To Kill a Mockingbird

Pulitzer Prize winner published in 1960. One of those very few books I’ve read whom I could actually call “English Literature” and “novel” at the same time. Written in the first person, this book shows the world from the perspective of a small girl - Jean Lousie “Scout” Finch, and as a grown woman reflecting on her childhood. The author has acknowledged...more

Pulitzer Prize winner published in 1960. One of those very few books I’ve read whom I could actually call “English Literature” and “novel” at the same time. Written in the first person, this book shows the world from the perspective of a small girl - Jean Lousie “Scout” Finch, and as a grown woman reflecting on her childhood. The author has acknowledged that this character is loosely based on her own childhood. After I read this book, I learned that this novel is widely taught in schools in english speaking countries; and I was surprised at the same time because I never thought I would like a book that was actually taught as literary text. This entertaining and extremely well written novel is tied to the themes of tolerance and prejudice. The character of Atticus Finch, the narrator’s father is one of the most enduring fictional images of integrity. Atticus is certainly one of my heroes in the literary world.   hide

probably the most amazing novel i have or will ever read. Harper Lee is a great author and very brave. Scout Finch is the bomb and so are all the characters my favorite book of all time... All three finches are my heroes. Personally Scout reminds me alot of of a younger me both physically and emotianally when i was that age. And the movie was just as amazing. I even had the same haircut as Scout...more

probably the most amazing novel i have or will ever read. Harper Lee is a great author and very brave. Scout Finch is the bomb and so are all the characters my favorite book of all time... All three finches are my heroes. Personally Scout reminds me alot of of a younger me both physically and emotianally when i was that age. And the movie was just as amazing. I even had the same haircut as Scout when I was little. It's a good feeling when you know there are some truly kind and just people in this world. That there are people like Atticus Finch who would stand up to his peers and defend an outcast even though he shouldn't because of a social code. This book is about that social code and how effects people differently.   hide

One of my favorites

This book is just amazing. Other than the issue on discrimination on races it teaches the meaning of life the most. I clearly notice the way Atticus brought up his kids was just amazing. Issues are discussed (or rather told) from adults point of view and kids point of view, which somehow helps readers understands these issues better. An awesome books which teaches the values that we need to have...more

This book is just amazing. Other than the issue on discrimination on races it teaches the meaning of life the most. I clearly notice the way Atticus brought up his kids was just amazing. Issues are discussed (or rather told) from adults point of view and kids point of view, which somehow helps readers understands these issues better. An awesome books which teaches the values that we need to have in life in a very interesting way. The beginning part of it might seems a little bit boring but as it moves on, it became more and more exciting. This novel is about life, the good things and the ugly parts that it holds.   hide

I haven't read this since high school and had forgotten how good this book is. Told from the perspective of Scout Finch. At the beginning of the book it's the summer before Scout is starting school. She is not like other girls, she wears overalls, plays with her brother and neighbor Dill. They want to see Boo Radley who hasn't left his house in years. Scout's father, Atticus, is assigned to...more

I haven't read this since high school and had forgotten how good this book is. Told from the perspective of Scout Finch. At the beginning of the book it's the summer before Scout is starting school. She is not like other girls, she wears overalls, plays with her brother and neighbor Dill. They want to see Boo Radley who hasn't left his house in years. Scout's father, Atticus, is assigned to defend Tom Robinson an african american man accused of raping and beating a white woman. The town wasn't upset that Atticus was Tom's lawyer, but that he was actually going to try and defend him. I liked the explanation Atticus gave Scout when he told her if he didn't take this case he wouldn't be able to tell her what to do anymore. I liked Scout a lot. I liked that she couldn't remember not reading, that she wasn't afraid to have an opinion, that she tried to hold her temper and that she was brave.   hide

I must truly say that this is one of my favorite stories of all time. I have seen the movie more times than I can count and know I will watch it again. It has been a few years since I have taken the time to reread the book though. I am sure I might never have read it if we were modeled some of my parenting style after Gregory Peck who played Atticus Finch, scout's lawyer father. For some...more

