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0原著作者｜哈珀·李 Harper Lee
- Have you ever wondered
- why a good person would kill a mockingbird
- America in the nineteen thirties
- Maycomb
- a small sleepy town in the South
- Six year old Scout
- lives with her brother Jem
- and their father Atticus
- Atticus is a lawyer
- with gray hair and gold rimmed glasses
- speaking slowly and calmly
- He tells his children
- there is something more important than human nature
- and that is conscience
- But in this town
- conscience doesn't seem worth much
- There's a young black man named Tom Robinson
- He's accused of raping a white woman
- Everyone knows he's innocent
- but everyone also says he's a dead man
- Atticus steps forward
- saying he'll defend Tom
- That night
- a group of white men come to the jail
- They want to lynch Tom
- Atticus sits at the jail entrance
- holding a book
- He doesn't bring a gun
- he brings his conscience
- Scout and Jem arrive too
- and a little girl runs to the crowd
- She says
- I know you
- my father fought you in court
- The men freeze
- then they scatter
- On trial day
- the courtroom is packed
- Atticus asks the white woman
- which hand did Tom use to hit you
- She says the right hand
- Atticus asks Tom to stand
- his left arm is disabled
- Everyone sees it
- Tom's left hand is shriveled
- he couldn't possibly have hit anyone
- Atticus says
- the real attacker is the woman's father
- Because his daughter seduced a black man
- he was furious
- The evidence is clear
- Tom is innocent
- But the jury finds him guilty
- That night
- Scout asks her father
- why did this happen
- Atticus says
- because they're human
- and humans have prejudice
- Tom refuses to accept it
- he tries to escape
- The guards say he's running
- they shoot and kill him
- Dead
- an innocent person
- just like that
- Scout doesn't understand
- why do good people die
- and bad people live
- Atticus tells her
- mockingbirds don't do harm
- They don't eat crops
- they don't destroy gardens
- they just sing for us with their hearts
- So killing a mockingbird is a sin
- Tom was a mockingbird
- He did nothing wrong
- he just lived
- and he was killed
- The story isn't over
- There's a strange man in town named Boo Radley
- He hasn't left his house in twenty years
- the children say he's a monster
- Scout and Jem always wonder
- what does Radley look like
- But Radley never appears
- He just occasionally leaves small gifts for the children in a tree hollow
- Until one day
- Scout and Jem are walking home
- The white woman's father appears
- with a knife
- He says
- it's all Atticus's fault
- he lost face
- He's going to kill these two children
- Jem is knocked unconscious
- Scout screams
- Suddenly
- a hand reaches out from the darkness
- It's Radley
- He kills the white man
- and saves the two children
- The sheriff arrives
- he says the white man fell on his own knife
- Atticus understands
- the sheriff doesn't want Radley on trial
- Because Radley is a good person
- and good people don't need to be put in court
- Scout walks Radley home
- She stands at Radley's door
- looking back
- She suddenly understands
- Radley is also a mockingbird
- He did nothing wrong
- he just lived quietly
- and people called him a monster
- She remembers her father's words
- Killing a mockingbird is a sin
- Some birds are meant to be left alone
- they just sing for us with their hearts
- This is To Kill a Mockingbird
- A story about prejudice
- about conscience
- about growing up
- Atticus teaches us with his life
- True courage isn't holding a gun
- It's knowing you'll lose
- but still doing what's right
- Because there's something more important than winning or losing
- And that is
- not letting your conscience be stained
