As a teenager, I read this and found it dry and dull. Now, after really enjoying Go Set A Watchman, I felt I owed it to Harper Lee to take another look at this classic.
The most memorable thing about this book is the court case – where Atticus takes a stand and defends a black man against the charge or raping a white girl. To a modern audience, the accused man is clearly not guilty – but the course of the case shows exactly how far we have come in terms of civil rights in the last century.
This is powerful stuff – and I think the reason why this book initially frustrated me so, is that is it actually a very small part of the text. This is a story about family and growing up in the South. Scout lives through several significant moments in the book which are sure to shape her character – the character that was so evident in Go Set A Watchman.
I still think – perhaps controversially – that this isn’t a perfect novel. It’s too long – there are too many meandering stories of Jem and Scout’s childhood adventures. But it is an important story that the follow up novel makes us review. Atticus is still a great man – but it really doesn’t say anywhere in To Kill a Mockingbird that his defence of Tom Robinson is motivated by the Civil Rights movement. It’s motivated by justice. Atticus does what he thinks is right – he’s just “colour-blind” enough to do it for a black man too.
These remain a terrific pair of texts and I certainly have deeper respect for To Kill A Mockingbird as an adult. But I loved the grown up Scout in Go Set A Watchman too. Definitely have a read.
Welloflostplots 