To Kill a Mockingbird First Impressions
- juliafurst
- Mar 2, 2018
- 4 min read
To Kill a Mockingbird... a classic of modern american literature, and well... not at all what I expected. Even after only reading chapters 1 through 9 it is clear why the book is titled "To Kill a Mockingbird". This is a phrase often referring to destroying innocence, which I find plays into the idea of conformity. An idea that keeps showing up throughout the chapters. The book is based in the 1940's in Maycomb, Alabama. The narrator, Scout, the youngest member of the Finch family, has a unique style, probably due to where and when the book takes place. Dialect like, "ain't" and "looka yonder", are obviously different then what we would say now. This was difficult to get used to as some of the phrases are difficult to understand, just because they aren't used nowadays. This book reminded of Catcher in the Rye, as there is not a real plot yet. In both books the story line is more of a narrative with no obvious conflicts, just little issues in there lives. Although it is hard to compare these to books as I have only read the first nine chapters so far.
Many themes of 'secret lives' have popped up in the story in just the first 9 chapters. Scout's father, Atticus, says something very impact at the end of chapter 3. On page 33, Atticus says, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view . . . until you climb into his skin and walk around in it", after talking about the days events involving Scout's new teacher, Miss Caroline, at school, and how she did not like her very much . Atticus is pretty much telling Scout, she doesn't know Miss Caroline, so she cannot make harsh judgments about her, and she definitely doesn't know Miss Caroline's ~ secret life~. This is an interesting lesson because it can still be applied to life today, almost 68 years later. You can never judge someone, when you don't know what they have been through or what they are feeling. Miss Caroline was probably feeling overwhelmed, as it was the first day of school and she had one student(Scout) who was very advanced academically, another with lice, all leading up to her mental breakdown. Brent Staples would definitely be in favor of this lesson Atticus was trying to teach scout, as he has been a victim of judgment. People assume he is a bad person or criminal because of his skin color, while they do not know his everyday struggle with racism or discrimination. These people do not understand the environment he was brought up in, where street fights were common. I am sure William James would also agree with the philosophy of Atticus, as William James said, "OUR judgments concerning the worth of things, big or little, depend on the feelings the things arouse in us". Both talk of how judgments are made often quick and ignorantly, without knowing ones true self or intentions.
Scout is a very interesting character, who we know most about, compared to the other characters, probably because she is also the narrator. She is often burdened by ideas of conformity and being "more lady-like". Her "unladylike" actions probably come from a lack of female role-model because her mom died when she was the age of 2. It is just her dad and brother Jem, who is the closest thing she has to a role model and what seems like her best friend. Scout comes across blunt but ignorant because of her age. On page 27 she says, "But he's gone drown in his dinner syrup", in front of there house guest who was eating differently then she was accustomed too. After getting reprimanded by Calipurnia, the Finch's help, she was told to make comment about a guest and let them do what they want. An obvious factor for her blunt comments is her age, as she is only around 8 when these events are occurring. At the beginning of chapter 3 Scout gets in to a fight with a fellow classmate after he says mean comments about Atticus and how he is fighting in a court of law for the innocence of a black man, which at the time, when racism and discrimination was still prominent in the culture, was unheard of. This showed bravery in Scout, yet once again, she was reprimanded. Over the 9 chapters, Scout shows growth has she experiences different events involving Boo Radley who was thought by the community as a bad person, but her and Jem's curiosity shows Boo Radley, may not be the person everybody thinks he is. This goes back to the idea of judgement and Scout and Jem realize maybe they shouldn't believe all the rumors about Boo, as he tries to innocently communicate with them through a tree hole and he wraps a blanket around Scout the night there neighbors house burned down.
Overall, this story has pleasantly surprised me, and I am excited for where this may be going.
Outside links:
Images:
https://sites.google.com/a/student.bcsdny.org/mrs-lagan-s-english-we/eng-1r/handouts/to-kill-a-mockingbird http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-et-jc-to-kill-a-mockingbird-pop-culture-
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