#6- To Kill A Mockingbird (revisited)

"The one place where a man ought to get a square deal is in a courtroom, be he any color of the rainbow, but people have a way of carrying their resentments right into a jury box. As you grow older, you'll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don't you forget it - whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash." ~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 23, spoken by the character Atticus

 I officially recant every nasty thing I've ever said about To Kill A Mockingbird.

The beginning was a little slow for me, probably due to the dread with which I undertook this book, however, by the end, I got it.  I really did.

Even though there is a lot of the "south" in this book, both the good and the bad, I realized that Scout was just like me growing up.  She lived in a confusing world where she was told to treat everyone the same and at the same time to treat others differently and even at a young age she understood the hypocrisy of this.

I loved the spotlight on education in this book, especially when Scout decided never to go back to school because her teacher told her she couldn't read with her dad anymore and I loved when they continued to read in secret.

I enjoyed the the catch-22 of growing up in a progressive southern family and I both respected and hated her aunty for trying to make Scout into Jean Louise.

Atticus was, by far, my favorite character.  He had southern roots, but he knew that if he was going to change the world for his children he would have to put away the country things and take up learned ways.  I loved how Harper Lee used the image of the shotgun to portray this idea with all the masculine connotations of being a "good shot" as well as a provider for one's family.  My favorite characteristic of Atticus, besides his comparably equal treatment of others and his desire for an education, is his trust in his children.  He understands them and loves them and really believes that they can understand the life lessons he is trying to teach them. The final scene reflects this so well when he stays up the whole night to make sure that is son is OK.  He really does love them.

Yeah, I was just as surprised as you were about this realization.  You win some, you loose some.