That's the question the BBC asks, on the 50th anniversary of the novel's publication.
From the piece...
One of the central lessons of Lee's novel, according to the book's moral driving force, lawyer Atticus Finch, is to put yourself in other people's skin and walk around in it. But to apply that mantra to the author herself would be stretching one's empathic skills to breaking point - Harper Lee hardly ever does interviews or speaks about her work.
But much can be learned about her own childhood when reading the novel. Lee tells the story of Finch, the middle-aged lawyer who defends a black man accused of raping a white girl. The action unfolds through the eyes of his perceptive six-year-old daughter Scout, and explores issues of race, class and the loss of innocence. So what explains its popularity?
"They are challenged by the ideas in it and are quite upset by what happens to Tom Robinson. Justice is not done because it's a white woman's word against a black man's and that's particularly pertinent and shocking in a school like mine, where 50% of the intake are black students. They are also a bit shocked by the language, so you have to explain that Lee is depicting the reality of life as it was in Maycomb in the 1930s."
"It's one of those life-changing reads," says Garry Burnett, an English teacher in Grimsby, who organised a Mockingbird festival at his previous school in Hull.
"It's not just exam fodder but something that draws an emotional response, particularly in children. But there are parts of the novel I find too moving to read. As a parent, I identify with the strength of the father, who is prepared to set an example to his children, even though it might cost him."
Also, if you care to hear Sissy Spacek read an excerpt, go no further.
No comments:
Post a Comment