Harper Lee's Magnificence

First I'd like to say that Harper Lee's writing style is extremely thoughtful and layered, making this book all the more enjoyable. Both on the blog and in class we have been pointing out how every detail contributes to the story, in a strictly plot-based way. I'd like to make the point that some details, even if they seem embellished already, are referencing symbols. The start of this book was great, the middle was beautiful, but the end was pure genius. Chapters 30 and 31 tied everything together in the most perfect way. The message was clear, but Harper Lee threw in some things that readers picked up subconsciously. A line that illustrates the point I'm making occurred when Boo asked for Scout to take her hand. Lee described the way that Boo asked this as "in the voice of a child afraid of the dark"(319). This seems at first glance like a metaphor, and it is. But if you think deeper, these are things we've seen in this book before. "Child" and "dark" in To Kill A Mockingbird don't mean what they seem like they mean. Children are the symbol for uncorrupted innocence in Maycomb. They are the only people (besides Atticus/Maudie etc) who are not taken over by racist thinking and the 'Maycomb Way'. The darkness is all the hatred and racism in Maycomb. That is why Atticus takes the position of the 'light'. So when Lee says Boo's voice was that of "a child afraid of the dark," she is telling the reader that Boo fears, with the innocence of a child, the hatred directed towards him from Maycomb. My real point here: Harper Lee is BRILLIANT.

I'd like to point out how Jem didn't have to be knocked out for the Boo action. He could have been in a lot of pain but not unconscious, or he could have woken up to see Boo, but Harper Lee had him out cold for all of the Boo moments. Boo himself is a symbol for Scout and Jem's journey to becoming adults. The whole first half of the novel is purely Jem and Scout (and Dill) trying to get a glimpse of Boo Radley. Scout, after going through the moment in her life where she becomes and adult, gets to walk arm and arm with him to his house. Just like the point Lee made about the switch from being afraid of the imaginary monsters to facing the real ones, isn't there an unwritten rule that you can't see Boo until you don't really want to anymore. I mean, Scout was thrilled to see him, but she wasn't poking fishing poles through his window anymore! Maybe Boo is the light at the end of the tunnel for Scout's journey, the end goal. Boo was Scout's adulthood, and the more she tried to get at it, the more childlike she was. However you'd like to put it, Jem didn't get to see Boo, and that means he isn't at the point in his life that Scout is at hers. Maybe Jem will have his own "Boo", but all that matters is that Scout is a true adult and Jem is still a boy.

There were a lot of lines that made me stop and reflect on the beauty of Lee's message, but one particular paragraph at the end of this book was awe-inspiring. "Neighbors bring food with death and flowers with sickness and little things in between. Boo was our neighbor. He gave us two soap dolls, a broken watch and chain, a pair of good luck pennies, and our lives. But neighbors give in return. We never put back into the tree what we took out of it: we had given him nothing, and it made me sad." This is amazing, tragic, heartbreaking, and utterly honest. It is easily my favorite moment in the whole book. Scout is so wise and adult-like here. She reflected on what happened. This was basically the whole point of To Kill A Mockingbird. It is something that every person should learn to incorporate in their life values. Upon reading it for the first time, I was breathless. I can't say enough to do it justice, so I'll leave it at this. When I first took out To Kill A Mockingbird, my mom looked across the room and told me, without hesitation, that it is her favorite book she has ever read. Surprised, I asked her why. I expected a speech, but all she said was, “It taught me everything I need to know about life.” In it’s entirety, that’s what To Kill A Mockingbird does. Scout’s pilgrimage, not just in the climax but it the entire book, is brilliant. Harper Lee captures the essence of adolescence magnificently. Change adolescence to life, and it still rings true.

Questions: Who is your favorite character? What was your favorite line/moment in the book? Do you think that Jem is already an adult, and that the court case was to him as Boo was to Scout, or do you think he still has to grow up? Can you relate to this book? How? What were some symbols you picked up on but we didn't discuss in class? How did you like this book? In your opinion, was it all good, all bad, or did it have it's ups and downs? If so, when was it at its best/worst?