To Kill a Mockingbird
by Harper Lee
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Book Reviews of To Kill a Mockingbird
Book Review: To Kill a Mockingbird
Summary: 5 Stars
To Kill a Mockingbird Review
In the classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee expressed the events of a small, rural town, Maycomb, Alabama, during the 1930's. The story was centered around the trial of Tom Robinson, a black man being defended by a well-respected lawyer, Atticus Finch.
Maycomb's economy was based primarily on agriculture. It seemed to be an enjoyable community but had its share of problems that included Mayella Ewell's accusation on Tom Robinson.
Throughout the story, many different themes were presented in their own, compelling way. Racism played an important role as blacks were discriminated within the community, received worse jobs than the white community, and had separate churches. In the case of Tom Robinson, racism led to his conviction and ultimately to his death. The title of the book itself was shown as a theme. Mockingbirds were described as peaceful animals that provided humans with pleasant music and didn't do anything that made people upset. Tom Robinson can be seen as a mockingbird because, as proved in his trial, never harmed anyone and did things only in a positive way. Arthur "Boo" Radley was also considered a mockingbird because he performed unknown deeds that helped the town.
The tale was told through Atticus's eight year old daughter, Jean Louise "Scout" Finch. Along with Scout, her older brother, Jeremy Atticus "Jem" Finch always seemed to be getting into some kind of trouble. Their neighbor's nephew, Charles Baker "Dill" Harris, joined in Scout and Jem's incredible adventures during the summertime. They had a strong fascination for their neighbor, Boo Radley, a strange fellow who only left his home at night. The many characters in the book were what made it such an interesting story.
To Kill a Mockingbird was broken up into two parts. The first part described Jem and Scout and their experiences within the community. Some of these events included their first day of school. Scout got in trouble with her first grade teacher, Miss Caroline. In addition, she had a fight with a boy named Walter Cunningham. Another was the fire at Miss Maudie's home that attracted the entire community, who all helped in some way. It was there that Jem and Scout unknowingly had their first encounter with Boo Radley.
The second part to the talked mainly about the trial of Tom Robison, which all led up to the ending. From lies in the courtroom to almost the death of Jem and Scout, the second part sorts out all that was unknown in the book and created a suspenseful way to end the novel.
In conclusion, To Kill a Mockingbird really captured the reader's attention. It showed some problems that went on during the 1930's but explained how communities came together in times of struggle. It was definitely a book I enjoyed reading. If you like a book full of adventure that keeps you on the edge of your seat, this book is certainly for you. You will not put it down until you have read every last page.
Book Review: The Road To Understanding
Summary: 5 Stars
Some people say that the impact of a book is never fully realised until some time after the reading. Nowhere is this truer than within Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird. I first read this book at University some years ago, and to be honest it had a relatively moderate effect on me. But in the years that have followed, the messages that are dictated have continued to make more sense to me, and have in many respects never left me. They repeatedly act as guiding philosophies to the way I try to live my life as an adult. The book tells the story of racial tensions in the 1930s in a small town in the American South. Although the 1930s were some seventy years following the abolition of slavery in America, at this time, in many respects whites still viewed blacks as ill educated, immoral and childlike. To add fuel to this fire, the 1930s were also the defining years of the great depression, a social climate that served to intensify racial tensions, as there was much competition for work.
Within this intense social climate the novel dictates a profound insight into understanding racism, and also advises a means to remove this ignorance. It's philosophy simply dictates that racism is the result of fear of the unfamiliar, and that it is this fear that motivates people to categorize individuals as part of a negative group, as a means to control this fear. The novel then decrees that in order to remove prejudice people must have an understanding of others as individuals by attempting to understand their perspective as if living their lives. This would then eliminate fear and stereotyping and ultimately reverse the path that leads to racism.
