Mockingbird Three: The Book and the Film

The book is probably based on a local crime that occurred in Nelle's childhood that involved a white woman accusing a black man of rape. It was thought to have been a false accusation. It was not based on the Scottsboro criminal case, as many assume.

Her characters came from people she knew in town...although she wasn't always specific as to who they were. What we do know is that Scout was based on her own childhood life. Dill was modeled after Truman Capote. He, in turn, modeled some of his fictional characters after Nelle. Atticus was definitely based on her father, A.C. She even called him by his initials, just as Scout calls her father Atticus. Jem was based on her brother Edwin. The Boleware family and house two doors south of her own house was the inspiration for the Radley place and character Boo. [Note: I always think of the Casperson house in Preston, Mim, whenever I read about the Radleys. Funny what impressions from your childhood stay with you.]

Nelle originally wanted Spencer Tracy to play Atticus in the film. He would have been good, but was working on another film at the time. Rock Hudson was also considered. In my opinion, he just wouldn't have cut it. When Gregory Peck was chosen, he came to Monroeville and spent time with the town minister, asking questions about the town and the Lee family. He then went to meet Nelle's aged father so that he could get to know him and pick up some of his mannerisms. Peck and Nelle became lifelong friends.

With the exception of Peck, the directors wanted newcomers to the screen to play the other characters. This was so there would be no preconceived notions or typecasting. They picked many character actors from old Westerns and a few Broadway actors, as well. The kids had little or no acting experience.

During the filming of the courtroom proceedings, they filmed the children as though they were watching it all unfold. In reality, they were not allowed to hear what went on in the courtroom. It was filmed separately because the subject matter was inappropriate for their little ears. [Which doesn't make much sense, if they see the completed film in the end or read the book...]

"To prepare for the role of Boo Radley, [Robert] Duvall stayed out of the sun for six weeks and dyed his hair blonde, thinking it would give him an angelic look."

Horton Foote, a Texan, wrote the screenplay, as Nelle had never done one before and was unsure if she wanted to tackle it. Of his screenplay, she said, "If the integrity of a film adaptation is measured by the degree to which the novelist's intent is preserved, Mr. Foote's screenplay should be studied as a classic."

I think that's enough. Sorry to write so much, but I love this stuff!

Mockingbird Two

Here are a few tidbits and quotes from or about Nelle Harper Lee that I liked.

She wrote the foreword to the 35th anniversary edition of TKAM in 1993: "Please spare Mockingbird an Introduction...As a reader I loathe introductions. To novels, I associate Introductions with long-gone authors and works that are being brought back into print after decades of internment. Although Mockingbird will be 33 this year, it has never been out of print and I am still alive, although very quiet. Introductions inhibit pleasure, they kill the joy of anticipation, they frustrate curiosity. The only good thing about Introductions is that in some cases they delay the dose to come. Mockingbird still says what it has to say; it has managed to survive without preamble."

"If I hear a consonant, I look around." (This was regarding her Southern drawl)

"Inside the entryway of the Lee's one-story brick ranch house are photographs of family members. But everywhere else are books: in a bookcase that takes up half the entrance hallway; in Alice's bedroom, off the kitchen; and in Nelle's blue bedroom at the end of the hallway. In her room, the walls are devoted to built-in white bookshelves, floor to ceiling. There is a third bedroom, a guest bedroom, and it has bookshelves, too." Her sister Alice said, "All she [Nelle] needs is a good bed, a bathroom and a typewriter...Books are the things she cares about."

As it should be.

Mockingbird One

It's quite amazing that this biography was written at all. Nelle Harper Lee rarely gives any kind of interview anymore, and had the uncanny ability of not revealing much when she did give them. She isn't really a recluse, but cherishes her privacy. So the author had to rely on previously published material, interviews from anyone who knew her, and investigative journalism.

Even after reading the biography, I don't feel that I know Harper Lee much better than before. But I do know more about the writing of her incredible novel and the film adaptation. I will focus in this entry on Harper Lee herself.

• She grew up in Monroeville, Alabama in quite a bigoted climate with Klan membership and mentality being quite common. Her father was the owner of the town newspaper as well as a well-respected lawyer. Her mother was emotionally unstable and never really connected with Nelle. Perhaps this is why there is no mother in To Kill A Mockingbird (hereafter TKAM). The author thinks she probably put a lot of her feelings about her mother into her character Aunt Alexandra. "Aunt Alexandra would have been analogous to Mount Everest: throughout my early life, she was cold and there."

