To Kill a Mockingbird

Rating:
Summary: A Beautiful Timeless Masterpiece
Review: 'To Kill a Mockingbird' is a true American Classic. It takes place in a small Alabama town of Maycomb, with a three year journey through the life of a 8 year old girl named Scout Finch, her brother Jem and her father Atticus. Atticus Finch is a trial lawyer representing a young black man accused of raping a white woman. The entire story is told through the eyes of a child who describes the event leading up to her brother's arm being broken as the book begins it's course. There is an incredible blend of characters throughout this story including the mysterious town boogeyman 'Boo Radley'. All of the stories events surround the trial their father is involved in, and how he stands by his principles for a man he knows to be innocent despite the ugly side of generalized racial predjudice he is forced to endure as he takes on this case. The children are soon caught up in series of events they do not fully understand as a result of this. 'To Kill a Mockingbird' is a brilliant literary work that explores the conscienceness of innocence in a little southern girl with the triumphant heart of an adventurer. Harper Lee delivers a timeless novel about truth and honesty that is gracefully forged with the undying instruments of intrigue and heroism. Although it is set in the 1930's in Alabama, it could very well translate itself to almost any modern American city at any period in history with it's magnificent depth and beauty. Atticus is a true patriot of ethics and morality as he stands firm on the principles of truth, despite the vicious recoil he endures in his journey. A novel of profound impact on the heart and soul, Harper Lee created an incredible and unforgettable novel that deserves to be re-read generation to generation for its timeless example of fatherhood, honesty and justice. When I first read this book I knew that I had read a work of something more than a mere tale about a lazy Southern town. I was holding in my hands true beauty written by a literary master. You will love this one without a doubt. It will change you life, and rekindle that radiant spark of endless childhood in your soul. A great work indeed.

Rating:
Summary: I thought this book would be boring--WAS I EVER WRONG!
Review: For years, my friends had pestered me to read this book. Every time I would look at them and say "It looks so boring, though!" It wasn't until this year for a school assignment, that I read it. I could have killed myself for not reading it earlier. This book is anything but boring. It is a fantastic novel that I will read over and over. Jeremy(Jem) and Jean Louise(Scout) Finch are brother and sister and they live in the county of Maycomb in Alabama. The story takes place in the 1930s. At this time, there was a lot of discrimination towards black people. People also discriminate poor whites, to whom they reffered to as white trash. One family that was considered white trash was the Ewell family. Bob Ewell was the father of 8 children. Since thy had no mother, 19-year-old Mayella Violet Ewell, the oldest child, served as a mother. A black man named Tom Robinson, who worked in fields near the Ewell household, had to pass by the house every day. Being lonely, Mayella started making advances towards Tom. This was totally against all code. It was unimaginable for a white and black to do anything with each other. Ashamed of what she had done, Mayella went to the court and accused Tom of molesting her. Atticus Finch, the father of Jem and Scout, is the lawyer who defends Tom. Every one is against him because of this. Sure enough, Tom and Atticus lose the trial. But Bob Ewell is planning revenge on Atticus anyway, because Atticus had exposed him as a liar in the courtroom. What Bob ends up doing is extremely scary. This book touched me very much. In my opinion, i would say Atticus is my favorite character. The lessons he teaches to Scout and Jem about right and wrong, and how peaceful and kind he is to everyone is just amazing. Atticus is a great man, and I respect him very much even though he is make-believe. I have only one more thing to say. If your first opinion about this book is bad, please put it aside and read it. I will say that the beginning is boring, but look beyond it into the true meaning of this book. READ IT.

Rating:
Summary: A Lesson Worth Learning
Review: I can't help but feel left out that I did not read this in high school. It is a general fixture of our nation's required elementary literature and it took me almost thirty years to finally get around to reading it. By elementary, I do not mean to imply by any means that it is simple, but that it is deemed an essential work. Having read the book, I absolutely concur with the traditional importance of this literature. Unfortunately, reading it as an adult, without the benefit of proximity in age to the protagonist, I realize too readily what is taking place with out the curious, yet provincial blinders, children wear. Regardless, it is fascinating, stepping in to the shoes of a grade school child, vicariously viewing the impetuous times of racial friction and economic disparity with their inveterate innocence.

Scout Finch, the friendly, but brash young girl narrating the novel, unknowingly, yet expertly captures the strife and unrest of the late-Depression South in an insouciant account of her summer adventures with her brother and visiting best friend. Rather than outraged and indignant, Scout is perplexed and sometimes even amused by the matters afflicting the adults of Maycomb, Alabama. Her confusion, born from acrimonious racial relationships and bitter class struggle between Southern whites, may be a more appropriate reaction than our adult indifference. Rather than ponder what it is in human nature that inspires this hegemony, we display an unquestioning willingness to repeat history, time and again, and dominate and inflict hardship on one another to secure our own personal survival. Ironically, Scout's childish ignorance, evinces a keen wisdom, as she attempts to grapple with the events besetting her courageous and virtuous father. Her father Atticus, embroiled in controversy over providing the legal defense to a black man accused of raping a white woman, is an integral part of her unique and enlightened maturation. Also, his pragmatic, yet optimistic attitude makes an excellent foil to Scout's youthful idealism.

