![]() Even his symbolic comparison with the mockingbird or songbird-a symbol of innocence in the novel-can be read as somewhat condescending, denying him any agency or potential for political struggle or resistance. In particular, Tom Robinson-whose name reflects his role as one of the "songbirds" in the novel-is depicted solely as victim. For Scout, her brother Jem and friend Dill (based on Lee's childhood friend Truman Capote), growing up means being increasingly at war with the world of the Jim Crow South.ĭespite its powerful indictment of Southern racism, To Kill a Mockingbird has rightly been criticized for its paternalism: While Atticus is deified, Black characters such as Tom Robinson and Calpurnia are rarely given as much depth, complexity or agency in the novel. NARRATED BY Jean Louise Finch, better known as Scout, an articulate 6-year-old, To Kill a Mockingbird covers two years in Maycomb, Alabama-from 1933 to 1935. But it also says something about the political limitations of Mockingbird. In part, this is because of Gregory Peck's phenomenal depiction of him in the 1962 film that seared his character into popular memory. The intensity of the debate sparked by this revelation says much about how engrained the figure of Atticus Finch is in the national literary imagination-and the almost surreal manner in which his character has been canonized as a saint of liberalism, upholder of the law, and symbol of all that is good and decent about this country. Thus, it should come as no surprise that the recent publication of a much-anticipated second novel by Harper Lee- Go Set a Watchman, the unedited manuscript that preceded To Kill a Mockingbird-was greeted with much fanfare as it became the most pre-ordered book on Amazon of all time.īut before most readers had even received their book-let alone had time to read it-anticipation turned to shock, horror and a great deal of debate as headlines proclaimed the unthinkable: Atticus Finch, the white, fair-minded lawyer in Mockingbird who stands up to a racist criminal injustice system and a lynch mob to defend the unfairly accused Black Tom Robinson, is a racist. It was deemed the most inspirational book of all time by one poll (beating out the Bible), and according to a British survey conducted last year, it's the most influential book written by a woman to have "most impacted, shaped or changed readers' lives." Referred to by Oprah as "our national novel," its appeal nonetheless transcends borders as it has been translated into over 40 languages. ![]() Originally published in 1960, the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel has sold over 40 million copies and is one of the most-taught books in the U.S. FEW NOVELS have had as great or as lasting of an impact as Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird.
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