First Edition Cover, 1960
To Kill a Mockingbird (TKAM) by Harper Lee has become a classic novel of young adult literature in America. Boys and girls read it in school as an assignment by the age of twelve or thirteen. Just as with other challenging books, attempts have been made to block it from juvenile readers, under one pretext or another. The vain attempt to stifle literature has now stopped.
KumKum and Devika
Perhaps TKAM owes its fame even more to the film that was released in 1962 within two years of the novel’s publication. Atticus Finch (AF) was played by Gregory Peck and the character of AF has more or less become identified with Peck. The identification was so complete, and the performance of such quality, that the author, Harper Lee, (who died in 2015) never gave her consent to a second movie version.
Pamela, Zakia, Kavita, and Geetha
In the law profession there has been a movement to identify the virtues of the legal profession with the grit and character shown by AF. He has been cited as a role model for lawyers. However, a debate was sparked in 1992 by professor of law, Monroe Freedman, in the Legal Times of Feb 24, 1992 pointing out several deficiencies of AF, courageous and skilful though he was in defending Tom Robinson, the accused black rapist.
Arundhaty and Thommo
Harper Lee has mined her own experiences of growing up in the South to give flesh to the characters and scenes in the book. The picture she paints of AF, a widower bringing up two spirited children, and imparting his discipline to them gently but firmly, has appealed to generations of readers. His kind demeanour allowed them to grow up with their individuality intact. We see them actually grow up during the two year period covered by the novel.
Priya
(standing) Pamela, Zakia, Geetha, Arundhaty, Thommo, Priya, KumKum, Devika (sitting (Joe, Hemjit)
