J's Musings

Review by Janhavi

I started reading this book a week ago, and I was determined to hate it. I didn’t want to like a ‘humorous’ account of injustice against an innocent man.

And for the first 100 pages I held up my resolve pretty well. Stretched the mere 100 pages onto 3 days. Repeated to every listening ear how boring and cruel the world of 1960s Maycomb was. Even then, I had a soft spot for Scout Finch.

The next 50 pages did all the convincing for me. Somewhere in those few pages, I couldn’t help but get pulled into Scout’s world. Her discovery of the man her father was, and the one he chose to be felt relevant. It touched a cord in a very intrusive way. As if Harper Lee had included that just for all the daughters to find.

The entire glory of the book [for me] lies in the second half. Scout realising her father was defending a Negro who had allegedly raped a white girl. And then actively having to face the wrath of others over that fact. Her sitting through the trial and knowing in every bone that Tom was innocent because a lawyer’s daughter always knows. Jean being 9, but having a strong sense of protecting who was correct.

The end was shattering, mostly because it was so honest. In the 1960s there was no way a black man accused of raping a white girl was going to be proven innocent by court. No matter the truth. It was the 17 shots that truly makes one shake in their shoes. The high chances that 14 out of 17 shots were not needed. But were shot, not towards an escaping prisoner, but at a Negro.

The plot was, not humorous, but evoked a sense of comfort and warmth, that only a child’s narration can give to such a grave story.

Did I love this book? Yes. Did I enjoy reading it? Yes. Was it a quick read? Yes. Would I ever recommend it as a book? No.

Harper Lee’s work is wonderful. The story is perfect. But somewhere, the book was conveying nothing. It’s an education about how the world works or as we prefer to say; worked. We see cruelty, injustice and tiny lessons. Yet, there is nothing definite to the book. We all know racism is bad, we know we should not prejudice ourselves towards or against because of their colour or status. So, what does one gain from this book?

More than anti racism, in today’s world, Atticus’ lessons are of more value.

Atticus’ ending montage to protect Tom was more about accusing Bob Ewell than about protecting Tom if I am to be honest. Somewhere Atticus hated Bob more than he sympathised with Tom.

I felt a love hate relation towards Atticus. He was daring, but not enough. He raised a daughter in overalls, but was ok with a relative forcing her ways on his children. I felt confused about what Atticus was throughout the book

I love Jean Louise. For all her hasty hot-headed ways, she is probably the only one who truly stuck to what she believed in. Children are the least hypocritical people on Earth. A belief strengthened by Harper Lee’s memorial stamp of a book.

It’s safe to say that my relation with this book is complicated. Do I love it? No. Do I feel a close relation to it? Yes.

I enjoyed Lee’s writing and story weaving. She writes honest characters, good, bad, and everything in between. At times, that makes them both close to our heart and out of touch. Some characters feel like pure hypocrites, like some people are.

If Atticus was a model father, I’m the president of America. I don’t say Atticus was a bad father, but he definitely had way more faults than people bring up.

He raised a fairly independent daughter, let her wear what she wanted and play around with her brother. And then, when he got too busy, he called on his extremely orthodox sister to help. Who then pushed her beliefs on Scout and Jim. Atticus somewhere may have been okay with Scout being raised in a traditional way if her mother was alive. But the reason she was given a free hand was because Atticus was too busy with work and things. Without him around 24/7, it was easier to just put her in overalls and let her do whatever her older brother was doing.

Now I know she was taught to read and write. But like I said, Atticus has flaws, but he isn’t a monster. Atticus feels like he has a white saviour complex, that’s deeply rooted in his subconscious and isn’t prominent but still present.

I enjoyed To Kill a Mockingbird. It was an amazing book. Even though there is no denying that I found many “flaws” in the novel as a whole; it remains a regret that Harper Lee’s life as an author was so short.

Wishing you a less conflicted read,

Janhavi