To Kill A Mockingbird: Research

To start developing my idea, I did some primary research by reading the book, but also using spark notes(not cheating) as a way to identify the key emerging elements in the book.



Lessons from the book:

- Put yourself in others people's shoes.
(Scout in Boo Radleys' shoes) 

- Don't kill mockingbirds. Mockingbirds don't eat anyone's plants or harm anything.
Mockingbirds make music. Anyone who is weak or defenceless
To Kill A Mockingbird - to take advantage of someone weaker than you. 
To destroy Innocence.
(Black man with 1 working arm, accused of rape to hide the fact that mayella is lonely and tried to seduce him) 
(Boo Radley) 

- Keep fighting even if you know you're going to lose. 
(Atticus with trial)

- The world is very unfair. Justice system is tainted by unfairness.
(Black prejudice, he was never going to win the trial)

I read this book in GCSE and was lucky enough to find my own annotated copy. This list of lessons from the book are an excellent starting point in terms of creating visual metaphors for the front cover. I don't think I will be able to portray all of them so I will just choose 1 to focus on. 

I'm really interested in the character of Boo Radley, and feel that he is so symbolic within the book. I think that making an image from his point of view would be a fresh take on the story.

Target Audience

The book has some very serious/adult themes within it, that are tackled in a very subtle way, making the audience for this novel debatable. Despite the adult themes, there is room for alot of imagination when reading the book, which would be ideal for a younger audience. Also it would be beneficial to them to learn the lessons from the book, so In conclusion I feel that the audience is 12/13 year olds +.

Themes

Racism

Good and Evil

Innocence 

Naivety 

Social Recluse 

Key Quotes

"Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired old town when I first knew it. In rainy weather the streets turned to red slop . . . [s]omehow it was hotter then . . . bony mules hitched to Hoover carts flicked flies in the sweltering shade of the live oaks on the square. Men’s stiff collars wilted by nine in the morning. Ladies bathed before noon, after their three-o’clock naps, and by nightfall were like soft teacakes with frostings of sweat and sweet talcum. . . . There was no hurry, for there was nowhere to go, nothing to buy and no money to buy it with, nothing to see outside the boundaries of Maycomb County. But it was a time of vague optimism for some of the people: Maycomb County had recently been told that it had nothing to fear but fear itself."

"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view . . . until you climb into his skin and walk around in it."

I think from these thoughts and ideas I've got enough to start sketching and exploring visually. Admittedly I feel regrettable that I don't have the time to read the full book again, but from researching I can remember it very clearly. 

Contextual Analysis

I found this cover that I think is really successful. The motif of the feather has been used effectively to depict a black man's face, creating the link between racism and innocence. The way that the feathers are arranged within the image depict the death of a bird, and highlights the representation of Tom Robinson as the mockingbird. I think the colour scheme of blue has quite a somber and reflective tone, depicting a tone of sadness within the book.  

I think that this cover is effective in the way it has used the format of the book in it's illustrative process. The motif of scales reiterates the theme of injustice, with the use of a black and white colour scheme to represent Good and Evil, and loosely the skin colours of the opposing sides within the novel. This cover uses heavy symbolism to convey the themes in a modern and contemporary style.  

With the previous 2 covers, I feel that they are very focused on symbolism and are quite graphical in terms of art genre. I really appreciate the more illustrative quality of this cover because I feel that it has more of an atmosphere, aswell as communicating a story within the image. I think that the colours create a heartwarming atmosphere in a vintage style, which I think would appeal to a younger audience. 

In terms of the competition, I am fully aware that this prize is for Adult Fiction, so the target audience for my design should be solely for adults, which the first 2 covers exemplify.