A Masterpiece 2010-07-30

Reviewer: Lulu

I absolutely love this story. It is my all-time favorite.
Tom Robinson is a negro who has been falsely accused of raping a white woman in Alabama in the 1930's. Atticus is a lawyer whois appointed by the court to defend him. The story shows how Atticus' family and his friends deal with the racial hatreds and other social conflicts that result from his participation in the case.

The beauty of the writing is that it is told through the eyes of Atticus's little daughter, Jean Louise, "Scout," who is such an endearing and appealing child. Lee doesn't over-romanticize the wisdom of a child. Scout and her older brother Jem are completely natural characters who emerge as heroic figures.

There are so many other memorable characters that it seems impossible that this novel could be only 323 pages long. There is Scout and Jem's annual summertime friend, Dill. There is the family maid and de facto female head of household, Calpurnia. There is the painfully naive and judgmental Miss Caroline, a recent graduate from ed school who is assigned to teach Scout's first-grade class. There is Boo Radley, the town's mysterious recluse. There is the "white trash" family that started all the trouble with their accusation of rape. Above all, there is Atticus himself, a figure of towering integrity, love, and loyalty.

As wonderful as the book is all the way through, I must call special attention to Chapter 15, where the eight-year-old Scout, with simple love and unconscious courage, tames a gang of thugs who have assembled at the local jail to lynch Tom Robinson. This is a very moving chapter.

It is pretty amazing that a writer who could create so many memorable characters in so few pages confined herself to this one novel as her lifetime output.

How could anyone rate this book with less than 5 stars!? 2010-07-28

Reviewer: Dr. William H. Moore

A true American classic. The only book/film tandem in American history that are both 5 stars... Could anyone other than Gregory Peck play Atticus who is so well portrayed in this tale? No.

Innocence Under Fire 2010-07-27

Reviewer: Chris

Well, this is another classic novel that I hadn't yet read....hadn't seen the movie...didn't really know much of anything about it at all. I basically knew that this was a book set in Alabama in the 1930s and it involved a legal case with some sort of racial tension. In honor of its 50th anniversary, I decided it was high time I pick it up and get to it.

Right from the start I was drawn in by the youthful, vibrant voice of Scout, the 8 year old narrator. I absolutely loved the way she described the town, the county, the people and everything in her life. She has such an innocent and honest way of drawing the reader in. Her simple storytelling narrative is humorous and disarming (which comes in handy as the theme gets heavier). She did a wonderful job of painting an accurate description (at least as far as I'm concerned) of 1930s Alabama. I really felt like I was there...like I knew and understood (at least through the eyes of a child) the people of Maycomb.

As I read, I kept waiting for "the shoe to drop." I knew that there was a trial somewhere in this book and that it had some climactic underpinnings in the plot. As the story continued, I kept telling myself not to worry about the trial...that it would come eventually and that I should just enjoy the wonderful writing. Harper Lee made it easy to forget the other problems that were coming up (the trial) and keep us engaged in the intrigue and curiosity of Scout, Jem and Dill. I loved the various "side stories" along the way. They gave great insight into the characters in the town as well as the character of the society/community.

Slowly (but very interestingly) we finally arrive at the trial. The tension is huge naturally and Scout is worried. Because of her young age, some of the details she focuses on and her reactions are a little different than might be expected. It was cool to see Jem's reaction through her eyes (as he gripped the railing so tightly his knuckles turned white). I absolutely loved her confused and innocent reaction to the outcome of the trial.

What I found even more interesting is that when the trial ended, there were still a considerable number of pages left in the book. I thought perhaps it would follow an appeals process or something but was glad that the rest of the story was much more engaging than just more courtroom drama.

I loved (and at the same time was disgusted) by the hypocritical action and behavior of the townsfolk after the trial as compared to their behavior before hand. Most telling was the conversation at the afternoon meeting of the ladies that Scout was compelled to join with her aunt. The way they almost acknowledged Tom's innocence and Atticus's benevolence and saying that Tom would have been fine if he'd been patient.

Then the conversation about Hitler and the Jews was an excellent counterpoint to the racial tension. I loved the way that Scout could sense that there was a disconnect in the behavior/talk/action of the townsfolk as they discussed Hitler after behaving the way they did towards Blacks. She could sense something was wrong and could almost quantify the nature of the disconnect, but she had a hard time acknowledging that there could be such a broad disconnect in the minds of people.

