Z: All over the world, To Kill A Mockingbird has been praised, and is required reading in 70% of American schools. Many have claimed it is an amazing book, and when published, was a huge step in the battle against racism. Unfortunately, I disagree. To Kill A Mockingbird follows a six year old, Scout, as she learns the truth about the racist environment she lives in when her father, Atticus, defends a black man (Tom Robinson) who is accused of raping a white woman. On the face of it, the storyline seems excellent, and I was incredibly excited to start reading the book, but I found it lacking character development and a slow meandering plot line. C: Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird explores a variety of themes, the most prominent being attitudes to racial diversity, placing the trial of Tom Robinson as one of many elements that contribute to a bigger picture. As a counterpoint to Z’s argument, I will set out the strengths of Mockingbird, one of the finest pieces of American-History literature. Z: Firstly, Scout’s character remains the same. It immediately becomes obvious that Scout is cynical, intelligent and primarily known as a ‘tomboy’, playing ‘Boo Radley’ and messing around with her brother. Her character is portrayed simply, and the only characteristic which Lee develops is Scout’s awareness of racism. In most well written books, the character will change throughout the course of the book and yet Scout does not. This raises many unanswered questions: did the events of the trial change Scout? Did they change Jem? Did the attack on them by Bob Ewell affect them forever ? Over the entire three-year timeline, there are no significant changes in any characters, other than Scout’s realisation that she lives in a racist society. C: Context is crucial; To Kill A Mockingbird is set in 1930s Alabama, in the midst of the American Great Depression. As the narrator relaying her early childhood experiences, Scout’s understanding of such a situation is likely to have been limited at her young age. Lee depicts Scout as highly intelligent , her considerable academic ability far exceeding that of her peers. Lee further highlights Scout’s curiosity by informing the reader of her interest in reading and education, for which she is reprimanded at school. Scout’s childhood, whilst littered with the occasional run-in and argument , not to mention the difficulty she faces at school, typifies that of a young child growing up, happy and (mostly) carefree. The development exhibited, whilst slow, is definitely not lacking interest; Lee merely encourages the reader to ‘read between the lines’, through judgement of her actions and feelings towards others. Furthermore, it’s worth noticing that her tomboy characteristics are not widely accepted by Scout’s Aunt Alexandra and Mrs Dubose, for example. Lee’s reference to the topic of gender shows the reader how societal expectations surrounding were very specifically moulded. Scout is sensitive to comments concerning her tomboy features and very much shys away from typically ‘girly’ activities. This being highly unusual for the era, I think , makes Scout’s ‘rebellious’ character more unique, as I doubt many young girls - or anybody for that matter - would have been able to behave in the contrary way to societal expectation that Scout appears to.
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD: ON TRIAL by C James & Z Pearce Year 9
