Our book club’s selection for February was To Kill a Mockingbird. The first and only time i read this book was in middle school. I remembered the name Boo Radley. I remembered asking my dad what the phrase “Jem was four years my senior” meant, as my 11-year old self had never heard such fancy language. (Dad wouldn’t tell me). I remembered liking the book. But that’s about all i remembered.
I liked the book this time, too. A lot. Jem and Scout’s adventures in Maycomb as they slowly grew up were fun to read about. The courtroom scenes when Tom was on trial were as good as any of the modern courtroom thrillers. And, look at how far we’ve come. This setting was the 1930s, and a black man was convicted when he was obviously innocent, just because a white girl pointed a finger. It may be fiction, but it is representative of the times. 80 years later, a black man is President of this country.
There were a lot of great quotes from this book. But one that moved me was in the final few pages:
A boy trudged down the sidewalk dragging a fishing pole behind him. A man stood waiting with his hands on his hips. Summertime, and his children played in the front yard with their friend, enacting a strange little drama of their own invention. It was fall, and his children fought on the sidewalk in front of Mrs. Dubose’s. . . . Fall, and his children trotted to and fro around the corner, the day’s woes and triumphs on their faces. They stopped at an oak tree, delighted, puzzled, apprehensive. Winter, and his children shivered at the front gate, silhouetted against a blazing house. Winter, and a man walked into the street, dropped his glasses, and shot a dog. Summer, and he watched his children’s heart break. Autumn again, and Boo’s children needed him. Atticus was right. One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them. Just standing on the Radley porch was enough.
It’s a defining moment for Scout. Seeing something from aother’s perspective. Losing some of her innocence. But still having faith in people.