Mockingbird...

Top of the evening to all...

Some of you might remember that I wrote a blog entry back in 2012.  The title of the entry was Books on a Desert Island.  We had been assigned to come back to class with three non-religious books that we would want with us if stranded on a desert island.

Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" was on my list.  I mentioned then that it was the only book I have ever read that I did not want to see come to an end.

I have always assumed that Scout is the narrator of the story, and that therefore Harper Lee was writing as Scout.  My favourite comic returned over the last few months.  Berkley Breathed had a connection with Ms. Lee.  His touching tribute to her in his comic last Sunday made me wonder though.  He suggests that Ms. Lee is actually Arthur "Boo" Radley.

The story obviously cannot happen without Boo Radley.  He maintains a sense of mystery to the story, leaving the children wondering who keeps placing gifts for them in the tree.  He would have had a front-row view of Atticus shooting the rabid dog.  He saves Scout and Jem's life as they crossed the school yard and past his own yard.

Having thought about it, I believe that Scout was the narrator.  It had never dawned on me though to consider Boo Radley as something other than an important but only peripheral character.  Considering that Ms. Lee might have been writing from that vantage point changes the story.  The next time I read it, I will be asking what Boo Radley sees at each point.

Nelle Harper Lee, rest in peace.

R/SCG