Mockingbird Passing

Blackford finds the basis of Mockingbird's broad appeal in its ability to embody the mainstream culture of romantics like Emerson and social reform writers like Stowe, even as alternative canons---southern gothic, deadpan humor, queer literatures, regional women's novels---lurk in its subtexts. Central to her argument is the notion of "passing": establishing an identity that conceals the inner self so that one can function within a closed social order. For example, the novel's narrator, Scout, must suppress her natural tomboyishness to become a "lady." Meanwhile, Scout's father, Atticus Finch, must contend with competing demands of thoughtfulness, self-reliance, and masculinity that ultimately stunt his effectiveness within an unjust society. Blackford charts the identity dilemmas of other key characters---the mysterious Boo Radley, the young outsider Dill (modeled on Lee's lifelong friend Truman Capote), the oppressed victim Tom Robinson---in similarly intriguing ways.