To Kill a Mockingbird

妮爾·哈珀·李（Nelle Harper Lee），美國當代女作家，1926年生于亞拉巴馬州的門羅維爾。她的母親是家庭主婦，父親是一名律師。其父在執業期間曾為兩名黑人父子辯護，但以敗訴告終。1944年她就讀于亨廷頓學院，一年后轉至亞拉巴馬大學學習法律。為了追尋文學夢想，1949年李終止學業移居紐約，曾做過航空公司票務員，后在朋友的資助下辭職開始專心寫作。1960年，她的第一部長篇小說《殺死一只知更鳥》（To Kill a Mockingbird）出版，贏得了巨大聲譽，并獲得了1961年的普利策小說獎。1962年該小說被搬上銀幕，一舉奪得三項奧斯卡獎。李還曾協助好友杜魯門·卡波特進行小說《冷血》的調查工作，但除了幾篇短文外，再未見她有作品問世。直至2015年，她早年創作的小說《設立守望者》（Go Set a Watchman）手稿被發現，并于7月正式出版。李的兩部作品都圍繞梅科姆小鎮展開，種族、階級平等是其作品始終關注的問題。現年89歲的李在家鄉門羅維爾生活。

Excerpts1）

“Gentlemen，” he2） was saying， “I shall be brief， but I would like to use my remaining time with you to remind you that this case is not a difficult one， it requires no minute sifting3） of complicated facts， but it does require you to be sure beyond all reasonable doubt as to the guilt of the defendant. To begin with， this case should never have come to trial. This case is as simple as black and white.

“The state has not produced one iota4） of medical evidence to the effect that the crime Tom Robinson is charged with ever took place. It has relied instead upon the testimony of two witnesses whose evidence has not only been called into serious question on cross-examination， but has been flatly contradicted by the defendant. The defendant is not guilty， but somebody in this courtroom is.

“I have nothing but pity in my heart for the chief witness5） for the state， but my pity does not extend so far as to her putting a man’s life at stake， which she has done in an effort to get rid of her own guilt.

“I say guilt， gentlemen， because it was guilt that motivated her. She has committed no crime， she has merely broken a rigid and time-honored code of our society， a code so severe that whoever breaks it is hounded from our midst as unfit to live with. She is the victim of cruel poverty and ignorance， but I cannot pity her： She is white. She knew full well the enormity6） of her offense， but because her desires were stronger than the code she was breaking， she persisted in breaking it. She persisted， and her subsequent reaction is something that all of us have known at one time or another. She did something every child has done—she tried to put the evidence of her offense away from her…. She must destroy the evidence of her offense.

“What was the evidence of her offense？ Tom Robinson， a human being. She must put Tom Robinson away from her. Tom Robinson was her daily reminder of what she did. What did she do？ She tempted a Negro.

“She was white， and she tempted a Negro. She did something that in our society is unspeakable： She kissed a black man. No code mattered to her before she broke it， but it came crashing down on her afterwards.

“Her father saw it， and the defendant has testified as to his remarks. What did her father do？ We don’t know， but there is circumstantial evidence to indicate that Mayella Ewell was beaten savagely by someone who led almost exclusively with his left. We do know in part what Mr. Ewell did： He did what any God-fearing， persevering， respectable white man would do under the circumstances—he swore out a warrant7）， no doubt signing it with his left hand， and Tom Robinson now sits before you， having taken the oath with the only good hand he possesses—his right hand.

“And so a quiet， respectable， humble Negro who had the unmitigated temerity8） to ‘feel sorry’ for a white woman has had to put his word against two white people’s. I need not remind you of their appearance and conduct on the stand—you saw them for yourselves. The witnesses for the state have presented themselves to you gentlemen， to this court， in the cynical confidence that their testimony would not be doubted， confident that you gentlemen would go along with them on the assumption—the evil assumption—that all Negroes lie， that all Negroes are basically immoral beings， that all Negro men are not to be trusted around our women， an assumption one associates with minds of their caliber9）.

“Which， gentlemen， we know is in itself a lie as black as Tom Robinson’s skin， a lie I do not have to point out to you. You know the truth， and the truth is this： Some Negroes lie， some Negroes are immoral， some Negro men are not to be trusted around women—black or white. But this is a truth that applies to the human race and to no particular race of men.

“One more thing， gentlemen， before I quit. Thomas Jefferson once said that all men are created equal. There is a tendency in this year of grace 1935 for certain people to use this phrase out of context， to satisfy all conditions. The most ridiculous example I can think of is that the people who run public education promote the stupid and idle along with the industrious.

