7 Things You’ll Notice When You Reread To Kill a Mockingbird

Like many readers, I first encountered To Kill a Mockingbird in school and adored it. Still, I never returned to its pages later in life. But with Harper Lee’s second novel, Go Set a Watchman, coming out in July, I thought it was time to reacquaint myself with Scout, Atticus, and Boo.
If you haven’t ever read To Kill a Mockingbird, it goes without saying that you should drop whatever you’re doing and sit down with a copy, now. And if you have read it? Go back to it again. You’ll discover things you missed the first time, and your experience of reading Go Set a Watchman will be all the richer for it.
Here are just a few of the things that jumped out at me when I revisited Harper Lee’s timeless classic.
1. It’s full of funny asides.
Two pages in, you’ll probably find yourself chuckling quietly. Through Scout’s eyes, we see the world with a very dry sense of humor, one that young readers might miss entirely. In the first chapter, for example, Scout mentions a local family, the Haverfords—“in Maycomb County, a name synonymous with jackass.”
2. Lee leavens scary situations with humor.
The children are terrified of the town recluse, Boo Radley. Still, they’re fascinated by him and keep daring each other to approach the Radley House. In one scene, they think they see Boo and flee in abject terror; Jem loses his pants in the process. In another scene, Atticus and the children are menaced by a mob of men at the jailhouse. The tension is diffused when Scout, not understanding the situation, identifies a member of the mob as her classmate’s father and begins to talk to him cheerfully. Her childish obliviousness saves the day and makes the situation laughable.
3. And she acknowledges that the world is a violent place.
Maycomb is not a sleepy, peaceful town. Within the first pages of the book, Scout tells us that her father’s first two clients were sentenced to death by hanging. Then there’s the gruesome rumor Scout hears about Boo Radley stabbing his father with a pair of scissors. During one summer, the Finches must contend with threats to Atticus’ safety, villainous Bob Ewell’s threatening behavior, and the tragic death of Tom Robinson, Atticus Finch’s wrongfully accused client. That we see this world through the eyes of a five-year-old girl reminds us that children are just as aware of brutality as adults are—and just as affected by it.
4. Jem is a gem.
Like most readers, I fell in love with Scout and Atticus the first time I read To Kill a Mockingbird. The second time around, it was Scout’s older brother, Jem, who struck me as the most compelling Finch. He’s the sensitive one, the kind one, and the one most tormented by the desire to do the right thing. When the reclusive Boo Radley leaves Jem and Scout gifts in the hollow of a tree, it is Jem who appreciates them most, and it is Jem who cries when the tree hollow is cemented. When the jury convicts Tom Robinson, Jem is shocked, angry, and despondent. An adolescent who is always two steps ahead of Scout, Jem comes of age in troubled time, all while trying to do his best for his family.
5. Lee’s villains are hard to hate.
There are only two young women in this novel: the protagonist, Scout, and Mayella Ewell, the nineteen-year-old girl who falsely accuses Tom Robinson of rape. Both girls grew up without mothers or sisters. But Scout is lucky enough to have Atticus Finch for a father. He’s a lawyer, a statesmen, an avid reader, and a loving family man. As a result of this good parenting, Scout is precocious, literate, and assertive. Mayella’s father is an abusive, unemployed alcoholic; she’s an inarticulate, ignorant, and pitiful person. Because Lee shows us why Mayella is the way she is, she makes it hard for us to hate her. Mayella certainly isn’t likable, but she’s more deserving of pity than blame, because her deplorable actions are the result of a life of poverty and neglect.
6. Her characters define themselves every time they open their mouths.
Lee uses dialogue to reveal character. Scout swears like a sailor, but you can tell she’s just a kid trying out bad language at all the wrong times. Calpurnia, the Finches’ cook, talks in one way at the Finch house, and another in the African American community. Atticus speaks in the same manner at all times, whether he’s at home, in the courtroom, or talking to neighbors. Every word Bob Ewell speaks tells us that he’s bad news. Mayella’s half-witted testimony paints her as pathetic and untrustworthy. Lee lets us learn about these people the way we would in real life: by listening to them and drawing our own conclusions.

7. Scout might grow up to be like Miss Maudie.
On my second reading, I had the revelation that Miss Maudie Atkinson, the Finches’ neighbor and lifelong friend, is the best character. She’s a witty, independent woman full of smart-alecky retorts and sage advice. Miss Maudie’s unfailing ability to see the bright side of things makes her invaluable to Jem and Scout. She’s self-sufficient, progressive, and keenly observant of the people around her. I like to entertain the thought that Miss Maudie is what Scout might be like when she grows up, and I’m dying to see if this theory holds up when Go Set a Watchman arrives in July.
Have you reread To Kill a Mockingbird? What jumped out at you?
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