To Kill a Mockingbird: Threatening Boundaries

Claudia Durst Johnson points out that despite the popularity of Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird," it has not really been the subject of serious academic study. In fact, you are more likely to find it being analyzed in law journals rather than literary magazines. Johnson is out to rectify this problem in this look at the novel in terms of "Threatening Boundaries." The first part of this book looks at the literary and historical context of the novel in three chapters: (1) Racial Climate in the Deep South focuses on both racial tension during the Depression, which is both the setting of the novel and the time of the trials of the Scottsboro case as well as in the mid-century, when Lee was writing the novel and the Civil Rights movement was gaining momentum; (2) The Importance of "To Kill a Mockingbird" talks about not only the way the novel has resonated with readers but the attempts to censor it in school libraries and the controversy in the legal community over Atticus Finch's defense of Tom Robinson; and (3) The Critical and Popular Reception of "To Kill a Mockingbird" looks at both the newspaper and magazine reviews as well as the published legal criticism. These entire section provides an excellent background to Lee's novel, not only for better understanding its social origins but its place in American culture. What makes this book a different approach to the novel from most literary criticism is that the idea of "boundaries" translates in five different "readings" of the text: (1) a discussion of the technical boundaries Lee establishes to advance her narrative in terms of plot, point of view, setting, and metaphor; (2) a look at the novel's use of the Gothic tradition, explored as a fictional construct of a castle's walls; (3) in a similar vein, a consideration of the walls of difference separating the various characters; (4) a treatment of the boundaries of law and code; and (5) an exploration of the relationship of art and expression in terms of the other boundaries discussed. Consequently, Johnson presents a series of readings, looking at the novel from various perspectives without being overly concerned with how everything fits together. This is advanced literary criticism, useful more for college classes than secondary schools, although certainly teachers could take some of Johnson's arguments and make them palatable for their students. I think the idea that real life lawyers would argue about whether Atticus Finch did the right thing would be fascinating to younger readers, who usually consider him to be one of the noblest characters in American Literature. My final piece of advice is not to read this book at one setting, especially the five readings in the second part. TEach one reflects a serious change in perspective and you really need to clear the decks of your mind before you move from one reading to the next.

A very scholarly review of one of my favorite books. Ms. Johnson points out similarities between events surrounding the trial of Tom Robinson in the book TKM and real life events surrounding the infamous trial of the "Scottsboro Incident", where several black youths were wrongfully accused, tried and convicted of raping a white woman in the South. Thus, pointing out how Lee's environment influenced her writing. It includes a chronology of key events in Lee's life and details about her relationship with Truman Capote. Ms. Johnson also gives a very indepth explanation of Gothicism in literature and how she comes to claim that TKM is a Gothic book, wherein the issues of boundaries are discussed. She points out a number of very interesting behaviors of the characters in TKM and also some similarities between the characters. Interestingly she points out how Atticus is Christlike. Overall a very insightful and scholarly review that will add to your enjoyment of the book TKM.

its a really well written book exploring the diversity, and aspects of human nature-- racism plays an important role, also, the ways of court systems "back in the days", dealing with rape charges against a coloured man. Fear takes over the children, they're not afraid of Radley's place, but have a fear of fear within. very well written! i recommend this book to anyone who's looking for something different!