“But there is one way in this country in which all men are created equal—there is one human institution that makes a pauper10） the equal of a Rockefeller， the stupid man the equal of an Einstein， and the ignorant man the equal of any college president. That institution， gentlemen， is a court.

“I’m no idealist to believe firmly in the integrity of our courts and in the jury system—that is no ideal to me， it is a living， working reality. Gentlemen， a court is no better than each man of you sitting before me on this jury. A court is only as sound as its jury， and a jury is only as sound as the men who make it up. I am confident that you gentlemen will review without passion the evidence you have heard， come to a decision， and restore this defendant to his family. In the name of God， do your duty. ”

1. 英文節選自小說第20章，描述了斯庫特（Scout， 也就是小說里的“我”）的父親阿蒂克斯（Atticus）在法庭上為被告黑人湯姆·魯賓遜（Tom Robinson）辯護的一段結辯陳詞，措辭簡潔有力。節選有刪節。

2. he：指斯庫特的父親阿蒂克斯。

3. sift [s?ft] vi. 細查，探究

4. iota [a????t?] n. 極少量，一點兒，些微

5. chief witness：主證人，這里指強吻并誣告黑人湯姆的白人姑娘梅耶拉·尤厄爾（Mayella Ewell）。

6. enormity [??n??（r）m?ti] n. 窮兇極惡，兇暴

7. warrant [?w?r?nt] n. 保證，諾言

8. temerity [t??mer?ti] n. 魯莽，冒失

9. caliber [?k?l?b?（r）] n. 水準，程度，質量

10. pauper [?p??p?（r）] n. 窮人，貧民;乞丐

知更鳥是北美常見的一種鳥，因為叫聲悅耳、于人無害而為人們喜愛，還經常出現在孩子們的歌謠中，19世紀中期有一首童謠《聆聽知更鳥》（Listen to the Mockingbird）曾在美國家喻戶曉。在小說《殺死一只知更鳥》中，父親阿蒂克斯也告訴他的孩子杰姆和斯庫特，不要隨意射殺知更鳥，殺死一只知更鳥就是一樁罪惡，因為“知更鳥只唱歌給我們聽，什么壞事也不做。它們不吃人們園子里的花果蔬菜，不在玉米倉里做窩，它們只是衷心地為我們唱歌”。但是在20世紀30年代的梅科姆小鎮，卻有善良、無辜的“知更鳥”因為鎮上居民的種族歧視和偏見受到傷害。

梅科姆是美國一個保守、封閉的南方小鎮，鎮上的人們循規蹈矩地活著，經濟危機的打擊讓這個小鎮更加死氣沉沉。六歲的小女孩斯庫特—書中故事的講述者—與哥哥杰姆、父親阿蒂克斯一起生活在小鎮上。阿蒂克斯是一名律師，與鎮上的其他父親不同，他年紀很大，左眼不太好，不抽煙，不打獵，但是他公正、溫和，不恃才傲物，還常為孩子們讀書，保護孩子的天性，是位開明、寬厚的父親。正因為如此，與鎮上其他孩子相比，斯庫特與哥哥杰姆過著更加無憂無慮而且充滿幻想的童年。然而某年夏天發生的一樁案件卻使作為父親和律師的阿蒂克斯迎來人生的重大挑戰，也使少不更事的孩子們第一次窺見了真實世界的冷漠與偏見，一場關于公正和平等的斗爭在梅科姆小鎮悄悄打響。

鎮上的湯姆·魯賓遜是一位善良、謙遜的黑人，經常好意幫助貧困的白人馬耶拉·尤厄爾小姐干活。然而，有一次，尤厄爾小姐一時沖動強吻湯姆，卻恰巧被她的父親鮑伯·尤厄爾撞見。20世紀30年代的美國南方，種族歧視根深蒂固，一個白人姑娘勾引了一個年輕的黑人，在梅科姆人看來是極為羞恥的。為了掩飾這一切，尤厄爾小姐的父親反咬一口，以強奸罪將湯姆告上了法庭。

阿蒂克斯擔任了湯姆的辯護律師，梅科姆人的侮辱、嘲諷甚至暴力威脅也緊隨而至。街坊鄰居罵阿蒂克斯“為黑鬼辯護”“給黑鬼幫腔”，阿蒂克斯卻并不畏懼，也不怨恨。當杰姆因為鄰居杜博斯太太對父親的誹謗而毀壞了她院子里的山茶花時，阿蒂克斯堅持要杰姆給杜博斯太太道歉并義務給她讀書一個月。年幼的斯庫特始終困惑不解，既然那么多人認為是錯的，為什么父親還一定要做呢？阿蒂克斯告訴斯庫特：“在我能和別人過得去之前，我首先要和自己過得去。有一種東西不能遵循從眾原則，那就是人的良心。”而作為一名父親，阿蒂克斯認為只有保持公正，才能坦然面對孩子們仰視的目光。因此，即使面臨暴力威脅，他仍然堅持為湯姆辯護。

