“First of all,” he said, “if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. 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.” Mr. Eldred Gregory Peck. Gosh. I don’t even know where to begin. The first time I ever heard your name was when I had finished To Kill A Mockingbird for the first time in eighth grade. I read it a year early because my parents begged me to. I assumed that it wouldn’t be good because some [stupid] kids didn’t like it. Well let me tell you all, Mr. Peck is my favorite male actor and To Kill A Mockingbird is my favorite book and film. Mr. Peck was made for this role. I then read it again a few months ago for freshman English and fell in love with it even more. Shortly there after, I read Go Set A Watchman which saddened me but also made me happy in some respects. I then saw Roman Holiday (shortly after the death of Ms. Nelle Harper Lee) which I loved. I recently wrote an essay to my friends Shakespearean Studies teacher, who I don’t have as a teacher besides advisory Homeroom, arguing why certain scenes were symbolic. He loved it. I’m an honors English student and I want to be an English teacher, and this book is the reason why. Ms. Lee inspires me to write and Mr. Peck inspires me to embrace who I am. He also shows the injustice in the world which I really began to see once I read it for the first time and it felt as if I had been woken up from a dream where I thought the world was perfect. But really, it’s a cold world we live in and Mr. Peck has helped me see things through his eyes. Sir, you may have passed on and you’re now 100 years old, but you continue to inspire me and you will forever.
Thank you,
Eden Fritz Aguiar
Freshman, Wethersfield High School