The Mockingbird Sings No More

Today a bright light went out of the world.

On my way to do my laundry this afternoon I stopped to chat with my landlords' daughter. She asked me if I had ever read To Kill a Mockingbird, to which I replied that it is my favorite book, the one I read every summer. I mentioned that I thought that the author was still alive, and Marie told me she thought she had heard that the author had died today. In great consternation I rushed to my computer, hoping Marie had misheard.

Sadly, she had not. Nelle Harper Lee died today, Friday, February 19th in Monroeville, Alabama. She was 89 years old. 

This is a momentous occasion in the world of literature. I imagine people felt the same way when J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis died. Though she only wrote two books in her life, those two books are bright lights in a sea of mediocre literature. Though Harper Lee dropped out of the public eye after the success of To Kill a Mockingbird, she left a deep and poignant mark on world, and a deep impression on me. 

I was about twelve years old when I was first introduced to the mockingbird. My father read it to me and my brothers as a bedtime story. I was a little confused by the first chapter, but after that I enjoyed the story. I did not reread it for a few years, mostly because there was a swear-word in the trial scene that my father had skipped over, and I was rather afraid to read it myself. Finally I secretly reread the book, feeling rather anxious. When I got to that specific part in the trial scene and read the dreaded swear word I thought, "well, it's not that bad," and began to read the book every summer. I know the characters like my own family: Atticus, Scout, Jem, Tom Robinson. When I was younger I used to pretend I was Scout, and make up stories about her. Every time I read it the book, even now, many years later, I learn something new, get something new out of it. This is a timeless tale, though it is rooted in a specific time. It is the story of standing up for what you believe in, for what is right. It is about love, and human dignity, and standing up for those things despite what the world thinks. It is a story that applies to anyone, to any time. It is a sad story, a beautiful story. It is my favorite story.

I am sorry that Harper Lee is gone; I always have thought it was rather exciting to know that one of my favorite authors was still alive. While she was alive, there was always the chance, near-impossible though it might be, that I could one day meet her. Still, she lives on in her books, and leaves her mark on the world, that one thing mankind strives to do. I hope she rests in peace in the knowledge that she made one girl's world just a little bit brighter.