法庭上，在阿蒂克斯的訊問下，尤厄爾父女的謊言一擊即潰，案情真相一清二白地呈現在梅科姆人面前。面對陪審團，阿蒂克斯對種族歧視做出了義正辭嚴的控訴，呼吁“人人生而平等”，希望法庭能夠保持公正。但阿蒂克斯的辯護最終未能扭轉陪審團的偏見，湯姆仍然被判有罪。絕望中湯姆試圖越獄，最終身中17槍而亡。在這個看似波瀾不驚的南方小鎮，一樁黑白分明的案件同樣因為“黑白分明”而剝奪了一個無辜者的生命。阿蒂克斯最終沒能贏得這場戰爭，社會的不公正也讓孩子們感到沮喪和失望。善良的黑人湯姆·魯賓遜就像是一只知更鳥，然而卻因為梅科姆人的種族歧視和偏見被殺害。

這樁案件和湯姆的死似乎很快就被梅科姆人遺忘了，但仇恨和歧視并沒有結束。萬圣節的夜晚，斯庫特和杰姆在回家的路上遭到鮑伯·尤厄爾惱羞成怒的報復襲擊。緊要關頭，是鎮上的怪人拉德利出現救了兩個孩子。拉德利之所以是怪人，是因為他從不與人交往，而且人們永遠看不到拉德利走出家門。這對梅科姆鎮的人來說似乎是不可原諒的怪癖，因此招來鎮上人們的各種流言蜚語。兩兄妹曾經將拉德利想象成生吃動物的惡毒生靈，甚至還想盡各種淘氣的惡作劇試圖誘使這位神秘的鄰居出來，卻都無果而終。然而，這位怪人卻默默充當了斯庫特與杰姆的守護神：偷偷地在樹洞里放小禮物送給兄妹倆，在雪天里為斯庫特蓋上毛毯，并在危難時刻出手救了他們。當斯庫特終于見到這位神秘的鄰居時，她發現，他并非如梅科姆人傳言中所說的那般兇狠，而是有著蒼白的手、羞怯的微笑和一顆善良的心。他也像是一只知更鳥，即使飽受梅科姆人的誹謗和孩子們的騷擾，卻仍堅持在角落里歌唱。斯庫特終于明白了阿蒂克斯所說的：“除非你穿上一個人的鞋子，像他一樣走來走去，否則你永遠無法真正了解一個人。”

《殺死一只知更鳥》不僅僅是一本種族主義批判小說，也常常被定義為成長小說、南方歌特小說或者教育小說，事實上它更像是一部同時寫給孩子和大人的成長故事。小說中所展示出的勇敢、公正和獨立精神使其遠遠超出了早期種族主義批判和地域范圍的限定，在不斷發展的時代中具有更廣泛的社會意義，這大概也是這本小說在全世界擁有眾多讀者并不斷再版的原因。我們不能憑種族、性別、地位而隨意評判一個人，正如阿蒂克斯在小說結尾告訴斯庫特的：“當你最終了解他們時，你會發現，大多數人都是好人。”阿蒂克斯始終在教育他的孩子用寬容和勇敢去保持一個獨立的靈魂，不為陳規和大多數人的偏見所動搖，對每一個個體都應保持尊重。這不僅是孩子在成長過程中應當學習的品格，更是每一個社會個體所應具備的優秀品質。

普魯斯特曾說小說家如同一位君王，因為他“讓群眾、孤獨年邁的教士、雕塑家、孩童、馬匹、我們的靈魂開口說話”。在《殺死一只知更鳥》中，哈珀·李讓一位律師挺身為并無發言權的黑人發聲，以斯庫特的兒童視角充滿好奇地講述著發生在梅科姆鎮的一切，兒童與成人世界發生碰撞，白人與黑人世界的隔閡受到最純真、直接的質詢。同時，幽默的兒童語言和心理刻畫使小說始終充滿著諧趣和動人的溫情，為其中涉及的宏大嚴肅的社會命題披上了一層童年溫柔的面紗。這也使小說在社會教育和道德意義之外極富靈動的文學魅力。