- April 24, 2024
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In chapter 2 of this read-along (a partnership with FlaglerLive), I'm interested in the point of view. We are in third person for the whole novel, I assume, but at times we are closer to one character than another, and Harper Lee's narrator seamlessly moves from brain to brain.
Atticus is reading a book and he "leaned forward a little, the better to disapprove of what he was reading." In whose point of view is that observation? It's not Atticus, but it's also no other character, exactly, because we don't even know that anyone else is in the room yet. It's the narrator making us feel like we know him better than we do. A great trick.
Then, "a friend [...] would expect a dry 'H-rm' to come soon." And what do we get in the next paragraph? Atticus says "H-rm." Lee has implanted a thought in our minds and then used that thought to make us feel like we know Atticus better than we do, yet again. Another great trick.
On page 20, Jean Louise pats Henry on the arm, "more to keep him from starting a business conversation with Atticus than anything else." So here we are in her point of view. And in the next sentence, we shift to Henry's: He "interpreted it as a warm gesture and returned it." Poor Henry! But we also see Lee's deft moves, shifting points of view in back to back sentences. She's efficient, not wasting a moment by staying in one person's point of view longer than would be useful.
Last thought: Atticus and Jean Louise have a conversation about politics. I'm mostly ignorant about the details they're discussing, and it makes me wonder about Harper Lee's intentions. The characters seem to assume -- and the narrator doesn't offer any further clarification -- that the reader will know the context of the references to the Supreme Court, etc. This could be a clue that Lee intended for the novel to be read by contemporaries. She, of course, wrote the novel decades ago, and it wasn't for a future audience. I wonder why she decided all those years ago not to pursue publishing the novel.
