“He turned out the light and went into Jem's room. He would be there all night, and he would be there when Jem waked up in the morning.”
Harper Lee – To Kill a Mockingbird
MY FAVORITE BOOK
I had a minor catastrophe last week—my television died. That was not so bad because the problem was remedied by having some new equipment sent out and a repair man here to fix the dish (I know I am out of date with screening options, but that’s another discussion for some other time.) I do need to remark here that when the repair man showed up he was a double for Morgan Freeman—it was uncanny. I asked him if others compared him to a movie star and he said, as he has many times I guess, “Yes, Morgan Freeman.” But I had warm brownies to assuage the bother of being quizzed on his stellar looks, so all was well.
At any rate, the most egregious thing that happened was that my entire playlist vanished!--movies I have been taping and hoarding and coddling and re-watching for a long time. It all just went poof! But I am a television fiend, so not to worry the list is being rebuilt daily.
Some of the latest catches were “Marty” with Ernest Borgnine and “To Kill a Mockingbird,” based on the book by Harper Lee. (If you have not read this book you should immediately download it, sign up for a service, find it on line, listen to a recording, check out the listings for the movie schedule, get to the library—SOMETHING so you can read this great book, my favorite. You should do all of this for none of what I say is overkill. One can never have too many copies of this great book. Well, THE favorite of THE nation according to the GREAT AMERICAN READ. A while back PBS presented a series of episodes for book lovers in an effort to find the nation’s #1 favorite book. They had surveyed the nation, compiled a list and asked viewers to VOTE for their favorite. I am going to paste in a site in the hope that you can find this and watch each presentation (which handles a different book category) AND the grand finale.
Each week that this transpired I was glued to my set, knowing deep in my heart what the answer would be. I can honestly say that the finale and announcement was one of the best days of my life!! I know you must be thinking that I have led a very dull life (which could be true), but nonetheless I was totally insane. My daughter and granddaughter were here and I am pretty sure they kept their phones handy should they need to call for paramedics.
And so, last night I took to my trusty playlist and watched the classic film from this book. I never miss a second—if anything disrupts my viewing, I pause so as not to miss a syllable.
And as always at the end, I mouthed the words above:
“He turned out the light and went into Jem's room. He would be there all night, and he would be there when Jem waked up in the morning.”
And then the soft, warm, tears, rolled down my cheeks and once again good had triumphed over evil. And in today’s times you can only imagine how great a thing that can be.
But this time before I even watched, I had anticipated the plot of the book and it dawned on me as never before just how many heroes were in this novel. Of course I always saw Atticus Finch as the quintessential good guy, but as I mulled things over I quickly came up with four heroes.
After Atticus must be considered with his kind fatherly ways and advice, with his way of always knowing just what to say and do, with his impeccable sense of what is ethical and good, then we can move on to the three other heroes.
Naturally, Tom Robinson comes to mind next. He is a good and kind man. He has a handicap due to his arm being injured as a teen, yet he still works hard for his family and even takes the time to help a woman who is only formulating a plan to get him alone. Tom is still respectful and wishes to aid her in her life of drudgery and exit to avoid any further misunderstandings.
Thirdly, there is Jem. Jem is the young man we would all want for our big brother. Does he get irritated with his sister, dislike her dawdling ways and her propensity to be a wet blanket by being afraid? Yes. But when the chips are down, he literally puts his life on the line for Scout as most guys I know would do for their little sisters.
And finally there is the truest hero of the book, Boo Radley. Without giving away the entire plot I will need to stop there. But I can say that this is a man who has been mistreated and maligned by his own father, and mostly ostracized in his town for past events. This treatment has kept him from warm friendships and the kindnesses of the people of the town, and yet he ends up being the hero of my heart.
So, do yourself a favor. Get the book, read it, hear it, live it. It will assure you that there can be goodness and kindness and people who help us when we need it. It is a novel for all time, but it is most particularly a novel to read now so your faith in others will be renewed.