As we follow her escapades we realize the absurdity of the hatred, violence, and contempt we have for one another. Rather than bask in the summer sun, frolicking the summer away with swims in lakes, and (...)camaraderie, we purposefully clash with our fellow man and surround our lives with worthless turmoil. Maybe we can learn more from children, then they from adults.

Rating:
Summary: A compelling story
Review: I first read To Kill a Mockingbird for a school assignment. When I was finished I sighed in depression because I'd just finished one of the best literary pieces I'd ever read. It takes place in a sleepy southern town during the 1930's. It is told throught the eyes of a young Scout Finch living with her older brother Jem Finch, father Atticus who is a respected lawyer, and Black House Keeper and friend Calpurnia. Also popping up every summer is the bright eyed Charlse Baker Harris also known as Dill who gets the idea to try to make the Mysterious neighbor Boo Radley come out. When a local family the Ewells accuses Tom Robinson a black man of the beating and rape of a young woman Atticus is appointed to be Tom's defense.
The book opens up the simpler times of America, but also the hardships it had to go through. It kept me interested every on every word. It makes you smile and find yourself nodding with the simplicity of the childhood issues and complexity the two go through. This book is an amazing achievement in the literary world, and shows of the morality and harshness the world can behold. It is a compelling novel and a view to the way people work.

Rating:
Summary: To Kill A Mockingbird
Review: Maycomb was a sleepy Alabama town in the 1930's, but it was abruptly awoken when the towns "white trash," accuses a black man of raping his daughter. Immediatly, the town is plunged into controversy, especially when Atticus, a well-liked white lawyer, agrees to defend the accused, Tom Robinson. Then, to further enrage many of his white neighbors, he actually does it very well and makes it clear that Tom is not the criminal.
Told through the eyes of Scout, Atticus's young daughter, this shows the abrupt awakening of a town. Scout experience descrimination and hate, because her father defends the innocent. Throughout the story, she and her beloved brother Jem, and friend Dill, deal with the anger of a town but remain innocent and loving throughout the ordeal.
Then, after Atticus almost succeed in getting Tom Robinson acquited, the accuser takes matters into his own hands. However, this time he attacks atticus and his family in a series of rash events, culminating in a night of horror for Scout and Jem.
Those who do not read this book are missing out on one of the best books ever written.

Rating:
Summary: To Kill a Mockingbird
Review: Only growing up in the south would enable Harper Lee to capture the vicious sweetness that pervails there. Not only to capture it but then be able to transfer that on to the reader. You can smell the sweetness of the talcum through the sticky of the hot summer days. Sickly sweet. The church group women are vicious in their sweetness. Ardently praying for the savages in Africa while embracing the savage mores of the south. And in the midst of all of this she tells one of the greatest coming of age stories ever written. Fabulous. One I read every summer.

Rating:
Summary: a true classic, for everybody to cherish
Review: The story is set during the great depression of the 1930's, in a small town in the southern United States. Scout and Jem Finch are the motherless children of a lawyer in the town of Maycomb, who spend their carefree summer days with their friend Dill. Their sunny-sweet world is turned upside down when their father is appointed to defend Tom Robinson, a black man, who is accused of committing a terrible crime against a white woman. The children are exposed to the narrow-mindedness and hypocrisy of their community, and the discrimination faced by black Americans in their town.

This book is without a doubt my all-time favorite, and is easily endearing for many reasons. The characters are varied and colorful, from Ms. Maudie, the children's acid-tongued neighbor, to Miss Stephanie Crawford, the neighborhood gossip, from Mr. Avery, the pot-bellied gainsayer, to Arthur 'Boo' Radley, the mysterious recluse who lives in the 'haunted' house down the street. Above all, the most engaging characters are the children - innocent, sweet, mischievous and absolutely delightful.
The thing I liked most about this book was the flow and innocence of the narrative. The entire book is told as seen through the eyes of a young child, making the language straightforward and easy to comprehend. The style is bold and forthright, putting forward debatable issues with a candid frankness.
While it is a book with a serious theme and a solemn message, the book is interwoven with instances of carefree childishness and subtle comedy. The perfect balance of solemnity and pleasantry make this a hearty, wholesome book.
This book is both emotionally thought-provoking and educationally stimulating. As Harper Lee's first and only novel, To Kill A Mockingbird is a touching story of innocence and humanity that I believe everyone should read.