Letters to Literary Heroes #2 - Scout Finch

What are these letters, do you ask? To put it simply, on the first Thursday of every month I'm writing a letter to some of my favorite book characters, from old to new and new to old. What do I have to say to these characters? Stick around and find out; I have something that I owe to many of them.

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Dear Jean Louise ("Scout") Finch,

I think it's appropriate that I think of you, given all of the media attention concerning your author's latest manuscript being found (coincidentally, also narrated by you). Given that I haven't read this manuscript, I'm thus forced and amazingly content at keeping this letter concerning your roll in TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (disregarding this first paragraph, of course).

You stood out in your novel, and not only because you were the one narrating it. As a young girl growing up in an extremely prejudiced community, it was your outlook that amazed me: you saw a general goodness to the people you met (and, yes, I'm talking about Arthur ("Boo") Radley). You saw the good in Arthur where others only saw the rumors and his reclusive nature. Your attitude toward him is the what I remember most about your tale: you believed in the goodness of others when nobody else did, and while you recognized that there was bad in the world you didn't let it shroud the fact that popular opinion is sometimes wrong, and that we all have to make choices for ourselves about whether we want to ignore or cherish the opposing sides of nature.

I try to emulate that outlook, myself, and I honestly can't say whether it's because of you, or whether you were simply one of many inspirations. With the current state of the world being content to focus on so much bad, the good gets swept under the rug, which is a shame because there are some marvelously kind and generous people out there that I would consider it an honor to meet.

One of my favorite things to explore in my own writing, as well, is the relationship of good and bad, and the influences that good and bad can have on characters, and how their upbringing in these kinds of environments can affect their development and their choices.

So many opinions are formed without knowing the full story. We judge without knowing a person's history, or by assuming superiority/inferiority based on the social constructs in place at the time of judgement. You challenge that notion, and, to me, that makes you pretty darn amazing.

So keep being inquisitive, and thoughtful, and good.

Love,

Rae

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Have you read TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD? What were your thoughts? What was the most memorable moment, and what kind of impact (if any) has it had on you as a reader, or as a writer?

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Dear "Scout" Finch. See what blogger @Rae_Slater has to say about how the young heroine continues to inspire (Click to Tweet)

Letters to Literary Heroes #1 - Nancy Drew

Hello, and happy first Thursday of March to you all! I've got a really exciting (well, I think it's exciting) new feature on the blog that I'm introducing, titled (yep, you guessed it), Letters to Literary heroes:

What are these letters, do you ask? To put it simply, on the first Thursday of every month I'm writing a letter to some of my favorite book characters, from old to new and new to old. What do I have to say to these characters? Stick around and find out; I have something that I owe to many of them.

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Dear Nancy Drew, 

Thanks to you, I wanted to be a detective when I was in the fifth grade. That was the first time I picked up one of your books, and I spent the next four years fervently collecting each of your original tales. I'm twenty years old, now, and I haven't been in the fifth grade for about ten years, yet I can say for a fact that you inspired me to be who I am today.

No, I'm not a detective (although I still think that would be awesome). Yet you taught me how to remain calm, cool, and collected in any situation, no matter how stressful. You taught me to not be afraid of being smart and of doing what I'm talented at. You taught me to follow my dreams and do what I love.

Because of you, I refuse to back down when I feel threatened; maybe I'm not up against practiced criminals, but I am up against a world that wants to push down anyone who'll listen to its harsh words. More importantly: I'm up against myself. Confidence has been my greatest weapon, and I've always attributed it to seeing it for the first time in you.

I wanted to be a detective, yes, but more than that I wanted to emulate you, and in that way I found myself as a reader, and eventually as a writer.

Happy Sleuthing,

Rae

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Have you ever read Nancy Drew? What would you say to her given the chance? Or, write your own letter to a literary hero and link me in the comments!

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Dear Nancy Drew. See what blogger @Rae_Slater has to say in a letter to the classic sleuth (Click to Tweet)