Courtney: Laura poses an interesting question when she asks what Harper Lee's novel is about, and what I have concluded is that there is no one answer to the question. At the novel's opening, the reader discovers that the story is told through the eyes of a child, and at first, the plotline seems to be in sync with the light-hearted voice of Scout: she and her brother and their friend Dill seem to have no bigger problems than antogonistic teachers at school, or the creepy neighbor next door. But as Scout and Jem grow, so too does the plot thicken, and one discovers that the novel is much deeper than Lee first lets on.
So what's it about? A lot of things: Childhood, and its fascination with anything or anyone that is slightly unusual, the amorphous relationship between siblings, the racial tensions in a small southern town, and the lesser prejudices that exist between neighbors who know each others' business entirely too well. I'm sure there's more...but I'm handing it to Laura.
Laura: This book is about a lot of things, which is one charming result when you involve a whole host of fascinating characters, but is there an underlying theme? If you look closely, it almost seems that some characters may be lesser archetypes for others. Take Boo Radley for example. In the begining of the novel he serves as the central element for plot development, but as the novel progresses and Atticus takes on the Robinson case, Boo sort of filters out. Boo was "different" than the other characters and the lessons that Jim and Scoutt learn about acceptance and differences while dealing with Boo almost prepare them for the lessons they learn while dealing with Tom Robinson. Boo, is then, a sort of predecessor of Tom and can be likened to the misunderstood black population of Maycomb. Consider other misunderstood characters such as Ms. Du Bubose, or Mr. Dolphus Raymond. Can these characters and the lessons that the children learn about human nature through them play into one large overarching lesson, each of the characters having likenesses between themselves and serving to symbolize each other or the archetype of the "prejudiced man"?
Courtney: I suppose if I were to answer this last question, I would say the theme that unites all of these characters and relates them to each other would be prejudice and acceptance. I know that these seem like two separate things, but in this case I lump them together like this: Each of the characters listed by Laura (Ms. DuBose, Mr. Raymond, Boo Radley, etc.) are thought of by Scout and Jem to be odd or worthy of ridicule, and Scout and Jem must learn to put aside those presuppositions when they learn more about these people. In fact, Scout and Jem seem to belittle the white population of their town than the black population, due to Calpurnia's good influence and Atticus' defense of Tom Robinson. However, there do seem to be some deep-seeded prejudices in the children against the black population simply because of the era in which they grew up. Scout, though she obviously loves Calpurnia, still seems to hold herself a bit aloof, and think it fitting that her household servant is a black woman. Also, neither of the children show much thought at the separation of the blacks and whites in town, and Scout finds herself opposed to Mr. Raymond because he spends his time with blacks, even though he is not drunk all the time as he leads the people of Maycomb to believe. She finds it unbelievable that a rich sober white man would choose to live as Mr. Raymond does. Yet at the end of the story, Scout has her eyes opened. The lesson about prejudice and acceptance, I believe, does not come to Scout from watching her father defend Tom Robinson, but later, after Boo Radley has saved the life of her brother. It is this that triggers (at least in the mind of the reader) all the subtle (and not-so subtle) hints and commentary that the author includes in the novel about all the different kinds and varying levels of prejudice that exist in a small town, and everywhere. Boo Radley, though he seems to lack importance in the second part of the book, is the man who serves to bring all of Harper Lee's lessons home.
Also, as another note...did you notice that Ms. Merriweather's description of the "poor" Mrunas sounds a lot like our discussion of
Heart of Darkness or
Things Fall Apart? There is a tribe of people that is considered by the "civilized" world to be living in squalor and/or heathenism, when really they are content to act on the traditions and habits of their ancestors, and simply behave and thrive in the same way their people have been doing for generations. I was never irritated by so-called mission work (not bashing missionaries--a lot of what they do is very good work) to conform the barbaric masses to Western ways until I read Heart of Darkness. Now Lee's inclusion of the Missionary Society scene seems to me a similar criticism of white prejudice and superiority.
Laura: Yes, there is much that could be said about the missionary society and their treatment of the Mrunas people. Scoutt reports that the Mrunas lived "squalid lives," "put women in huts when their time came ... subjected children to terrible ordeals, wen they were thirteen" and that they were crawling in "yaws and earworms." Much of this quote suggests references to tribal customs that make one consider Okonkwo's side of the story in Things Fall Appart, but at the same time one must not over look the fact that the Mrunas were "crawling in yaws and earworms," a comment suggestive of impoverished living conditions and lack of proper hygiene. While it is "wrong" to degrade the ways of the tribes because they are different from ours, one must also recognize that the tribe may not have been totally peaceful and content, but have suffered greatly from their lack of economic assess and lack of necessary education. The woman's missionary society did handle the group improperly but their motives - to help the tribe- do seem genuine and benevolent. Such paradoxes, while unfortunate, are all too common among Christian groups. This of course could easily spin into a deep and multi-faceted discussion of mission/humanitarian work and the best ways to respect and still help a community, but this is a bit beyond the scope of this blog right now.
Courtney: A final comment I'd like to add is that it just seems interesting that Scout and Jem were so convinced that Boo would kill them, and he wound up saving their lives. I suppose it just goes to show that our presuppositions about a thing or a place are sometimes (often?) wrong, and that one must keep an open mind.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
It is unfortunate that we are unable to record the whole of our discussion here. This is a deep and moving book, not to mention controversial, and it deserves more attention than we are currently able to give it. I'm sure that some of the themes discussed tonight will appear later in our discussions of other novels.
Next on the list is
The Scarlet Letter. Discussion will commence whenever the heck we feel like it :)
Ex Libris,
L and C
