To Kill A Mockingbird - Endings & Such
- Syd Sschoen
- Mar 27, 2018
- 3 min read
Secret Lives
In my previous post, I had exclaimed my insights on the idea of "secret lives" with logic and reasoning, all of which I still stand by. However, in To Kill A Mockingbird we see that the characters' secret lives are actual, physical things that play crucial roles in the individual's life - they just aren't shown/expected due to how the individual presents themselves to others. An example of this was Calpurnia's secret life with her church, which the children get the privilege to experience in chapter 12.
"folks don't like to have somebody around knowin' more than they do. It aggravates 'em. You're not gonna change any of them by talkin' right, they've got to want to learn themselves, and when they don't want to learn there's nothing you can do but keep your mouth shut or talk their language." - Calpurnia (chap. 12, par. 138-144)
This quote does a great job of explaining how society in the south at this time tends to refuse molding themselves into something different. This also explains why Calpurnia alters the way she speaks in the church setting compared to how she communicates in/at the Finch household. This change in language is a huge part of her secret life, intriguing the other characters as well as the reader.
Atticus
In the beginning of the novel, I didn't think much of the father figure of the story. I hadn't believed he would have such a crucial role in the development of the story, which was pretty surprising. Over the course of the book, Atticus went from what could be considered a "reliable" character (in terms of how the reader sees him) to a many-faced man with a past that takes up an entire prequel.
"Remember its a sin to kill a mockingbird"
This quote from chapter 10 is probably the most important quote in the entire novel. This idea of a mockingbird is used as a symbol of the innocent individuals within the story - Scout, Jem, Boo Radley, Tom Robinson, etc. Therefore, the title and quote suggest that the entire book was based around this idea of killing innocence, specifically in these characters. By saying that its a sin to do so seems to contradict the title, acting as a type of possible foreshadowing.
Lit Circle
During our various literature circles on the chapters following 1 through 9, we talked about a variety of different topics pertaining to the novel; more specifically points of which we had elaborated on as a class beforehand, such as thoughts on Bob Ewell, Calpurnia's secret life, etc. The literature circles were much more productive than full class discussions, giving individuals to spew out ideas without hesitation or feeling a need for complete social courtesy. The papers assigned for each circle helped trigger the discussions, although much of the information repeated throughout the book and/or wasn't used/needed.
Why We Still Read This Novel
Believe it or not, the actions and beliefs of many of the characters in this book - which was set in the 1930s - still persist today. Even though the problem may have ceased in law over half a century ago, racism is still evident in many habits of western (especially southern) culture. For instance, in the article Black Men in Public Space, the author, a large black man, shares his thoughts and experiences with how people perceive him on the city streets every day. His findings show the stereotypes built into the minds of the average person, and how they can have negative impacts on the lives of others. We read this novel to keep the topic in the light, allowing following generations to prevent racism relapses as society moves forward.
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