boo” Radley, damaged and reclusive but ultimately one of the novel’s several mockingbirds.
The point of the title is that mockingbirds sing beautifully but do no harm. The saying therefore is “ ‘Tis a sin to kill a mockingbird.” As Atticus teaches the children these truths, we, with Scout, gradually, learn a great deal about tolerance and redemption. At one point, Scout – puzzled by the way her father is criticised for defending Tom – observes presciently that “Folks are just folks” which has been my personal mantra ever since I first read To Kill a Mockingbird in the late 1960s.
Next week on Susan’s Bookshelves: Ballet Shoes by Noel Stratfeild