My mom read me To Kill a Mockingbird when I was ten years old, and it continues to be one of the most important and most beautiful novels I have come across. The ham costume, Boo Radley, rolling in a tire down the street, the knot hole; such details have remained with me since my childhood, but more of the story’s greater themes have shaped my perceptions of race, gender, family, and justice.
“Atticus told me to delete the adjectives and I’d have the facts.”
Not only has this advice been imperative in my growth as a writer, but it taught me to look through the shroud of outer influence and preconceived notions. Whether it’s a news story, a friend, a social justice movement, or a potential presidential candidate, you have to look beyond the surface of propaganda and politics to make your own impressions.
“Courage is not a man with a gun in his hand. It’s knowing you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do.”
I feel a sort of comfort reading this quote about courage; it does not insinuate success, after all, but simply asks that you persevere. Fear is okay. Failure is okay. What’s important is remembering what you’re fighting for and making that your reason to keep pushing.
“The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience.”
This is probably the most eloquent “follow your heart” line I’ve ever heard. There is more to be learned about justice in To Kill a Mockingbird than will fit in this article; Atticus’ belief in justice, Jem’s stubborn love for his family, Scout’s passion for reading. The Finches played by their own rules.
“It was times like these when I thought my father, who hated guns and had never been to any wars, was the bravest man who ever lived.”
Bravery takes a number of forms, but I find that the one we least expect is often the most important. I saw my parents in a new light after I read TKAM; their sacrifices, their morals, the way they advocated for what was right instead of what was popular revealed to me the true extent of their bravery, and it made me thankful.
“You can choose your friends but you sho’ can’t choose your family, an’ they’re still kin to you no matter whether you acknowledge ’em or not, and it makes you look right silly when you don’t.”
So thank you, Harper Lee, for being part of the mortar that holds the bricks of my being together. Thank you for teaching me to pursue justice even if my adversaries outnumber me tenfold. Thank you for encouraging truth and personal courage. Thank you for making a little tomboy realize it was okay to be a girl. Thank you for Atticus, Jem, and Scout; for Calpurnia and Boo Radley; for Dill and Tom; for the story to rule my youth.
And thank you, of course, for this one: “Pass the damn ham, please.”