In Harper Lee's novel, To Kill a
Mockingbird, even though Lee is an author, I do not believe that she would
agree (in the context of the story) that illiteracy is an insurmountable barrier to
communication.
Communication is a funny thing. It can take
place with words in some situations, and in others, no words are necessary. For example,
look at two people who are in love, or a mother with her baby. Sometimes words are
necessary to convey sophisticated ideas, laws, thoughts, and beliefs, but sometimes
"actions do speak louder than words."
For example, in
Scout's classroom, when she first goes to school, no one else can read (as far as we
know), but the children have no problem communicating with Scout. There are certainly
members of the black community that cannot read or write. In fact, Calpurnia says that
she is an exception because when she was younger, she was taught by "Miss Maudie
Atkinson's aunt, old Miss Buford…" Calpurnia, in turn, taught her son Zeebo to read as
well. However, the rest of the congregation cannot read, so when they sing hymns, they
do something called "lining," which means the song leader (Zeebo) sings a line, and then
the congregation echoes, or repeats it, back to him. However, these people do not
struggle trying to communicate.
Communication is not simply
a question of reading and writing above all, but speaking and listening—and showing your
intentions by the way you act.
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