I must truly say that this is one of my favorite stories of all time. I have seen the movie more times than I can count and know I will watch it again. It has been a few years since I have taken the time to reread the book though. I am sure I might never have read it if we were modeled some of my parenting style after Gregory Peck who played Atticus Finch, scout's lawyer father. For some reason as a kid the racial tension just went right over my head. The characters of the (autistic or mute perhaps) handicapped boy and the poor uneducated white woman resonated with me upon first reading. As I aged and got more life experience I came to realize what a powerful statement about racial equality this story must have made to society at the time it came out in 1960.   hide

Ok here is my veiw of the book. Let's start positively, it is a good story. There is a lot of insights and moral lessons to be seen and learned. Now this is why teens hate it: One, the teachers pick it apart and force their inturpritations of it on their students. It should be read at ones own pace. The reader needs to digest it and form their own views on the subject matter. If the...more

Ok here is my veiw of the book. Let's start positively, it is a good story. There is a lot of insights and moral lessons to be seen and learned. Now this is why teens hate it: One, the teachers pick it apart and force their inturpritations of it on their students. It should be read at ones own pace. The reader needs to digest it and form their own views on the subject matter. If the administrations believe students will learn character from it then let them learn not be infected by others lessons. If we don't let them form their own opinions no new lessons will be learned. I would be more interested to find out what it meant to each student from a breif " what it meant to me" paper than to re-read dozens of answers to the same questions and see the same deffinitions to vocabulary words. If English teachers are using this as an example of great writing, Let a grammer and spell checker on a computer get a hold of it. It will tell you there are too many errors to continue. People who don't speak or hear the southern language daily will have a miserable time reading this. I found if you actually use a drawl you do better. The audio version helps a great deal. Teachers please stop forcing your veiws on the students and let's see if we can get some new original thoughts on the book.   hide

I overstretched the reading of this book along too many months. The final result is: I did not really like it. Perhaps my expectations were too high. This enjoyable small novel is a bad treaty of American morals. When I think of it now, it seems to me that hypocritical movies like Forrest Gump own a big debt to this book. Set in rural Southern States, To Kill A Mockingbird is a tale of a...more

I overstretched the reading of this book along too many months. The final result is: I did not really like it. Perhaps my expectations were too high. This enjoyable small novel is a bad treaty of American morals. When I think of it now, it seems to me that hypocritical movies like Forrest Gump own a big debt to this book. Set in rural Southern States, To Kill A Mockingbird is a tale of a little child struggling to grow adult in a cruel, racist and moralist human environment where fathers can well put their sons to jail for years without being prevented to at any time and negros can be blamed for just about everything. To Kill a Mockingbird is far from the grim, overstrong moralist molasses of Uncle Tom's Cabin, but is definitely untrue, like that other book, with its bad vs. good characters, its wise vs. brute, its beautiful vs. ugly, its just vs. rogue. I think this was perhaps the right novel at the right time in the right place. Eager Hollywood was ready to take the chance and squeeze the thing into an Academy Award-winning flick, which, I understand, is a masterpiece. I own the DVD and when I see it, I will probably get a different picture of the book.   hide

I'm not sure what I'm supposed to feel about this book. Halfway into it I was waiting for the story to begin. It seemed like a bunch of small stories put together to make one big one. Finally when the story arc of Tom Robinson came about I realized where the plot was. I searched the internet a little bit trying to understand why it is heralded as an "American Classic". I'm still wondering. ...more

I'm not sure what I'm supposed to feel about this book. Halfway into it I was waiting for the story to begin. It seemed like a bunch of small stories put together to make one big one. Finally when the story arc of Tom Robinson came about I realized where the plot was. I searched the internet a little bit trying to understand why it is heralded as an "American Classic". I'm still wondering. It does paint a great picture of the injustices of the south at that time in history, but it feels slightly unresolved to me. Even though most of the townspeople believed that Tom was innocent, he still was convicted, and the black people were still believed to be inferior in the eyes of the white people, as seen from the comments from some of the ladies from Aunt Alexandria's group. Did anyone even learn anything from the case? Like I said, it felt as though it was a series of events that just happened to these young kids, and it is basically a novel on three years of their lives.   hide