This is something I wrote for school - The assignment was to write a bit of poetry outlining the plot of 'To Kill A Mockingbird'. I thought - Hey, this is sort of like fanfiction! So I posted it. It's some of my best work, even if it isn't very good. Feedback would be awesome. Oh, and it's a spoiler for the WHOLE book - PLEASEPLEASEPLEASE don't read if you haven't read the book!
I shall start
from not where the story begins,
nor at its end.
In fact, I will not start anywhere in particular,
I will just begin.
There is a young girl named Scout Finch.
Incredibly intelligent for a child of four years,
She was literate before she set foot in a schoolhouse,
Yet,
All her brilliance was of little use
When books were not present.
For petite Scout, or Jean-Louise,
Etiquette was non-existent.
And nuance flew right over her pretty little head.
So, despite her intelligence,
at such a young age,
her forwardness caused the town to cringe,
similarly as one may do when they are greeted with the sound
of fingernails scratching on a blackboard.
Alas, unbeknown to her.
As the story propels onwards, Scout grows up,
She sprouts from her former self,
However,
She keeps her distinctive habits,
Possibly influenced by her upbringing,
That makes her unlike any other female in Maycomb County.
Her attire, overalls preferred over dresses,
She brawls constantly; physically,
Runs, untamed, with her brother.
If she were anything otherwise,
She wouldn't be Scout.
During the summer,
Scout's brother, Jem,
And the youth in question,
Befriended a neighbour's nephew,
Dill.
The trio harmonised quite well.
Dill, with whom they acted short plays,
Dill, who swore he'd marry Scout eventually,
Dill, who directed their inquiring minds towards
Boo Radley.
It was first rumoured that Boo was dead,
That he'd been killed and stuffed up a chimney.
To Dill, Boo was fascinating.
A hungry desire steeped within him –
He was determined to solve the mystery
Surrounding the Radley place
A gloomy mist.
The second rumour insisted that Boo was a ghost
(hence his title)
And a villainous one, at that.
With much reluctance,
And heavy prodding from Dill,
Jem set foot inside the Radley property,
His fingers brushed against the cold brick.
He emerged, triumphant, unscathed,
Both Dill and Scout were astounded.
At the fact that Jem actually did it,
And also at the realisation that,
Hey! Boo was alive and well,
A man by the name of…
Arthur Radley?
Scout goes to school, intimidates a few people,
When, out of the blue,
She's the one being intimidated, mocked.
This will not do.
She consults her father,
And the one of the biggest learning curves
She'll ever take,
Begins.
Our dear friend now has come to terms with
What it feels like to be on the receiving end.
She's being
teased
jeered at
ridiculed
All because of her father.
Aha! But I have misled you –
Atticus is the most genuine
person in our story
You see, this narrative,
takes place in the 1930's, in which,
Negroes were treated much like dear Scout.
Except worse.
Much
Much
Worse.
Atticus, existing as the just man he is,
decided to defend a black man against
the accusation of RAPE,
of a white girl.
And that's how it started.
From then on, Scout and Jem were dubbed
'Nigger lover!'
'Trash!'
'Disgrace!'
alongside their father.
Pain-daggers crafted out of words
were speared at the children.
When Atticus was questioned by Scout –
'What's a nigger lover?'
'Are you one?'
Atticus answered, yes, he was,
Scout's understanding grew,
She was no longer that
youth,
oblivious to facts;
only attentive to opinion.
The insults came from far and wide,
From those whom it was expected,
Cecil Jacobs, considered a common boy,
possibly heard the gossip from his mother.
Cousin Francis, an insensitive snob,
His mother constantly berating Atticus
for raising his children recklessly.
Others came as quite a shock,
But, in time,
and with the advice of Atticus,
to ignore the harsh words.
And after the comeuppance of Mrs Dubose,
regarding Jem's delinquency,
reluctantly,
Scout stopped brawling
and Jem stopped talking back.
I think they only recognised equality
When Calpurnia,
their much revered housekeeper and
a black woman, took them to her church.
Where the patrons loved them
Because of their father.
It was the first time,
that they weren't tormented as a result
of their father's kindness.
From some perspective, Aunt Alexandra disagreed.
In general.
She was constantly advising,
No,
advising seems too sympathetic,
No, she was ordering Atticus,
Pushing him around,
'You've let things go on too long Atticus, too long.'
Tom Robinson, the accused,
was a Christian
with a wife and family,
but,
his skin colour was to blame,
for the hatred that sprung
by default.
Tom was cornered by gangs,
even while imprisoned,
it seemed as if sparks of prejudice
flew from all corners of the county,
All aimed at the accused
in question.
So when Tom claimed that
Mayella Violet Ewell,
a young woman with
countless siblings,
swimming in poverty
and an abusive father,
advanced on him,
it's obvious there were a few
Scepticisms.
So, Tom was placed back in custody,
But he seemed distressed,
He had lost all hope,
No motivation,
So he attempted to escape,
to free himself from a
literal and metaphorical
cage.
But, alas,
with little warning,
he was shot
Seventeen times.
Scout continued to do
incredibly well in school;
defining democracy,
and participating in a short school play.
Returning with Jem,
from the play in question,
our two favourite siblings are ambushed
By none other than
Bob Ewell,
The abusive, intellectually limited
father of Mayella.
Who broke Jem's elbow,
terrified Scout,
and tripped over a root
of the big oak
onto his
knife.
Jem and Scout were rescued by an anonymous figure,
who bore pasty skin,
as if it hadn't seen the sun
for decades.
Which, it hadn't.
For, this Hero,
who saved both their lives,
to Scout, Jem
and Dill, was
Boo Radley.
And on that note,
my humble prose discontinues.
Scout goes to sleep
And the loose ends
make amends
and meet.
If you wish to know this
story to its full extent,
Read this work of art!
It's not as heavy as a canvas
with Van Gogh printed on,
but,
it's just as moving,
and it's thought-provoking,
tear-inducing,
anger-arousing,
giggle-erupting,
and though I've written pages
on this book,
there are,
simply,
No words.
What'd you think? Do tell, I know this has HEAPS of room for improvement.