America's best-loved novel

                                                        America’s best-loved novel

 

                                                                   By Lee Hyon-soo

 

In choosing English novels to read, many people consult the list of 100 best English novels compiled either by Time magazine or the Modern Library. But then one may wonder which novel is best loved by the reading public? As far as American readers are concerned, it is “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee according to a nationwide survey conducted by the Public Broadcasting Service in 2018. Not only is it loved by Americans, but it is also very popular worldwide because it is a novel of great sweetness, humor, compassion, and of mystery carefully sustained.

 

Mockingbird is a common bird of the southern United States that is remarkable for its exact imitation of the notes of other birds. Mockingbirds make music for men to enjoy and embody innocence. The title of Harper Lee’s novel is based on the idea that killing a mockingbird is a sin because to do so is tantamount to willfully destroying innocence. On the off chance that you have not read this novel, here is a synopsis.

 

‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ is a first-person novel narrated by Jean Louise who goes by her nickname, Scout. In this novel, Scout reminisces about what she did and observed while growing up in a small town, Maycomb, in Alabama – from the age of six through nine.

 

Scout lives with her widowed father, Atticus, and her brother, Jem (short for Jeremy) who is four years her senior. Atticus is a lawyer by profession. Firm yet kind-hearted, Atticus is a model parent to Scout and Jem. A girl of boyish behavior, Scout always argues with Jem and often gets into fistfights with her male friends.

 

The novel illustrates many episodes of adventures undertaken and games played by Scout and Jem together with their friend, Dill. Also, it describes the underprivileged socioeconomic situation in Alabama in the 1930s, the ludicrous conduct of idiosyncratic townspeople and amusing scenes in the elementary school which Scout attends.

 

A shocking incident takes place in the sleepy town of Maycomb; a black man, Tom Robinson, is accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell. Atticus is appointed by the judge to defend Tom. Maycomb’s racist white community labels Atticus a “nigger-lover” and harasses him and his children. But Atticus does not succumb to public pressure and does his best as the defense lawyer.

 

Atticus convincingly proves in the court that Tom is innocent - so much so that Scout and Jem believe that Tom will be set free. To their chagrin, the all-white jury finds Tom to be guilty as charged and gives him a death penalty. Despite the verdict, Bob Ewell, Mayella’s father, feels that Atticus has made a fool out of him during the trial and vows revenge.

 

Tom is shot to death, while attempting to escape from the prison. A local newspaperman likens Tom’s death to the senseless slaughter of mockingbirds by hunters and children.

 

On a dark night, Bob Ewell attacks Scout and Jem who are coming home from school. Jem’s arm is broken. Unexpectedly, Arthur Radley, Scout’s neighbor, intervenes, stabbing Bob fatally during the struggle.

 

The town’s sheriff, Heck Tate, investigates this incident. Convinced that what Arthur did was to prevent Scout and Jem from getting killed, Heck is reluctant to make Arthur, a notorious recluse, go through a public trial. So he closes the case, insisting that Bob tripped over a tree root and fell on his own knife and died. To Atticus who doubts whether Heck has made the right decision, Scout says that to prosecute Arthur would be like shooting a mockingbird.