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To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee


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Text response  – To Kill a Mockingbird

 

                ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’, written by Harper Lee, is a story set in Alabama about the
beliefs and morals of an isolated town. The Finch family live in Maycomb County
and consists of two children, nicknamed Jem and Scout, and a father Atticus,
who is a lawyer. The story is told from the point of view of Scout who is a
tomboy girl, giving a recount of her childhood. She describes the uninteresting
town of Maycomb during the great depression. They live with the maid Calpurnia
who, with Atticus, helps to guide the children while they mature. During the
children’s childhood, Atticus defends a Negro man, Tom Robinson, who is charged
with rape. The community strongly opposes Atticus’ decision to put effort into defending
Tom. Scout and Jem therefore have to deal with being shunned by their community.
 

                Scout is in many ways a model of Harper Lee (http://www.biography.com/people/harper-lee-9377021).
Both are female, their fathers are lawyers, they have older siblings and they have
a relationship with a recluse. In ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’, Arthur ‘Boo’ Radley
is an antisocial neighbour of the Finch’s who stays in his house and rarely
leaves. Harper Lee’s mother is known to have suffered from mental illness and remained
at home most of the time. In a way, the authors mother is absent from her life;
enough to make her father her main role model. Scout simply does not have a
mother, and is therefore heavily influenced by her father, Atticus.

 

                Atticus is the angel on the shoulder of the community. He is the do-gooder who thinks
logically about the main theme of the book: social inequality. Atticus gives
moral advice such as this: “ ‘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’ ”
chapter 3. Atticus morally guides Jem and Scout, as they grow, within a town
where the Negro Community are inferior to the white community. Scout develops
into a generally good person, and her and her brother’s reaction to the verdict
passed by the Maycomb jury supports this.

 

                ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ is a moral book revolving around a court case against a
Negro man, Tom Robinson. The social values of the community make the case very
hard for Atticus, the defence attorney for Tom. The book is a nice read about
morals such as equality, maturing within the community, and the implications of
having human beings controlling justice. I would recommend this book to those
who are after a classic story with a simple plot and complex social themes.



 

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This is one of my favorite books. I love the lessons learned in the book and the writing is great. It is so realistic. I hate that a lot of schools in the United States are banning it because of the language and subject matter in the book. 

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  • 3 months later...

This is one of my favourite books. The way it's narrated through Scout's eyes makes it a fun read, especially regarding such a difficult topic. Some of my favourite scenes in the book come from Scout's innocence throughout the book - it gives such a refreshing light to the racist background revolving around the trial. My favourite quote comes from Atticus though:

 

 

“I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what."

 

 

That quote gives me a boost when needed - Atticus is a bit of a hero of mine.

I was a bit surprised to see that Harper Lee hasn't published anymore books since, but I guess all the fame means you've got a lot of expectations to keep up with.

Edited by Angury
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 Atticus is a bit of a hero of mine.

 

 

Me too Angury :) I think he's a lovely man. I'm surprised this wasn't on our required reading list when I was at school and think it should be. It brings up some very important moral issues which can influence the whole way you view things.

 

This is one of my favorite books. I love the lessons learned in the book and the writing is great. It is so realistic. I hate that a lot of schools in the United States are banning it because of the language and subject matter in the book. 

 

I'm surprised by this, it's a while since I've read it now, but I think the subject matter is just what young teens should be thinking about. I can't imagine today's teens, considering what they are continually being exposed to these days, being the slightest bit shocked by anything it contains. But plenty of countries have banned first-class books for a variety of foolish reasons.

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I read this for the first time last summer. I was riveted. I can't believe I waited so long to read it but then again, I do tend to initially shy away from books that bring back to the surface, such unrelenting prejudice and hate. But what I'm constantly finding out, is that for all the hate and ignorance, there are truly good people that makes a person want to stick around and, as our old slave hymns say "see what the ends gon be."

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  • 3 months later...

I loved this book, I just finished reading it, it has such a beautiful message. I have a couple of things I was wondering though, for those who have read the book...

 

 

Did you think Scout fully understood the meaning of her comment 'well, it'd be sort of like shootin' a mockingbird, wouldn't it?' (on the decision to say Mr Ewell fell on his knife). It's never suggested that Scout actually knows Boo killed Mr Ewell, since she doesn't see anything of the attack. So did her comment have more meaning than she meant, or had she worked it all out while listening on the porch?

 

 

and second...

 

 

Do you think Tom Robinson ran because he wanted to be shot? To save himself and Atticus being put through another trial, which he was sure he would lose. Or Do you think he really believed he could escape? Or maybe just ran in a moment of madness? It kind of seemed to me that he must have known he couldn't get over the fence fast enough, especially with only one arm. But I'm not sure.

 

 

I would be very interested to hear other people's thoughts :smile:

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I loved this book, I just finished reading it, it has such a beautiful message. I have a couple of things I was wondering though, for those who have read the book...