As we reach the end of the book, another climactic event sets events into turmoil. I "predicted" one potential "sad" ending for the book and was actually relieved to see the book turn out the way it did. There was still a degree of ambiguity as to exactly what happened, but I agree with Heck that there are times when things should be left alone. Regardless of what actually/definitively happened, the end result is good for the community. I'm a little concerned to know what happens to the Ewells and to Boo, but those sort of "loose ends" are to be expected in a novel with such an extensive depth.

There are so many wonderful themes in this book. The racial tension and description of southern life and souther racism are at the forefront. But Lee also explores themes of class and family structure, moral courage and the nature of innocence. The idea of innocence was especially interesting to me and felt especially poignant with the book coming from the voice of a young child going through such adult ordeals. Scout's innocence about the world slowly fades as she watches the destruction of Tom's innocence as well as having her conceptions of Boo Radley transform from one of horror/monster to innocent and heroic.

I am very glad I finally got around to reading this book. I feel like it is a great commentary on culture, society and prejudice. I loved the narrative voice, the humor and fun way such a heavy bunch of themes were presented. I really enjoyed the discussions between Scout, Atticus, Jem and the others. The characters were deep and very well developed and provided great depth to the story. There are so many small threads running through the story that I'm sure there is a lot to digest beyond the first read (aspects such as the fire, the teaching methods in the school, the various gifts in the tree, the other inhabitants on Scout's street, etc). This is a rich and wonderful novel that I will gladly read again.

*****
5 out of 5 stars

Excellent Book: Sociologists should use it. 2010-07-23

Reviewer: ValensHawke

For a person who tends to be overly critical of religious institutions, I am hardly ever critical of "good" religious people. In this book, there's an exemplar of what a good religious-Christian person is in Atticus Finch. For anyone who thinks this book is solely about racism, which I did prior to having read it or even having seen the movie-adaptation, would be a gross oversimplification of the novel. It's an exploration in morality and Lee uses a very powerful vehicle: Children. Children learn through, what most call growing up, socialization and the social norms and understandings guiding everyday life. Here, Lee focuses on primary agents, notably the family. You see a stark contrast within the Finch family between Atticus and his "proper" sister Alexandra. The morality each shares is different. Therefore, it stands to reason that children will think in very different moral terms.

Using children is powerful because in many ways, they are a tabula rosa. However, if you have an extraordinary person like an Atticus Finch teaching morality, then you realize that the social word is full of immorality and illogicalness. This is what Harper Lee points out with the problems of Social Inequality, of a pseudo-Caste system, and of racism. Both Jem and Scout see and come into conflict with these ideas in major and minor things: Who is acceptable to bring home to dinner all the way to institutional racism within the legal system. These are norms and values most people accept in the town. However, she implicitly points out that that everyone is a product of some environment and some way of learning: As Atticus tells Scout and Jem to put themselves in others skin before they act... They understand why some people act the way they do, such as poor Boo Radley. What this does is point that there is both good and evil in people but if you got to know them... you'd see the good. Although she does give a caveat later in the novel about how some people can never be reached. In the end, there is good and there is evil... and they both co-exist.

Gritty, Heartbreaking, and Timeless 2010-07-18

Reviewer: Debra Purdy Kong

I had put off writing this review for a long time because, really, what can one say about this memorable, widely popular coming-of-age story except that there is a good reason To Kill a Mockingbird was voted one of the best novels of the twentieth century by librarians across the U.S.

For you contrarians who haven't read the book, this is the story of the Finch family told from daughter Scout's point of view. Scout's attorney father, Atticus, is defending a black man accused of raping a young white woman in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama. The story is set years before the civil rights movement began, and the plot is a catalyst for a novel that is so much more than a scathing commentary on racism in the deep south. This is a gripping, gritty portrayal about growing up amidst the fury, ignorance, intolerance, and fear that fueled peoples' lives and thoughts, and still does, to varying degrees.

Like many people, I first read this novel through our school's curriculum about forty years ago. Five years ago, my daughter read it in her high school English class and she loved it too. This novel is timeless, not only for the poignant, beautiful language and heartbreaking conflict, but for the relevancy of its message. I've read a lot of novels in my time, but I still remember this one clearly--many people do--for good reason.

Debra
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