Reader Response to To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Front cover reads:
"Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird. A lawyer's advice to his children as he defends the real mockingbird of Harper Lee's classic novel--a black man charged with the rape of a white girl. Through the young eyes of Scout and Jem Finch, Harper Lee explores with rich humor and unswerving honesty the irrationality of adult attitudes toward race and class in the Deep South of the 1930s. The conscience of a town steped in prejudice, violence, and hypocrisy is pricked by the stamina and quiet heroism of one man's struggle for justice-but the weight of history will only tolerate so much."
My Rxn:
an excellent little snippet of the past. it's pretty timeless. There are tons of movies that can be used in conjunction with this book. I really like the two separate plots and how they work together: the story of scout and co. trying to see Boo Radley, and the story of her father defending a black man. I like this book because Scout's narration is honest, emotional, and hilarious at times- even if it seems a little implausible that a six year old would have such a fine grasp on the english language. It's also a great thinking book. It raises the question: "have things really improved?" I would use this in a Black history month unit or something similar.
There are some nice twists and turns, and it's interesting to read how Atticus figures out the innocence of his client. it is a great book, but i'm really not turning backflips over it. it does have some wonderful vocab words in it, though... so it wins a word nerd seal of approval.
words:
auspicious, apoplectic, prerogative, and various others i don't recall... but i think obstreperous is in there somewhere as well.
Some great quotes:
"As I inched sluggishly along the treadmill of the Maycomb County school system, I could not help receiving the impression that I was being cheated out of something. Out of what I knew not, yet I did not believe that 12 years of unrelieved boredom was exactly what the state had in mind for me" (36).
"I could go straight home and keep my fat flopping mouth shut" (57).
"The back porch was bathed in moonlight, and the shadow, crisp as toast, moved across the porch toward Jem" (59).
"Talking to Francis gave me the sensation of settling slowly to the bottom of the ocean. He was the most boring child I ever met" (92).
"Of course Jem antagonized me sometimes until I could kill him, but when it came down to it he was all I had" (119). (that's how I feel about my brother.)
"One must lie under certain circumstances and at all times when one can't do anything about them" (147).
"Rape was carnal knowledge of a female by force and without consent" (154). What parent would tell that to their young daughter? what young daughter would understand that?!
"Well how do you know we ain't Negroes? Uncle Jack Finch says we realy don't know. He says as far as he can trace back the Finches we ain't, but for all he knows we mighta come straight out of Ethiopia durin' the Old Testament" (185).
"She's trying to make you a lady. Can't you take up sewin' or somethin'? Hell no. She doesn't like me, and that's all there is to it, and I don't care" (258).
"A roly-poly had found its way inside the house[...] The cretures are no more than an inch long, and when you touch them they roll themselves into a tight gray ball" (273). I knew exactly what she was talking about without the explanation.
"I think he's very alive. Shows all the symptoms of it" (305).
This one is a little dry. I'd recommend it for 10-12 graders.
Front cover reads:
"Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird. A lawyer's advice to his children as he defends the real mockingbird of Harper Lee's classic novel--a black man charged with the rape of a white girl. Through the young eyes of Scout and Jem Finch, Harper Lee explores with rich humor and unswerving honesty the irrationality of adult attitudes toward race and class in the Deep South of the 1930s. The conscience of a town steped in prejudice, violence, and hypocrisy is pricked by the stamina and quiet heroism of one man's struggle for justice-but the weight of history will only tolerate so much."
My Rxn:
an excellent little snippet of the past. it's pretty timeless. There are tons of movies that can be used in conjunction with this book. I really like the two separate plots and how they work together: the story of scout and co. trying to see Boo Radley, and the story of her father defending a black man. I like this book because Scout's narration is honest, emotional, and hilarious at times- even if it seems a little implausible that a six year old would have such a fine grasp on the english language. It's also a great thinking book. It raises the question: "have things really improved?" I would use this in a Black history month unit or something similar.
There are some nice twists and turns, and it's interesting to read how Atticus figures out the innocence of his client. it is a great book, but i'm really not turning backflips over it. it does have some wonderful vocab words in it, though... so it wins a word nerd seal of approval.
words:
auspicious, apoplectic, prerogative, and various others i don't recall... but i think obstreperous is in there somewhere as well.
Some great quotes:
"As I inched sluggishly along the treadmill of the Maycomb County school system, I could not help receiving the impression that I was being cheated out of something. Out of what I knew not, yet I did not believe that 12 years of unrelieved boredom was exactly what the state had in mind for me" (36).
"I could go straight home and keep my fat flopping mouth shut" (57).
"The back porch was bathed in moonlight, and the shadow, crisp as toast, moved across the porch toward Jem" (59).
"Talking to Francis gave me the sensation of settling slowly to the bottom of the ocean. He was the most boring child I ever met" (92).
"Of course Jem antagonized me sometimes until I could kill him, but when it came down to it he was all I had" (119). (that's how I feel about my brother.)
"One must lie under certain circumstances and at all times when one can't do anything about them" (147).
"Rape was carnal knowledge of a female by force and without consent" (154). What parent would tell that to their young daughter? what young daughter would understand that?!
"Well how do you know we ain't Negroes? Uncle Jack Finch says we realy don't know. He says as far as he can trace back the Finches we ain't, but for all he knows we mighta come straight out of Ethiopia durin' the Old Testament" (185).
"She's trying to make you a lady. Can't you take up sewin' or somethin'? Hell no. She doesn't like me, and that's all there is to it, and I don't care" (258).
"A roly-poly had found its way inside the house[...] The cretures are no more than an inch long, and when you touch them they roll themselves into a tight gray ball" (273). I knew exactly what she was talking about without the explanation.
"I think he's very alive. Shows all the symptoms of it" (305).
This one is a little dry. I'd recommend it for 10-12 graders.
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