‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ – Cont’d W
ELCOME BACK. I hope you have finished reading To Kill a Mockingbird and found time to do at least some of the research that you should have done. Now, we are going to deal with the word ‘plot’ as it relates to our novel. You have read other stories and you have written your own, so you know that, simply put, the plot consists of the main events in a story. Of course, this includes how the characters relate to one another, the backgrounds of the characters, and how the actions/events are linked.
The plot or basic idea in To Kill a Mockingbird, as in other stories, is what the writer ‘fleshes’ out, develops or enlarges into a full-fledged work of art. Our story has as its base the racial and social conflict between blacks and whites in a small American town, and the impact on the young children of the lawyer who chooses to defend a black man accused of ... (you know what). Here is a story which takes us into the home of a single-parent family, allows us to see a part of the school system, and exposes us to the attitudes of the whites to the blacks, among other things.
Come with me on a visit to the Maycomb of those days. Look at a boy and a girl racing to meet a tall, middle-aged man. ‘What’, you may ask, ‘is the relationship between the man and these children?’ Father and son and daughter, you may conclude, as you see the love they have for each other. If we could follow them home and peek through a window into their home and lives, how much we would learn from the questions Jem and Scout would ask Atticus, and the answers they would receive. We would see Scout and Jem cling to their father at times; sometimes we would see Scout in his lap. We would hear the lessons of life which he imparts to them. Can’t you hear him defending Miss Caroline and speaking of his trust and confidence in Calpurnia? According to Scout, her father always takes Calpurnia’s side, so she wins all their arguments. You see, Atticus makes sure that his childern obey her, for he knows that she loves and cares for them, and that she strives to do what is right for them. He also recognises that she is essential to the safe and smooth running of his home. It is the same ideas of respect and trust that he tries to get his sister, Alexandra, to understand and accept.
“We don’t need her now.” (Aunt Alex)
Atticus’ voice was even: “Alexandra, Calpurnia’s not leaving this house
until she wants to. You may think otherwise, but I couldn’t
have got along without her all these years. She is a faithful
member of this family and you simply have to accept things
the way they are É We need Cal as much as ever we did.” “But Atticus———-” “Besides, I don’t think the children have suffered one bit
from her having brought them up. If anything, she’s been
harder on them in some ways than a mother would have
been ... she’s never let them get away with anything, she’s
never indulged them the way most colored nurses do. She
tried to bring them up according to her lights, and Cal’s
lights are pretty good—-and another thing the children
love her.”
This conversation shows us that we can expect Atticus’ children to develop a healthy attitude of respect for Calpurnia and for Negroes in general. I cannot but think that Jem and Scout are getting a sound, good upbringing. They are able to speak their minds, confide in someone, receive honest, sensible explanations about life and occurences, and know without any doubt that they are loved. What do you think?
It is not surprising, then, that Jem and Scout behave as normal children do. They love each other – that they quarrel and have disagreements is only natural. Jem, four years older than his sister, tries to look after her at school, just as how your older siblings did or do for you or you did or do for your younger brothers or sisters. Again, it is not unexpected that Scout sometimes challenges Jem’s authority, but she relies on and respects him.
As we continue to learn about Atticus, we find out that he is a lawyer. Do you know that Harper Lee once received an award from a society of lawyers in America because of her creation of a lawyer who is decent, honest and honourable in this novel? They may have been influenced to do so because, unfortunately, many persons hold lawyers in poor esteem, as you perhaps have heard. The author presents Atticus as calm, fairminded, unbiased, responsible, honest and an avid reader, a trait which he passed on to his children. We meet in him a loving father and an excellent employer. Mr Finch has a keen understanding of human nature, though this lets him down in his estimation of the character of Bob Ewell. In spite of this, we can see from his idea that ...
“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.”
... he is fair to all. He is neither condemnatory nor judgemental. In other words, Atticus does his best to look at things from his perspective and that of others, too. I hope that you have noticed that he treats everyone with warm courtesy, never thinking that he is better than others. In fact, this is a characteristic that differentiates him from his sister. While he acknowledges that the Ewells are a breed apart, he does not speak of them or treat them with contempt. Take your time this week to consider the calibre of this man, Atticus. God bless! Beryl Clarke is an independent contributor. Send questions and comments to kerry-ann.hepburn@gleanerjm.com