Last week I suggested four excellent books for Year 7 and Year 8 students to read. This week I will explore two more books suitable for Years 9 and 10. The book I have selected for Year 10 is my absolute favourite. 

John Marsden’s Tomorrow When the War Began is the first of a series which has been extremely popular with Year 9 students. This suspenseful adventure story narrates the response of a group of adolescents to the invasion of their country. Ellie and her friends return from a camping trip in the bush only to find their families have been taken prisoner and their country overrun. From evading the enemy, they turn to attacking them. In the process, each of the characters undergoes significant changes. The descriptions of place and incident are compelling. I have read all seven books in the series and thoroughly enjoyed them. This exciting book ends with the following: ‘Humans do such terrible things to each other that sometimes my brain tells me they must be evil. But my heart isn’t convinced.’ 

The 1960 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a magnificent book and ideal for Year 10 students. It powerfully explores universal concerns such as truth, courage, compassion and 'the simple hell people give to other people'. I have read this text more than ten times and each time I discover new and profound insights.

According to the Library of Congress’ ‘Survey of Lifetime Reading Habits’, To Kill A Mockingbird is second only to the Bible in being most often cited as making a difference in people’s lives. The story is set in a small town in Alabama during the Depression. Although Maycomb is a fictitious place, based on Harper Lee’s hometown of Monroeville, it establishes itself as a microcosm of American society in the 1930s. Although this insular community focuses solely on its own problems of poverty and unemployment, it is on the eve of major change, both from within and from outside its world.   

On one level, To Kill A Mockingbird is a story about growing up. This rite of passage story shows how two children come to a deeper understanding of their world and the people around them. The reader sees an adult world and serious adult situations, through the eyes of children. In the book’s main character – Atticus Finch – the reader finds an utterly decent man. Atticus is a model of humanity who displays wisdom, integrity, dignity and humility. He is both gentle and strong and effectively shows that these two qualities are not mutually exclusive. One of the main messages communicated to the reader is that basic human connectedness has the power to override everything else. This is captured in Atticus’ words to his daughter, Scout – ‘You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view…until you climb into his skin and walk around in it’. This is a passionate plea for compassion and understanding, which are the basis of all morality and true wisdom. 

Some years ago now, I was asked to write a review of my favourite film. I have decided to include extracts from this in order to show my love for the Mockingbird story. 

“I’m sure, for many teachers and many more students, this selection would come as no surprise. When I sat down to write this review, I actually found myself struggling to find the words to explain my choice. Rather than focusing on the usual film techniques and the thematic concerns of the text – a response typical of an English teacher’s perspective – I decided to speak from the heart and try to convey to you the passion I have for this film and the magnificent novel from which it was adapted.

Two words come to mind when I think of my favourite film – Atticus Finch – voted number one in the American Film Institute’s category of heroes. Gregory Peck won an Oscar for his brilliant performance as the Southern lawyer who defends a black man accused of rape in this film version of the 1960 novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. 

I am reminded as I write here of the 2003 Mount Carmel Athletics Carnival. As I eagerly arrived at the venue and was enthusiastically setting up my position outside the toilets – yes, I was given the important task of toilet duty back then also – a group of my Year 10 students came running up to me with the urgent cry ‘Miss, Atticus is dead!’ That morning they had heard the news announcing the death of Gregory Peck. Throughout the day, subsequent students from my current Year 10 class, and others in Years 11 and 12, were sharing their memories of Atticus and the world of Mockingbird. That day was a poignant reminder of the power of literature and the privileged position teachers have as educators of young people. 

In Atticus Finch, we encounter simple goodness.  His passionate and heartfelt speech to the jury is a famous moment in the story. It appears almost uncut in the film adaptation, a sign of its importance. It is here that one of Harper Lee’s central ideas – justice – finds its clearest expression. Atticus’ whole philosophy of life is about honesty and justice. It is what he instils in his children, and what he practises professionally. One of the most memorable scenes of the film is the aftermath of the trial. Atticus has lost, but has fought courageously, and, as he gathers his papers and leaves the courtroom, African Americans in the gallery rise and silently salute him. There is no clapping and the music score does not intrusively demand that we understand that this is an important moment. While the style is subdued, the emotional power of the story works magnificently. 

When Gregory Peck was initially approached to play the role of Atticus, he read Harper Lee’s book and could hardly wait until the morning to call and say ‘yes’. He said he felt a close identification with the characters, the story, the social problems and the special relationship between the father and his children. He said it was ‘something I had to do’. Harper Lee made one of her rare public appearances at the Academy Awards in 1962 and presented Gregory Peck with a gold fob watch which had belonged to her father. She and Gregory Peck remained exceptionally close friends in the ensuing years and it was Brock Peters, the man who played Tom Robinson in the film, who gave the eulogy at Gregory Peck’s funeral. The actor who played the role of the white lawyer and the actor who played the role of the innocent black man convicted of rape, became best friends after the experience of Mockingbird. The triumph of the film is undoubtedly that it managed to effectively capture the soul of Harper Lee’s book and, like the novel, powerfully touch the lives of all who experience it.  

I will leave you with three questions posed by the film’s scriptwriter Horton Foote in the ‘Making Of’ documentary entitled Fearful Symmetry: 

Where is Atticus Finch today?

Where are his successors?

Where on earth, if at all, would he flourish?”

Mrs Clare Murphy

English Coordinator and Literacy Instructional Coach