This philosophy is offered to the reader through the objective narrative voice of a child and the lessons she learns through her interaction with various characters within the narrative. Her father is her biggest influence, a white lawyer representing a falsely accused black man at trial, against the views of his peers in their town. As such, as she is lead to an understanding of the novels hypothesis for the elimination of prejudice, so are we the reader.
As the novel was written in the 1950s at a time when Southern blacks were demanding more civil rights, such as the right to vote and the complete abolishment of segregation laws, the novel also had resonance in its year of publication. Perhaps Harper Lee saw this has an opportunity to educate the 1950s white community on issues of race and prejudice, at this critical political point.
However, I believe the novel goes even further than this and makes points that can educate people from any background anywhere in the world. If people could see others points of view by standing in their shoes and seeing them as individuals instead of part of a larger group, then not only would prejudice cease, but human understanding and interaction as a whole would benefit.
This is definitely one of those life-changing books that you will come back to time and time again in your life, always reading it from a new perspective.
Book Review: this book would be enjoyed by all teens
Summary: 4 Stars
I thoroughly enjoyed reading To Kill a Mockingbird. It was a great story and i would recommend it to anyone intersested in reading a fast paced,sometimes funny and definitely an unraveling mystery. Reading a bout the way the children thought and reacted brought back memories of a time when i was their age, and I was extremely afraid of ab old man that used to live in my neighborhood because of my wild imagination. After reading this stoy, I accepted Atticus' advise that "you never know a man untill you stand in his shoes and walk around in them." I would recommend this book to be read by anyone in their early tens but, I'm sure this story could be enjoyed by people of all ages. Jem and Scout lived with dad, Atticus and Calpurnia, the housekeeper. They meet Charles Baker Harris or Dill, which is his nickname, when he comes to visit his aunt Rachel for the summer. the kids keep themselves busy finding numerous ways of getting into trouble. They spy on Mr. radley, who reacts by trying to shoot them. Curious to what Atticus does all day, they peek in the courthouse until Atticus sends them home, and they're always late getting home, and Scout tends to insist on using unlady-like language. Summer ends, and Dills returns home to Meridian. Jem anxiouly rretuns back to school and Scout begins first grade. Scout meets many new children and starts troulbe with many boys. Scout especially doesnt get along with Walter Cunningham. Walter is from a poor family and Scout quickly learns many life skills from her teacher and her new school environment. Atticus believes taht everyone should be treated equally and agrees to represent Mr. Robinson, a black middle-class citizen who is accused of raping Mr. Ewell's daughter. Mr. Ewell's family is a poor white family from the same community. The story leads you to believe that Mr. Ewell's family invents the entire rape situation to gain a higher status in the community and to ruin the Robinson family reputation. The trial draws much attention to Atticus and his family, and the community because it was unusual case. Many folks shared their opinions about the trial making life complicated for Jem and especially Scout. Atticus patiently explains his morals and beliefs to his children to help them try to understand society. Mr. Robinson is convicted if rape and is sent to jail. While trying to escape he is violently shot and killed Mr.Robinson. i didn't except this to happen, and I was shocked and sad. Jem and Scout are attacked while walking home one night from a play. The book leads you to believe that it was Mr. Ewell who drunkenly attacks them and breaks Jem's albow. Mr. Ewell is later found dead of a stab wound. The story laeds you to believe that Mr. Ewell could have been killed by a vendictive suspect, but Atticus explains to the children that Mr. Ewell accidentally fell on his knife leaving me to wonder what might of have really happened in that community on the night of Mr Ewells death.Book Review: Children make everything simple
Summary: 5 Stars
After reading this book I find it completely reasonable that Harper Lee was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, and several other prizes, and that librarians across the United States have selected this book as the best novel of the twentieth century. It is also understandable that Harper Lee did not write any other novel after this one; she had already created a perfect one and there was no real room to improve! The aspect I loved most about this book is how it shows that when children are allowed to think by themselves, without being prejudiced by the opinion of the adults, they see everything crystal clear.Lee has created a literary masterpiece with so many remarkable aspects that one feels threatened to comment on them for fear of leaving out important ones; I will try nonetheless to point out at least a couple of them. The story revolves around the experiences of Scout, who is the one telling the story. She is a little girl whose father is assigned as the defense attorney of a black young man falsely accused of raping a white girl. The main lesson the book disseminates and the one that is easiest to grasp is that racism is destructive and has no reason to exist in our society. If you consider that the book was written in 1960, this is not a minor point, but on the contrary it is a very powerful statement. Even nowadays, we have a long way to go towards accepting that someone's skin color is completely irrelevant. Although this problem has been reduced considerably other forms of discrimination still exist and should be eradicated.
