Footnotes on “to kill a mocking bird”

Say something Scout! I found myself shouting inside, but instead, she helped her aunty with serving the cakes and as if nothing has happened. Outraged by the miscarriage of justice and widespread racism, I expected an 8 year old to say or do something,  forgetting that she was a child.

Atticus said after the trial: they have done I t before and did it tonight, and they will do it again, and when they do- it seems only the children weep.  He was right, and instead of doing something, we wait for the children to do the right thing!

It feels strange writing about “to kill a mocking bird”, I heard and read so much about it that I had very high expectations when I picked it up, soon I was disappointed! More than a hundred pages through and  the story is moving in a very steady slow build up. Even the poetic expressions are not that great, only line I copied into my notes was from the first few pages describing the front gate of Raddley’s as “drunken gate”.

Things then suddenly peaked through the trial and the few nights before, I could not put the book down. As the trial concluded and Maycomb returned to it is “normal” live, the book pace returned to what it was before.  But with the benefit of hind insight, you know that underneath this slow unremarkable life there is so much brewing. It reminded me of a scene from 12 years a slave: Solomon was whipped and then was left in pain and misery  on the post while in the same shot you could see the children playing and workers picking the cotton in the fields.

And in Maycomb Alabama things were not the same, an innocent man died unjustly, his peers continued to live the same injustice, and many people realising the injustice and wanting to do something about it. Also in the same place, the people living on the far side of society, who thought they became hero for oppressing the already oppressed, soon realised that they are not wanted in the society,  only used for a purpose, only important once compared to other humans, but otherwise, they belong outside and once they played their role, they should (no choice) retrieve to their dungeons !

As I finished the book, I had an urge to read it again, that slow steady flow of life in Maycomb in the first 100 pages seems to be very relevant to understand life in the south, life in the thirties, and why people do what they do. The prejudice, racism, self-righteousness, ignorance are not the real problems, they are manifestations of much deeper rooted issues in that society and every society, and they are as relevant –if not more relevant as they were then.

I do not know what Harper Lee’s politics are? I don’t know who she thought has the power to change things? Or who’s duty is it to change things? But she managed to use the children to illustrate all sections of society, because children are innocent, not yet morally corrupt, or because they see things in a less complicated way than adults. The bottom line is that children’s passion and honesty should guide us to the truth.

Last month the children in the UK took action on the street about Global Warming, last year after the shooting in Parkland the children in America took the lead in taking actions, and this month as the adults are failing to do anything meaningful  about knife crime, the children might do something about it. Every time we fail in our duty towards our fellow humans, we see the children weep and we do nothing.

Harper Lee succeeded in telling a great story in a great way, and I have enjoyed reading it specially on the many occasions when the children do not do what you want them to do, when the great magnificent things you want to happen, do not happen. One thing in particular I found astonishing the book, is how the most scary evil thing in the story was the most righteous.

There is so much more to say about this very interesting story, but I don’t want to ruin it for you, once you read it, we can talk about it ;)

Ahmad Baker