I cried. I cried in the end and went to bed feeling sad. I felt sad for Tom Robinson, Boo Radley, Scout, Jem, Atticus….everybody I guess.
It seemed to be an impossible situation and it was true that Tom Robinson was dead the minute Mayella Ewing opened her mouth and screamed. I even felt sorry for Mayella. Everybody but her father.
I had already read this book, but it would have been over 20 years ago now (what?!) and I’m stoked that Shelley chose this for our book club. I’m thankful I wasn’t around in the early sixties, especially in the Deep South. Scout and Jem were fortunate enough to have Atticus to guide them through the confusion and hate that penetrated their little town.
It’s a sin to kill a mockingbird because “mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. This message of sparing the innocent runs through the entire book and there are many innocents in this story. Dill’s tears after Tom Robinson’s conviction, and Atticus’ statement that “it seems only the children weep” add to this message and left me feeling more than a little melancholy.
And you? What did you think?
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