To Kill a Mockingbird

Yes! Yes! Yes! Every story need Atticus. When I go back to some of the best novels I have read there always was this godly character that defines our moral standards and acts as our conscience. I just have to go back to Father Zosima (The Brother's Karamazov) or even prior Philip of (The pillars of the earth) and I know what makes a great novel. My favorite part of the book...more

Yes! Yes! Yes! Every story need Atticus. When I go back to some of the best novels I have read there always was this godly character that defines our moral standards and acts as our conscience. I just have to go back to Father Zosima (The Brother's Karamazov) or even prior Philip of (The pillars of the earth) and I know what makes a great novel. My favorite part of the book is Atticus saying: 101. "what real courage is ...when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do." or "Before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience" Lovely story....   hide

A touching tale of dignity and innocence. This book tells the tale of Jem and Scout, siblings, trying to understand the world and their place in it. It deals with the prejudice of most grown-ups and their inability to change the way of things, contrasting with the practical and innocent perspective of children. Taking place over several years (their childhood) this story culminates with the trial...more

A touching tale of dignity and innocence. This book tells the tale of Jem and Scout, siblings, trying to understand the world and their place in it. It deals with the prejudice of most grown-ups and their inability to change the way of things, contrasting with the practical and innocent perspective of children. Taking place over several years (their childhood) this story culminates with the trial of a black man, accused of raping a white girl, which is defended by Atticus Finch, their father. Can't thing of many people that wouldn't enjoy this warming, intelligent, amiable and well written take on racism. "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" - Atticus Finch   hide

What can I say that others haven't? That this is THE Great American Novel? (One of three in my own private pantheon of American Lit, along with Huckleberry Finn and The Long Goodbye.) This book hits all the spots, both sweet and sour, doesn't patronise or sweeten the pill, and yet still manages to exalt the spirit of humanity. Quite an achievement. I also only recently twigged (after...more

What can I say that others haven't? That this is THE Great American Novel? (One of three in my own private pantheon of American Lit, along with Huckleberry Finn and The Long Goodbye.) This book hits all the spots, both sweet and sour, doesn't patronise or sweeten the pill, and yet still manages to exalt the spirit of humanity. Quite an achievement. I also only recently twigged (after watching the file Capote) that the character of the little boy who comes to stay at the neighbours and becomes friends with Scout and Jem is based on Truman Capote. Favorite scene is Scout and Jem "rescuing" Atticus at the jailhouse when a group of locals come to administer rough "justice" to Tom. And of course the final scene where Boo Radley finally makes an appearance. Chokes the tears out of me every time, even after the nth reading.   hide

To Kill a Mockingbird follows 3 years of childhood of Scout (the narrator) and Jem Finch in the 1930s. Scout and Jem lives in a small town of Maycomb, Alabama, with their father, Atticus Finch, a respected town lawyer and the moral figure in the book, and Calpurnia, their colored maid. Scout and Jem spend their summers with visiting neighbor Dill, and the three have avid fascination toward their...more

To Kill a Mockingbird follows 3 years of childhood of Scout (the narrator) and Jem Finch in the 1930s. Scout and Jem lives in a small town of Maycomb, Alabama, with their father, Atticus Finch, a respected town lawyer and the moral figure in the book, and Calpurnia, their colored maid. Scout and Jem spend their summers with visiting neighbor Dill, and the three have avid fascination toward their recluse neighbor Boo Radley (the mockingbird of the story). Scout, Jem, and Dill are determined to get Boo out of the Radley house. None but one of them ever manages to see Boo.Atticus Finch as a single father plays a huge role in shaping Scout's and Jem's lives. He tries to lead his children by example saying "Before Jem looks at anyone else he looks at me, and I’ve tried to live so I can look squarely back at him" (Chapter 30). I admire Atticus' integrity, in the court, in Maycomb, and in his own household.   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

The writing is wonderfully beautiful and charming. You'll fall in love with the depth of inner beauty and innocence found in the 2 children (Jem, and especially his sister, Scout/Jean Louis). You'll find yourself rooting passionately for their father (Atticus Finch) to win his case when he chooses to defend a black man on trial for life, despite much social pressure on Finch to give up the case...more

The writing is wonderfully beautiful and charming. You'll fall in love with the depth of inner beauty and innocence found in the 2 children (Jem, and especially his sister, Scout/Jean Louis). You'll find yourself rooting passionately for their father (Atticus Finch) to win his case when he chooses to defend a black man on trial for life, despite much social pressure on Finch to give up the case and veiled threats against him and his family. Watch for the part where Finch cross-examines the "victim" (a white girl who accuses the black man of rape) and during his closing speech. Both are excellent courtroom drama (the best I've come across) and they also reveal a lot of the (ugly) truth behind the case.   hide

it is an irony that particular identification comes not from deeds but races or rather color of their skin. harper lee attacks not just a nation but the entire globe with his subject. jim and scout are two siblings in maycomb city where there is a mixture of people from different races the whites and the colored ones. atticus their dad is a lawyer who has picked up a case to defend a negro...more

it is an irony that particular identification comes not from deeds but races or rather color of their skin. harper lee attacks not just a nation but the entire globe with his subject. jim and scout are two siblings in maycomb city where there is a mixture of people from different races the whites and the colored ones. atticus their dad is a lawyer who has picked up a case to defend a negro against a white gal for bieng fasely accused of raping a white gal. now... what happens to the judgement, you find out by reading.... a story uncovering the darker side of human racism..   hide

How does she do it? Lee's writing, from the perspective of a child, is so evocative of childhood that it brings unbidden personal memories to the surface. At the same time, within this writing style, so potentially limiting, she manages to convey the story's sharp-edged plot quite clearly. Though portraying the disappeared world of the American South in the 1930's, her writing is...more

How does she do it? Lee's writing, from the perspective of a child, is so evocative of childhood that it brings unbidden personal memories to the surface. At the same time, within this writing style, so potentially limiting, she manages to convey the story's sharp-edged plot quite clearly. Though portraying the disappeared world of the American South in the 1930's, her writing is just as relevant today, as in 1960, when this book was first published. Through the simplicity of the child's eyes, class; race; and culture are stripped bare and questioned. A side note: the vernacular in this book comes alive; you can almost hear the characters speaking! (Or maybe that was because I was reading at one am, and had drunk entirely too much coffee.)   hide

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