It is uplifting to see a father like Atticus Finch, who is raising two kids by himself, after losing his wife, and is doing a splendid job at it. Not only he differs from the norm at the time because he never hits his children, but he also tries not to influence their ideas of what is wrong and right. Instead of promoting hatred in Scout and Jem against the people that are racist and unfair, he tries to teach them tolerance to understand that these individuals are acting mostly out of fear. Throughout the story one can observe how the two siblings go from considering Atticus an old man who could not play football with other dads to seeing him as a hero with outstanding values. Jem describes this perfectly: "Atticus is a gentleman, just like me".
I can understand why this book has been selected as part of the required readings in high school, and also why a lot of kids, finding it difficult to read, do not particularly enjoy it. To those of you that have a bitter recollection of this book and are now adults, I urge you to reread it and I guarantee that you will see clearly that it was worth it. If you are reading the book for high school, try to understand what the society was like in 1960 and you will enjoy this chore a lot more. Finally, I just have to say that I feel privileged for having read "To Kill a Mockingbird", even though nobody ever forced me to do so.
Book Review: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Summary: 5 Stars
This is my first attempt at writing a book review for amazon or otherwise, so forgive me if there's anything wrong with it.
There are a few things that will make an instant good book for me. The first and foremost thing is if I can relate to it at all. No matter how farfetched the situations are, if the characters feel real or I can some how believe what's happening, what they're feeling then the book has achieved a great amount: that's the first sign of a good book. The second sign is the ending. If the ending blows me away and I'll be sitting with the last sentence, mouth ajar for a few minutes I know I've read a good book. The last thing is what it's about: if it feels like fluff or like the author didn't have much of a reason to write the novel other than money then it's hard to read. If the book is expressing a huge feeling that the writer's desperate to get out or if the novel's bringing something of importance to our attention however, then it's worth reading. "To Kill a Mockingbird" had all these traits.
When I first opened Harper Lee's only novel I wondered about it for the first few pages. Jean Louise Finch, the narrator of the novel, was giving the reader a historical timeline of her family, which didn't attract my attention and I was worried I wouldn't like it, but as soon as the story began I couldn't put it down. I have to admit I'm a very slow reader and even with short books that I love, Old Man and the Sea for example (a circa 100 page novella), it takes me about a week or two to get through. I read "To Kill a Mockingbird" in around 3 days. I'm not bragging or anything I'm just displaying it's grip. It's not a fast moving novel, it actually is slower and it just talks about normal life; but I couldn't leave the characters for too long because I developed such a strong bond with them instantaneously.
I can't really go too far into the ending of the book because I don't want to give anything away but I must say that about two pages before the end my heart was twisting, not because it was sad (although it was in a way), because it was so powerful... so good.
Now I don't think it's any surprise that "To Kill a Mockingbird" has important values tied to it. But I found that most all of the main messages of the book tie back to everyone being selfish and misunderstanding each other. There are numerous occasions of prejudice and you get the chance to see almost every character misunderstand and judge another.
The book really connected with me and I would suggest it to people who like books that show real human beings and tell coming of age stories that have much more meaning to them than cheesy TV movies. I can understand people not liking this book however, for its slowness but I didn't find it slow at all: I could hardly put it down. Overall this book has been extremely enjoyable to read and I would call it one of my favourites.