• Her neighbor and dear childhood friend was none other than Truman Capote, who I've always thought of as a weird little man. Ivan does a great impression of him. Nelle was very much a tomboy and she and Truman roamed the town much as the three characters in her book. Her father gave them a 20 lb. typewriter so they could write their stories down. She and Truman spent hours doing just that.

• She attended Huntingdon College for a time and then entered law school with the hope of getting her degree and joining her father's law firm like her older sister Alice had. Interestingly, the motto of Huntingdon College is "Enter to grow in wisdom, go forth to apply wisdom in service." Sound familiar? Her heart really wasn't in law and so she headed off to New York to work and write. Dear friends gave her, as a Christmas gift, enough money to pay for living expenses for one year. This enabled her to quit her day job and write full time. Without that gift, TKAM may not have happened.

• She assisted Truman Capote in writing his book In Cold Blood, which details the horrific Kansas murders of a farm family by two drifters fresh out of jail. It's considered one of the first investigative true crime books published. Truman gave her little credit for her efforts and, in fact, may have been jealous of her success. Their relationship was strained as he slid into drugs, drinking and the homosexual world. They did remain friends up until his death, however.

• Nelle has funded many scholarships anonymously and "many have attended college without knowing she was the benefactor."

• She is still alive...or was at the time of the book, living some time in New York and most of the time in Monroeville with her sister, Alice (who is in her 90s). She makes occasional appearances but only on her terms.

Why were there no more books written by her? The author doesn't really know, but as I read and thought about it, I came to the conclusion that she must have been overwhelmed by all the publicity she received for TKAM. How often does a first novel win a Pulitzer? How do you top that? Imagine the pressure. There seemed to always be something preventing her from writing more. She helped Truman with his book. There were interviews galore. Time passed. Even decades. The idea of it all seemed to just fade away. TKAM was a one-hit wonder, but what a hit and what a wonder!

Bookish Thots

Over the weekend I watched Harold Bloom on CSPAN's Book TV. He teaches at Yale and is known somewhat as an iconoclast. He is a liberal in the true sense of the word and seems to have taken on the role of letting us know what is wrong with our society. One of those wrongs is that hardly anyone reads anymore. Or we read, but not the best stuff. He espouses the Bible, Chaucer, Shakespeare, Dante, etc. But he's not completely a snob...he loves Austen, Melville, and even the contemporary author Cormec McCarthy. I think one of you girls asked me about McCarthy. I'm not familiar with him, but after hearing Bloom, I am going to give him a try. Anyway, he made me feel good about thinking deep thots and reading words. He reminds me of a Dickens character...and got so emotional about the great authors that he literally became weepy and emotional. His featured book is called How to Read and Why. I am going to take a look at it and if it's not too stuffy, I will give it a try.

I had lunch with my "other" book group friends on Friday. We don't really read much. They mostly want to talk and eat. It's difficult to choose a book because they have limits on what they will try...not too thick, especially. This month's book is Mrs. Mike, which is a good read if you haven't experienced it yet. It tells the true story of a young girl who marries a Canadian Mountie and has to go live in the boonies with him. It's full of her trials and adjustments, not only to married life but to the harsh frontier of upper Canada.

Anyway, at lunch we got talking about Catch Me If You Can. The brother of one of the ladies joined the FBI a couple of years ago. At the end of his Quantico training the group of cadets got to hear the con artist speak to them in person. He shared his secrets with them, so that they would be more aware of when they are being duped. Apparently, it was a high point in the FBI training for this guy. Just thought you'd find that cool, Abby.

I'm enjoying Mockingbird and should be done the end of this week. Will post more then.

Beccy, I finished You Can Never Get Enough Of What You Don't Need and loved it! I'm going to sneak a few thoughts from it into my RS lesson on gratitude this coming Sunday. I started the peculiar people one yesterday. So far so good. I heard her speak a couple of weeks ago on BYU-TV and now when I read her I hear her voice. She's very funny but spot on.

I will be posting our July read later this week...probably when I post re my book. Happy reading!