Happy Birthday to Harper Lee. She is 84 years old today. In 1960 she gave us one of the greatest literary treasures of all time - "To Kill A Mockingbird." This is the only book Ms. Lee has written. In a way I am glad. I can't imagine anything more perfect than this story.
Based loosely on her own childhood and growing up down South during the years of Jim Crow, the book crackles from beginning to end. The first time I read it, and I have re-read it many times, I just couldn't put it down. I ran into this book when I was 11 years old and it became an instant favorite. I have several copies so that I can give them away to people who have not read it. I buy them at yard sales and used book stores.
The story, as if you did not already know it, involves Scout and her brother Jem, who both live with their father Atticus Finch. He is a widower in the town of Maycomb, Alabama. He is somewhat of an embarassment to his two children. Jem complains that he doesn't play football, while Scout bemoans her fathers rule against fighting.
The Finch family lives next door to Boo Radley, a young man whose family has kept him locked up in the house for years. Apparently the boy suffers from some sort of mental illness and so the family keeps him locked away. He is a constant source of intrique for Scout and Jem. When the neighbors nephew, Dill, arrives for summer vacation, they decide to try and lure him out.
As all this is happening, a young woman who lives on the edge of town, near the Negro section, is beaten and possibly raped. She claims it was done by Tom Robinson, a local black man with one bad arm. Mayella's father Bob Ewell, is local white trash, seldom sober and always mean as a snake. He has Tom Robinson arrested for the crime and a trial is to take place. This is Alabama in the 1930's so it is a foregone conclusion as to what the verdict will be.
The trial is the biggest thing to happen in Maycomb County since the Civil War and so it attracts a lot of attention. What happens both shocks and sickens you, even as the sweet scent of magnolia seeps from the pages to surround you.
If you have read the book, then my review will annoy you. If you haven't read the book, you should. It is a book about growing up, learning tolerance and also understanding the other fellows position before lashing out. Atticus Finch often tells his children not to judge another person "until you get in his skin and walk around a bit."
After the trial of Tom Robinson,in which he is found guilty in spite of the evidence, Mr. Ewell is hell bent on revenge. He considers Atticus Finch to be a race traitor for trying to defend a Negro. His savagery comes to a head on Halloween night with traumatic results for all.
A little trivia on the character of Dill. He is based on Ms. Lee's freind from childhood, Truman Capote. Mr. Capote used to visit his aunt next door to Ms.Lee as a child. They remained freinds until Mr. Capote's death.
The 1962 movie version, starring Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch, is true to the book and still ranks in the top 100 films, placing at number 34. The role of Boo Radley is played by Robert Duvall in his first screen appearance. With only a brief role and no speaking lines, his presence, thanks to Ms. Lee's writing, dominates both the book and the movie. Unseen, he serves as a metaphor for all that we do not understand. The fear of the unknown is akin to the fear engendered by the racial segregation of "Jim Crow."
Happy Birthday Ms. Lee, and thanks for giving us the best present of all - a great book that will always stand the test of time. And that is our gift to you.
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