To Kill a Mockingbird

Title: To Kill a Mockingbird

Author: Harper Lee

Recommendation: A Must-Read

Review: To Kill a Mockingbird is required reading in most middle and high schools in the United States, although that is starting to change due to people’s discomfort with the language used in the novel, specifically the use of the N word. I don’t remember my experience when I first read this book in high school, but I do have to be honest and say that the language used in the book has made me uncomfortable when reading it this time around. Does this mean the book should be banned? I definitely don’t think so – I think it is important for people to step outside of their comfort zone and have difficult conversations about racism in this country. The book addresses not only blatant racism – white people’s treatment of black people in everyday circumstances – but also institutional racism – the discrimination of black people in justice system.

But the racist topics in this book have been discussed extensively before, so I would like to focus on the book as it pertains to the #MeToo movement – sexual harassment and the consequences that come of it.

The book centers around the trial of a black man accused of raping and assaulting a white woman. It’s a “He Said/She Said” trial with few witnesses, but it becomes clear that Mayella Ewell, the white woman, was not the one sexually assaulted but it was she, in fact, who tried to kiss a married black man, Tom Robinson. Tom’s testimony admits that he not only tried to block her advances, but he also had to run from the scene of the “crime,” making him guilty in the eyes of the town of Maycomb, so that he could avoid a perhaps worse fate in the hands of Mayella’s father, Bob Ewell. Bob accuses Tom of raping his daughter and the jury convicts Tom at the trial.

Tom’s fate is one that men in the United States are becoming more fearful of – being put on trial for sexually assaulting a woman. Statistics show that approximately 8% of rape accusations turn out to be unfounded, according to a 1996 study by the FBI (https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/1996/96sec2.pdf). The FBI study is from over 20 years ago, but other, more recent studies, echo the same statistics. Depending who you are, 8% may seem like a large percentage or a small percentage. I, personally, think it is a small percentage, especially if you consider how many rapes and sexual assaults go unreported. Women are often discouraged from reporting rape for various reasons – they may not have enough evidence, they were drunk, they may have led the person on by flirting. The truth is, that our society still has a “boys will be boys” mentality and women are discouraged to disrupt it. This is slowly changing, as we see with the #MeToo movement, and men are afraid that the pendulum may swing in the other direction – of women overreporting sexual assault and something which may have seemed innocent previously is now a crime that could potentially carry heavy consequences for the man.

To Kill a Mockingbird shows this reality at its worst. Tom, accused and convicted of rape, is sent to the chair. Atticus Finch, his attorney, tells Tom that they have a good chance at appeal – but not a great chance. Atticus did not want to instill false hope in his client and instead chose to be honest with Tom. Tom, not wanting to take a risk at the hands of white men (since in the 1930s, only white men were allowed to sit on juries), decides to escape prison and is shot down by the prison guards, thus ending his life.

Had Tom been a white man, he would have never been accused of raping Mayella. Had he been a white man, he may have gotten a fair trial. Had he been a white man, he may have believed in the justice system and awaited his appeal.

This book is still a classic, despite the changing times and our sensitivity to the language used in it. For us to be uncomfortable by the use of the N word so casually in this book is a sign that we, as a society, understand the wrongs that have been made in our history. We should continue having these difficult discussions and using this novel as a starting point in schools to not only discuss our difficult history, but also to address how we can make a better future for everyone. We should use this book not only to discuss racism, but also the current discussions going around sexual assault.