Right isn't as clear as Black and White
In Harper Lee's “To Kill a Mockingbird”, the young narrator Scout is personally affected and forced to grow due to a trial in her town- the accusation of a black man of raping a white woman in post- depression Alabama- a serious offense. Her father Atticus Finch is the lawyer who is appointed to defend the black man- Tom Robinson. The interesting thing about this book was the medium Lee used to convey what was going on- the blank, innocent mind of a child. The story is told from the perspective of a young five year old girl. She has strict ideas of “right” and “wrong” and suddenly she has to understand about racism, and societies ideals and rules, that do not always fit with what we are taught is the right thing.
Most novels have a happy ending. To Kill a Mockingbird had a realistic ending- Tom Robinson was sentenced and jailed ( though the author relented enough to let us still believe in humanity by making the jury take time and have mixed feelings)- and he tried to escape, and was shot and killed. In the story, there is a plethora of factual evidence that Tom Robinson did not and COULD not – due to a disability- commit the rape, and even enough to point out the Mayellas low class father was the man responsible! I think Lee was trying to draw a parallel with the highly published Scottsboro trials, and Tom Robinson's trial.
She showed us two things that I thought to be important- what is right and fair isn't always what prevails- sometimes people are so blinded by hatred and fear and contempt they do the wrong thing, and that humanity is redeemable. The ladies of Maycomb are concerned about the poor Africans, yet consider Maycombs blacks lazy. They think black people are stupid, yet do not allow them the same educational opportunities. And while she shows us this hypocrisy- she shows us that these people really do think they are nice, wonderful people- not that they are horrid liars and bad Christians- they are simply mimicing the unspoken rules of society. Yet, Lee also gives us hope- look at Mr. Cunningham- he changes radically and even wanted to acquit Tom Robinson! Scouts next door neighbor shows a soft side, there are so many people who we catch a glimpse of hope from- the man who had Atticus's back outside the jail, Jem, Atticus himself, Scouts aunt. While she shows us the true downfall of humanity, she shows us the reason we can rise above.
As far as the civil issues presented in the book, I think Lee did an admirable job- she had some satire, and painted both sides good and bad- though not much bad was painted of the black community in Maycomb to keep the book focused. I am glad that legally, we have abolished racism, and I am glad that everyday, every generation, the MENTALITY behind it is weakening- that inter-racial friendships are common, and relationships are blooming, and there are more children of mixed background, and neighborhoods and schools are discriminated. I love how we completely interchange culture and thoughts without blinking. THAT is how the world is supposed to be.
