To anyone’s knowledge, Harper Lee wrote only one book.
This is the 50th anniversary year of the publication of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” which has never gone out of print, has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide, and was once consistently challenged for its subject matter and use of language.
Lee and her childhood friend Truman Capote, who wrote “In Cold Blood” and “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” both authored dark reflections of American life which explored thoughts and actions underscored by the worst in us, but which allowed a measure of redemption and hope for the best in us.
In “To Kill a Mockingbird,” Lee portrayed the wrongful prosecution of an African-American man in a small Mississippi town as the fulcrum for the most elemental aspects of right and wrong, compassion and forgiveness. She engaged the voice of a young girl named Scout to bring readers to an important revelation: we’re not so different from each other once you remove the man-made barriers of race and class. Similarly-powerful, but more contemporary is John Grisham’s “A Time to Kill.”
How far has America progressed from Lee’s description of a community twisted with hateful fear? How far from the atrocities of lynching, separate water fountains, and denying citizens the ability to vote or attend a good school? There are too many stories to tell that will answer these questions from either side of the spectrum.
The youngest generation has grown up in a culture more inclusive than ever before; many young people perceive the world as a place where a person’s identity is determined from what is within, not what society decides they are from without.
In “Scout, Atticus, and Boo: A Celebration of Fifty Years of To Kill A Mockingbird,” Mary Murphy presents interviews with many American authors and celebrities who discuss how the book affected their own lives. Charles Shields has written “Mockingbird,” the first biography about Lee and the writing of her influential book, and a young adult version titled “I Am Scout.”
Also be sure to check out the classic, “A Lesson Before Dying” by Ernest J. Gaines. It’s the story of a young African-American man facing the electric chair and the conflicted teacher who counsels him. Its film version, starring Don Cheadle, is excellent, as is the Oscar-winning film version of “To Kill a Mockingbird” starring Gregory Peck, who became a good friend of Lee’s.
Newer, acclaimed novels that explore race relations in the South include “The Secret Life of Bees” by Sue Monk Kidd and “The Help” by Kathryn Stockett.
Posted By: Siebra Muhammad
Sunday, July 11th 2010 at 5:21PM
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