Movie review of “To Kill a Mockingbird”-one of my FAVORITES!
“A Mockingbird”. It’s not really a special bird. From the South, it gets its name for its ability to “mock” other bird calls. Other than that, it’s not the most beautiful bird and is actually quite ordinary. It just sings and minds its own business. Why then does the author make the point over and over that “it’s a sin to kill a Mockingbird”? Harper Lee does an outstanding job in forcing the reader to ponder that question. She draws the reader into the world of the South, racism in the 1930’s and the similarities between Mockingbirds and people.
The story follows Atticus Finch and his children as they embark on a journey of conscience, integrity and bravery. They are faced with the challenge of standing alone in order to do what is right, during a time when our nation was truly divided along race lines.
Atticus was a small town attorney. As a widower, he was raising his two young children Scout and Jem. He lived a simple organized life until he was asked by a judge to act as the public defender for Tom Robinson, a simple, hard-working disabled black man accused of molesting a white woman. In the South during the 1930’s, there was really little chance the accused would be given fair treatment in the white legal system. Atticus put himself in danger and exposed his children to negative treatment by the town because he so strongly believed in Tom Robinson’s right to a fair trial.
Judge Taylor appointed Atticus as Tom’s public defender. The judge could have selected any lawyer in town to serve in this role but he selected Atticus for a very specific reason. He know that no matter how much pressure was put on him and his family, he would do his very best to seek justice. Given the white man’s mentality at that time, Judge Taylor knew Atticus was Tom’s only hope.
The story is actually narrated by Atticus’ young daughter Scout. Through her young eyes, we see events and behaviors as they are. Her innocence doesn’t take sides or cloud reality with learned prejudice. Her perspectives are sobering. Much of the story describes summer life of Scout and her brother Jem. Their days were filled with imagination and play. They lived next to the Radley house where Boo Radley lived as a recluse. He was a young man with a simple mind who stayed to himself, never physically interacting with anyone outside of his family. As a result, Scout and Jem turned him into a scary, illusive creature. Getting a “peek” at Boo became one of the challenges of each summer.
There are a number of characters whose roles do not seem significant but they play an important part in explaining one of the important messages-to be true to your beliefs in spite of society or peer pressure. There is a woman, Mrs. Dubose, who on the surface just appears to be an old, cantankerous lady. In discussing her odd behavior with his son, Atticus describes her as one of the bravest people he ever met. This is because she endured such great physical pain yet did not seek sympathy. She always stood on her own and took care of herself until death. He admired her great strength.
Another character who displayed great strength in an obscure way was Mr. Raymond. Know as the town drunk, he was married to a black woman and raised in interracial children outside of the white community. He would come into town on occasion, stumbling with his bottle wrapped in a paper bag. People would just shake their heads and blame his behavior on his alcoholism. In reality, the bag contained a soft drink. Mr. Raymond didn’t drink at all. He did this for the benefit of the people who could not fathom an interracial relationship. To accept this would rock the basic core of their beliefs; his bottle gave them a necessary escape.
An escape of another sort was afforded Atticus by a poor local farmer, Mr. Cunningham. The Cunningham’s were known to never accept anything if they could not repay the debt; charity was never accepted. There is a scene where Atticus is guarding the jailhouse the night before the trial because he knew the locals were going to harm Tom Robinson. Their form of justice did not include a fair trial. When the mob ordered Atticus to step aside, it was Mr. Cunningham who recognized what they were doing was wrong and was able to get them to leave without any harm being done. He was reminded of the type of integrity by which he lives his life through a conversation with Scout, who surprised everyone by coming to the jailhouse to protect her father. She was a very brave little girl.
Tom Robinson ultimately made it to trial. Although it was very clear he was innocent, he was, of course, convicted. The 12 white men could not conceive a white girl could have been guilty of seducing a black man. Upon transfer to jail, the innocent man tried to escape and was shot to death. A simple, hardworking husband and father had been killed. It was the same as killing a Mockingbird, a sin.
Boo Radley finally emerged from his house. He saved Scout and Jem from the white girl’s father, who was trying to kill them as repayment to Atticus for defending Tom Robinson. Boo killed the man. There were no witnesses to this act. A simple minded man did what was right. The sheriff realized justice had finally, in this case, been served. To indite Boo would be to kill him. And that would be again like killing Mockingbird-a sin.
QUESTION: How much has really changed since this time? How many people still share these ignorant views? Sadly, more than you may think.