127. To kill a mockingbird

Harper Lee

 

"No, the answer is she knows I know she tries. That's what makes the difference. What bothers me is that she and Jem will have to absorb some ugly things pretty soon. I'm not worried about Jem keeping his head, but Scout's just as soon jump on someone as look at him if her prides's at stake..."

 

I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand.

 

"One more thing, gentlemen, before I quit. Thomas Jefferson once said that all men are created equal, a phrase that the Yankees and the distaff side of the Executive branch in Wahington are fond of hurling at us. (중략) We know all men are not created equal in the sense some people would have us believe - some people are because they're born with it, some men make more money than others, some ladies make better cakes than others - some people are born gifted beyond the normal scope of most men"

 

Atticus said that Jem was trying hard to forget something, but what he was really doing was storing it away for a while, until enough time passed. Then he would be able to think about it and sort things out. When he was able to think about it, Jem would be himself again.

 

There's a black boy dead for no reason, and the man responsible for it's dead. Let the dead bury the dead this time.

 

(★)
미국의 인종차별적인 역사를 보는 것 같은 소설이다. 한가지 아쉬운 것은 화자가 백인, 그리고 문제를 해결하고자 노력하는 것도 백인이라는 것이다. 물론, 흑인이 모든 것을 했다면 또 작위적인 느낌일 수도 있을 것이다. 그리고 악당의 말로 역시 석연치 않다.