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Summary: To Kill A Mockingbird
Review: The story To Kill A Mockingbird, is a story that is set in Maycomb, Alabama during the 1960's, when blacks and whites still didn't get along too well. The author, Harper Lee, wrote this book as if it was 8-year-old Scout Finch telling the story. This makes the story more emotional to the readers because it tells about the hard times of growing up, going to school, and dealing with life. The story starts off as everything going pretty well in this little Alabama town with her brother Jem Finch, who is a couple years older then her, her father, Atticus Finch, who is a lawyer, and their maid, Calpurnica. In the summer one year a boy named Dill Harris was visiting with his Aunt Stephanie, and met up with Jem and Scout and from that summer on Dill would come and stay with them. Down the street from the Finch's there was a old house, which the Radley family used to live in. The people said now that only the father of the family, Boo Radley lived there and he was crazy. Each summer the children would try to make him come out of the house or atleast get a little look at him. They never got this wish, but they still believed that he was in there, and alive. As the story continues, the children's father, Atticus, is appointed by the judge to represent a black man, Tom Robinson, in court. The people said that Robinson raped a girl named, Mayella. Her father said that he saw Robinson do it, but with Mayella and her father testifying they came out with differnet sides of the story. The book To Kill A Mockingbird, I think, is a very good book. It tells about racism, how hurtful people can be, how loving others can be, and how no matter what someone says or does to you, that you can never stop believing in what you think is right just because someone else tells you to. I think that everyone should read this book because it really makes you think about what is important in life.
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Summary: A Faithful Family
Review: "To Kill a Mockingbird" takes place in Maycomb, Alabama, during the Great Depression. There was a lot of racism during this time and it's expressed in this book. The Finch family includes Jean Louise, aka Scout, Jem, and Atticus. Atticus is the father of Scout and Jem. They're mother died when Scout was young, so Scout is quite a tomboy. During the summer, Dill stays in town and plays with Jem and Scout. Most of their time is occupied wondering what happens beyond the Radley's door. The Radley's are neighbors of the Finches and are very mysterious people. Arthur Radley, aka Boo, is the most mysterious of them all though. None of the kids have seen him. But that is one thing Scout, Jem, and Dill intend on changing. During all this, Atticus is appointed to defend a black man on trial for raping Mayela Ewell. Most of the town and county look down on Atticus for taking this case. Jem and Scout even get bothered by this. But through all of it, the family sticks together. I highly recommend this book. It tells a point of view that you may not have thought about before.
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Summary: A Classic Eh?
Review: As a teenager, I have read many classics. 'To Kill A Mockingbird' has to be one of my favorites. This book has many twists, however I found a few parts to be quite boring. I went through some of the book being anxious for it to be over, watching page by page go by thinking 'When is this going to get interesting? When is this going to end?' but once I hit the last 4 chapters, they flew by. The surprise ending was amazing, and at the end, I found myself thinking 'No, it can't be over yet!'. Although few parts didn't appeal much to me, overall I loved this book.
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Summary: Stephanie from Richview Middle School
Review: This bookis about a little girl named Scout, her brother named Jem, and her friend named Dill. Her father is a lawyer and agrees to represent a black man charged of raping a young white girl, Mayella Ewell. She was very poor and her family wasn't trusted. Tom Robinson, the man charged with rape, was later found guilty, because he was a black man. While he was in jail he tried to escape he was shot to death by the prison guards. This is one of the best books I have ever read. I left a lot of things out, but it's impossible to summarize such a great book in a paragraph , or two. I recommend this book to anyone who likes to read.
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Summary: To Kill A Mockingbird read by a 8th grade student
Review: To Kill a Mockingbird Warner books, 1960, 281, $6.99
Harper Lee ISB# 0-446-31078-6 In Maycomb, Alabama where men's stiff collars wilt by nine in the morning, the Finch children become entangled in a dramatic tale full of mystery. Jem and his sister (the story is told from her point of view) become deeply involved in trying to make their deranged neighbor, Bo Radley, come outside from the house he never leaves. While their father, Atticus Finch fights for the rights of an innocent black man accused of raping a young white woman. Everything is turned upside down, the way the sleepy town has never seen before. The twisting and turning of this awesome story will leave you wondering what will happen next. You won't be expecting the surprise ending of this timeless classic. This book is for the older, more experienced reader with some cruel language and adult situations. I did like this book, but needed to keep a dictionary by my side.
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Summary: An Amazing Read
Review: I found To Kill a Mockingbird a fascinating story of the town Maycomb, Alabama and the many racial prejudices that exists there. The story is told by Scout, a grown woman that tells the story of her childhood and the many lessons that she learned. She, her brother Jem and there childhood friend Dill, spend their long summer days reenacting scenes from the story Dracula and trying their hardest to get the town recluse, Boo Radley to show himself.
The climax of the story takes place when Scout's father Atticus, a lawyer, takes the case of a young African American man that is accused of raping a local white girl. Atticus becomes a target for the town's racism and his children soon feel the racial pressures.
Am amazing story of the true values in life, To Kill a Mockingbird, teaches us all that we should love and cherish those around us and that we should all treat each other equally.
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Summary: The big three
Review: If you're a fan of Southern literature, there are three books you can't do without: "Confederacy of Dunces," McCrae's Bark of the Dogwood," and Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird." Oh, there are others that are great also, like "Fried Green Tomatoes" and that genre, but if I had to pick, "Dunces," "Dogwood" and "Mockingbird" are at the top. Lee's book is very easy to read and the movie that was made is a sort of classic, almost film-noir. Peck set the benchmark for fathers and attorneys and unfortunately, no one has been able to live up to it since. But the most amazing thing about "Mockingbird" is its well-drawn characters and how intricately they're woven into the story. This book IS a classic and will always be. Just read it and enjoy it.
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Summary: I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!
Review: I want to like this book! I really do! I want it to touch me emotionally like it did to all your other readers. But so far I'm on page 118 and its makin me really mad! I'm doin this for a school assignment and I have to finish it on March 1. The story is so pointless, its about this these 3 kids obsessed with their neighbors and want to see what their son looks like, nothing else. Usually good books start getting good from pages 30 - 50, but so far this book is a disgrace. I hope you people that gave this piece of crap 5 stars are right about this book being a "classic." If you really want to get a good book about what discrimination was like and what innocent people had to go through, I recommend "Through My Eyes" by Ruby Bridges.
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Summary: Discovering the Naked Truth.
Review: TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD is one of my favorite novels. The author, Harper Lee, takes readers to the roots of human behavior: kindness & cruelty, love & hatred.
The story takes place in a small Alabama county. The main characters are a brother & sister named Jen & Scout--and their father named Atticus Finch. Their mother had died when the kids were younger. They also have a friend named Dill. The kids have lots of things happen to them. Down the street there is a house that looks deserted. All the kids call it the "Radley House". They think a guy named "Boo" Radley lives in it. So they act out skits and try to be the Radleys.
About halfway through the novel their Dad (who is an attorney) takes up a case and defends an African-AMerican, accused of raping a local lady. In trying to help a black, Atticus loses his reputation in the white community. Everybody starts hating him and his kids. But he sticks to what he believes is right.
The story climaxes when the family actually discovers the truth about 'Boo' Radley. Likewise, the community (& the reader) discovers the truth about the accused, the accuser, and themselves. This book is a true classic. I highly recommend it.
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Summary: Children make everything simple
Review: 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.
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