Creators
April 22, 2024
On Christmas day 1962, Universal Pictures released the
film “To Kill a Mockingbird.” The movie was based on Harper Lee’s Pulitzer
Prize-winning novel of the same name. The film adaptation earned Gregory Peck
an Academy Award.
The story takes place during the Depression in the
fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama. The narrator’s father, Atticus Finch, a
lawyer and state legislator, is appointed to represent Tom Robinson, a Black
man accused of raping a white woman.
Many scholars have studied the implications of Lee’s
work. “To Kill a Mockingbird” is one of the most-read literary works in
American history with over 30 million copies sold. The book has been cited for
its influence on the civil rights movement, and the character of Atticus Finch
has been lauded as the model father, as well as possessing the integrity and
temperament for which all lawyers should aspire.
However, at times, Atticus Finch did not display the
“ethics” worthy of a trial lawyer or the “integrity” of an officer of the
court.
In the courtroom, Finch was cross-examining the
alleged rape victim Mayella Ewell. In the middle of questioning Mayella, Finch
grabs an empty drinking glass from a table and tells the defendant Tom Robinson
to stand up. He throws the glass to Tom who catches it with right hand. Tom
tosses it back and Finch says, “Now catch it with your left hand.” Robinson,
not yet sworn as a witness, answers, “I can’t use my left arm, Mr. Finch.” A
crucial revelation for the defense.
This should have resulted in a mistrial – it didn’t
because the all-white, all-male jury already knew the trial’s outcome, and so
did the prosecution. Having the defendant offer testimony unsworn is certainly
an ethical transgression, something no competent lawyer would do or even
consider.
While we remember Finch as a heroic figure who stood
up to racism and tried to save the life of a Black man in a racist Southern
town, Finch tolerated racism and even made excuses for it.
More than a decade ago, Malcolm Gladwell wrote about
Finch in the New Yorker. Gladwell laments that Atticus Finch lauded the
“character” of racists in Maycomb.
Gladwell examined Finch’s thoughts about Walter
Cunningham, a Maycomb man who attempted to lynch Tom Robinson, “Cunningham,
Finch tells his daughter, is ‘basically a good man,’ who ‘just has his blind
spots along with the rest of us.'”
Finally, after Robinson is convicted, and later killed
while trying to escape, Robert Ewell, Mayella’s father, attacks Finch’s
children while walking home one evening from a school function. Spoiler alert:
Finch’s neighbor Boo Radley, a shy, introverted recluse rescues the children
and carries Finch’s injured son home.
It turns out Ewell was dead. He had been stabbed with
his own knife. Sheriff Heck Tate comes to Finch’s home, and although initially
reluctant, Finch agrees with Sheriff Tate not to bring Boo Radley into the
spotlight of an inquiry or trial. “Let the dead bury the dead” says the
sheriff. He tells Finch, “Bob Ewell fell on his knife.” Finch is complicit in
the cover-up of a homicide.
“To Kill a Mockingbird” examines a number of
significant issues (race, gender, poverty, domestic violence, courage, and
cowardice) through the lens of a rural Southern criminal justice system. The
story also reveals the challenges that face all of us when trying to be
consistent with our values and beliefs. Even a revered character like Atticus
Finch struggled with right and wrong.
The book and the film are timeless classics. Every
critical reading or viewing provides new insight into the layered characters
and, more importantly, into the struggle to understand what Lee had in mind
when she brought this drama to life nearly 65 years ago.
Matthew T. Mangino is of counsel with Luxenberg,
Garbett, Kelly & George P.C. His book “The Executioner’s Toll, 2010” was
released by McFarland Publishing. You can reach him at www.mattmangino.com
To read more CLICK HERE
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment