As a fore-warning, this blog is going to be about the book To Kill a Mockingbird and the film adaptation starring Gregory Peck. Unlike my blog on the novel Carrie, there will be a number of unavoidable spoilers as I attempt to get across what made this book and its film so brilliant. Therefore, if you haven't read the book or seen the film then please refrain from reading this blog, as I'd hate to ruin it for you.
Now that's got the uncultured lot out of the way, we can begin. ;) I'll begin with my own opinion and commentary on the book itself as that was what I experienced first.
The Book
I want to begin by stating how truly brilliant this book was. Normally, when I am told that something is a must-see, or must-read, I approach it with a sense of scepticism. After all, the average person is an idiot and cannot be trusted. To quote Peep Show quickly "People like Coldplay and voted for the Nazis. You can't trust people, Jeremy." As I mentioned in my technophobia blog, people like shit like Avatar. However, I will admit that To Kill a Mockingbird fully deserves the praise it gets.
The books biggest strength is that it doesn't have one key story. It is a winding tale about the life of Scout, the young girl who narrates. Although the trial of Tom Robinson is often cited as the most memorable, each event that happens rely on each other to make the story whole. It is told with an innocence that one does not forget. The book tells her life over three years and captures many heart warming moments, funny moments and moments of great sadness. Along with her brother Jem, Scout learns many of life's lessons and learns to appreciate things which she had been shameful of before. The greatest thing she learns to love is her father, Atticus Finch, who is the epitome of a good man.
The funniest moments for me are the attempts by the children to get Boo Radley to come out of his house. Boo Radley is a legend among the children and you can just envision yourself as a child being fascinated by the tales. Although their father insists they leave the Radley's alone, Scout, Jem and Dill (Scout and Jem's best friend, modeled on the author's own best friend) continue to try and get Boo to come out. The fear they feel mixed with the thrill of adventure is so easy to relate to. Boo is actually a hero for the children by the end of the novel when he saves their lives.
Although Harper Lee, the author, was attempting to show the harshness of 1930s racism, the book does not try to be too complex or powerful with its message. It just shows that although Tom Robinson is clearly innocent of the crime he is accused of, and the town folk know this, the jury still sentence him and all state that he is guilty. One article that I read recently, criticised the novel, claiming it stated the obvious. However, I do not think it does. I think it did what it set out to do in a charming way. The key moment from the trial for me is Jem's delight when he's assured they will win and then the sudden anger at the injustice from the jury. The quote that moved me the most was in the aftermath of the trial. Jem asks Atticus how the jury could do such a thing. Atticus responds "I don't know, but they did it. They've done it before and they did it tonight and they'll do it again and when they do it-seems that only children weep." This shows the marvel of the book. Harper Lee captures an innocent perspective from those who cannot understand why there is evil and unfairness in the world.
Atticus defends a negro man, despite all the odds against him. As he says himself, "They're certainly entitled to think that, and they're entitled to full respect for their opinions," said Atticus, "but before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience."Atticus knows that if he did not defend Tom Robinson, he would not be able to live with himself. The message that I took from the book is that sometimes in life, there are those who will push for something to be done which they do not want to do themselves, but they will offer no support. Atticus was asked to defend Tom Robinson, because nobody else wanted to. People are always willing to say what is right, but doing what is right is something completely different.
I do not want to dwell too much on the racism. I feel it is clear that Harper Lee (a White woman) managed to question why racism ever existed and showed that, in a court room at least, all men are equal. Two trials you should look into if you want to get angered about racial injustice, the Scottsboro boys and the trial of Emmet Till. All you must know is that Scout and Jem and Dill's story is a memorable one. Scout and Jem learn a lot, especially that their Father doesn't do some things in life, not because he can't, but because he chooses not to. The clearest example of this is the moment with the rabid dog. Jem and Scout find out that in fact, Atticus could shoot, and in fact is the greatest shot in the town, he just chooses not to.
The book is better than the film in a lot of ways, as it manages to go into the detail that the film could not, especially regarding characterisation and the lessons the children learn. However, this is not a criticism of the film as it just cannot be the detailed tale the book is.
The Film
The film focused on the trial itself. It is understandable as this is the main point of the book. Although, as I said, the book intertwines all the events without any being singularly more significant than any other. The film adds in certain scenes to help the viewer understand the characters. It is a classic film, I found it more humourous than the book and that was only because of the delivery of lines. A scene that was laugh out loud funny was the young Scout walking home in her costume from the school pageant. She's dressed as a ham and it is so funny to see her waddling along.
The acting was superb and each character was perfectly cast, especially Gregory Peck as Atticus and Mary Badham as the young Scout. The soundtrack accompanied the moments brilliantly and this was especially effective in the courthouse scene.
It is a truly emotional moment when, after the jury have announced a unanimous verdict of 'guilty', Atticus slowly packs up his case and walks out of the court room alone with all of the black men and women looking down on them. The music emphasises this feeling of failure and that he believed he could win this case and prove that sometimes men will not be so discriminatory.
Another scene which stood out was the first time we meet Boo Radley. It was Robert Duvall's first role and one he fitted into brilliantly. The innocence and slight fear shown by Radley moves you, but the obvious affection he feels for the two children, is enough to make anyone cry.
The final scene in both the book and the film are the best endings. It is believed by Atticus that Jem killed Bob Ewell when he attacked them. Once again, Atticus shows he must do what is right even if it hurts him to do so. Jem is innocent though and the sherrif shows Atticus that it would be a sin to make Bob Ewell's death come to trial. As Scout walks Boo Radley home, one of the other famous quotes is used once again. "You never fully understand a man until you walk around in his shoes." She sees the street from Boo Radley's perspective and can understand why he didn't want to come out and why Jem and her were so important to him.
I haven't really managed to do this blog in a way that the film and book deserve. If I was a genius (o wait, I am) or a book or film scholar I could give you a greater insight into why this story deserves the praise and attention it received. However, I hope this has been good enough from the perspective of one person who truly loved every second of both mediums telling Harper Lee's timeless tale. The title of this blog was pretty hard too, so I just went with another quote from the book, so what if it's not a song, sue me. Mockingbirds sing, that's your damn song. If you haven't read either the book or seen the film...
Now go away and do it.
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