 

 

Did you think Scout fully understood the meaning of her comment 'well, it'd be sort of like shootin' a mockingbird, wouldn't it?' (on the decision to say Mr Ewell fell on his knife). It's never suggested that Scout actually knows Boo killed Mr Ewell, since she doesn't see anything of the attack. So did her comment have more meaning than she meant, or had she worked it all out while listening on the porch?

 

 

and second...

 

 

Do you think Tom Robinson ran because he wanted to be shot? To save himself and Atticus being put through another trial, which he was sure he would lose. Or Do you think he really believed he could escape? Or maybe just ran in a moment of madness? It kind of seemed to me that he must have known he couldn't get over the fence fast enough, especially with only one arm. But I'm not sure.

 

 

I would be very interested to hear other people's thoughts :smile:

 

I haven't read this book in years, but regarding your second comment

 

 

I always believed Tom ran knowing he would be shot. He knew the trial was set to fail, and he was clearly grateful to Atticus for everything he'd done for him. But the jury had already made up it's mind the minute they knew who Tom was. Even Atticus's spectacular speech couldn't have saved him.

 

It's one of the many reasons I love Atticus so much. He knew he didn't have a chance with his case, yet he still took it up because it was the right thing to do. He stuck by his morals. How many people are willing to put in the time and effort for something that they know will ultimately fall? I'd like to think of myself as a moral person, but I I still conform to the public view even if I don't agree with it some of the time. It takes a lot of courage to go against the grain, even more so when you know you won't get anything out of it.

 

Edited by Angury
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  • 2 weeks later...

As a preteen my gandpa gifted me a copy of To Kill A Mockingbird, and it was not long after my first read that it became one of my most beloved books. I still have my "gandpa copy", with its dogeared and worn with love cover from many a read.

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A new book about Harper Lee just came out, in Hardback and Kindle called The Mockingbird Next door: Life with Harper Lee (released July 15, 2014)

 

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is one of the best loved novels of the twentieth century. But for the last fifty years, the novel’s celebrated author, Harper Lee, has said almost nothing on the record. Journalists have trekked to her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama, where Harper Lee, known to her friends as Nelle, has lived with her sister, Alice, for decades, trying and failing to get an interview with the author. But in 2001, the Lee sisters opened their door to Chicago Tribune journalist Marja Mills. It was the beginning of a long conversation—and a great friendship.

 

Mills was given a rare opportunity to know Nelle Harper Lee, to be part of the Lees’ life in Alabama, and to hear them reflect on their upbringing, their corner of the Deep South, how To Kill a Mockingbird affected their lives, and why Nelle Harper Lee chose to never write another novel. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I loved this book, I just finished reading it, it has such a beautiful message. I have a couple of things I was wondering though, for those who have read the book...

 

 

Did you think Scout fully understood the meaning of her comment 'well, it'd be sort of like shootin' a mockingbird, wouldn't it?' (on the decision to say Mr Ewell fell on his knife). It's never suggested that Scout actually knows Boo killed Mr Ewell, since she doesn't see anything of the attack. So did her comment have more meaning than she meant, or had she worked it all out while listening on the porch?

 

 

and second...

 

 

Do you think Tom Robinson ran because he wanted to be shot? To save himself and Atticus being put through another trial, which he was sure he would lose. Or Do you think he really believed he could escape? Or maybe just ran in a moment of madness? It kind of seemed to me that he must have known he couldn't get over the fence fast enough, especially with only one arm. But I'm not sure.

 

 

I would be very interested to hear other people's thoughts :smile:

 

For the first question

 

I think she knows Bob killed Ewell: she's seen him rescuing her and Jem, and she's a pretty clever girl, I doubt she doesn't realize it.

 

 

As for the second

 

 

I thought he didn't run at all, it was pretty clear everybody in the town was against him, it would've been easy while in jail to fake a reason to shoot him...

 

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For the first question

 

I think she knows Bob killed Ewell: she's seen him rescuing her and Jem, and she's a pretty clever girl, I doubt she doesn't realize it.

 

 

As for the second

 

 

I thought he didn't run at all, it was pretty clear everybody in the town was against him, it would've been easy while in jail to fake a reason to shoot him...

 

That second one is a really interesting take that I've never thought of before. It makes a lot of sense considering the attitude of the people in the town at that time. 

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  • 2 years later...

I've started reading this yesterday and I am already 100 pages through. The writing is all over the place and feels... episodic and so far there's barely a trace of the acclaimed Atticus. Yeah you can tell he's a great dad but most of the action so far has been around the kids. It is enjoyable to read however and I assume the book does get better later. 

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I've started reading this yesterday and I am already 100 pages through. The writing is all over the place and feels... episodic and so far there's barely a trace of the acclaimed Atticus. Yeah you can tell he's a great dad but most of the action so far has been around the kids. It is enjoyable to read however and I assume the book does get better later.

Have your thoughts changed since?

 

To Kill a Mockingbird is one of my all-time favourites but it did take me a while to get into as well.

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Have your thoughts changed since?

 

To Kill a Mockingbird is one of my all-time favourites but it did take me a while to get into as well.

 

I have changed my thoughts and wrote them all down in my freshly made thread.  :D

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