To Kill a Mockingbird

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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.

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Summary: "Lawyers Were Children Once Too": To Kill a Mockingbird
Review: Oddly, I'd never read To Kill a Mockingbird as a high school student. Nor had I ever seen the famous film with Gregory Peck. Fortunately, I also avoided learning the entire plot through cultural osmosis. Sure, I knew who Boo Radley was-- didn't I? Atticus Finch... yeah, I know who that is... right?

Boy, was I wrong. Last week I finally decided it'd been long enough, and I sank into Harper Lee's only novel with high expectations. And I was certainly not disappointed. With its slow, warm and evocative opening chapters, Mockingbird starts off like a sulty summer day in the South. Lee depicts a South of "whistling bob white," biscuits and warm milk, and ladies who on the hottest days bathe twice by noon and then douse themselves in lavender-smelling powder.

Jean-Louise Finch, better known as Scout, narrates the story with the keen eye of an adult looking back on a childhood rich with incidents that shaped who she has become. Scout reminded me of some of Carson McCullers's heroines (Member of the Wedding, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter), but without the morbid loneliness and heartbreak. Scout might be described as a tomboy, but that would be doing her a disservice. Her adventures with her older brother Jem, and their dimunitive friend Dill (real name: Charles Baker Harris. "Your name's longer'n you are," Jem points out) evoke the timeless place of childhood.

As for Atticus Finch, what can one say about a father who seems to embody the greatest of virtues? He is tolerant, patient, kind, and understanding. He does not meddle with his children's affairs, he speaks to them as fellow adults (he allows them to call him "Atticus"), and his skill as a lawyer is legendary. Lee presents Atticus in a tough and sensitive manner, so that his believability is paramount.

The other characters in the book are also depicted with great skill: Aunt Alexandra, bane of Scout's existence; Miss Maudie, who gives as good as she gets when harassed by intolerant neighbors; Calpurnia, the ever-present black maid who has as much a hand in Jem and Scout's well-being as Atticus; and of course the Ewells, whose poverty and ignorance help set the plot in motion.

Harper Lee has written a wonderful book that pulses with life, with compassion, and easy good humor. Watching Atticus face down an angry mob set on lynching a black man, or racing with Jem as he escapes gunshots from the Radley house, or sitting with Scout as she forced to join her aunt's church lady reception, or taking that long midnight walk with Jem and Scout, is pure joy; these are scenes that reverberate in the reader's mind and surely in the minds of several generations of readers. I'm glad I can now say I'm one of them.

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Summary: One of the best books ever written
Review: Somehow I made it through high school AND college without being required to read this book. I've heard nothing but good things about this book and thought I should go and pick it up.

I can see why people do nothing but rave about this book. It is truly wonderful; a real work of art. It is amazing that Harper Lee never wrote any other books.

This is the story of Jean Louise, known by her loved ones as Scout, and the experiences of her family and her home town of Maycomb, Alabama back in the 1960's when blacks were still largely oppressed by whites.

You fall in love with Scout, her brother Jem, her father Atticus, and most of the residents of Maycomb throughout the first half of the book. Through the eyes of Scout, you really see how things used to be during that time. Also, through the upbringing of her father, you begin to understand why some people do things that don't make much sense on the cover. You learn to try and see things through there eyes before passing judgment.

However, in the second half of the book, judgment unfortunately come to Tom Robinson. He is standing trial for raping a white girl and the events of the trial will unveil the true character of nearly everybody in Maycomb. It is sad, but it is a real character piece. While it is slowly paced, especially at the beginning during the characterization part of the book, it is still hard to put down. The characters in this book become as alive and real as the people in your own town.

It is a book that will cause you to reflect on your own life, and how you treat those you meet. It is a book that will make you realize the ugliness and terrible results of racism. It is a book that every person should read whether forced to in school or not. It is a book I will read time and time again. It is a book I highly recommend.

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Summary: The best literature forced to read in ENglish 9 honors...
Review: WHen I first heard we are going to read TKaM, my heart sank considerably. First, our teacher announced this is her favorite book of all times. Second, I absolutely detested theo ther books we had to read, Potok's The Chosen, for example. But when I first received the book and started reading, I was awed. The use of language and vocabulary weere stunning and remarkbale. THe book is brutally honest, using original profanities used at the time in 1935 Alabama, but that did not tarnish the brilliance of the book. The tension escalates during Atticus' defense, and resolves in a tragic yet credible ending. However, the book taught a lesson that we would never forget.
What made this book special to me is the moments between Atticus and his children. The dialogues are witty and at times funny that made me laugh out loud (the second book in my 15 years to do that). The plot is slow moving, yes, but that built the tension and kept you at your seat through the 200+ pages.

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Summary: Top of the all-time list
Review: I've probably read over 1,000 novels and though I love to read them, very few get my unqualified approval. When a novel breaks into my top ten, it's a big event. When a novel contends for my number one spot, it's an earth-shaking event in my world of books. Such was the case when I recently read "To Kill a Mockingbird" for the first time.

The writing and the novelistic construction are near-perfect. But it was the emotional evocativeness that impressed me the most. The characters of Scout, Jem, Atticus, Calpurnia, and several others are flawless. This is a masterful work of art.

So much has been said about this book in the many reviews here, I will add only this observation. I think readers are often too young when they read this book for the first time to fully appreciate all its merits. It's not a difficult read, and the moral lessons are so obvious and impressive that young readers do appreciate the book, and I feel it is good that they read it. But other features, such as the fine and subtle nuances of the relations among the children, and between the children and the adults, are not fully appreciated by the younger readers. Therefore this book should be read again (and again) at various points in one's life. It will reveal greater nuance and depth with more mature readings.

This is a book for the ages. Thank you Harper Lee.

Rating:
Summary: To Kill A Mockingbird
Review: By now we all know the plot and characters of this wonderfully written novel. And as if that weren't enough, we have the movie, which is one of the best films ever made--very truthful and follows the book. But there's something about actually "reading" Mockingbird that transcends even the film. There's something about holding the words that Harper Lee has given us, in our hands. Perhaps it is Scout's on desire to learn to read, Atticus having taught her even before school. Perhaps its our own desire to "know" the world, just as Scout does. But for whatever reason, most people warm to this book. The ultimate "coming of age" novel, sweetly told with just the right amount of sentiment, history, color, and pacing, it's no wonder Mockingbird is still a bestseller.

Also recommended: Lord of the Flies, Bark of the Dogwood, Of Mice and Men

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Summary: To Kill a Mockingbird
Review: This is one of my all time favorite book as well as my favorite movie. I think that those of us who have read the book love the fact that narrator as well as one of the main characters is a little girl named Scout. The story is seen through her eyes and this makes the book more enjoyable as well as easy to understand. Sometimes she's funny and witty, other times she's very intelligent and through out the story she's just trying to understand the world around her. Atticus Finch, Scouts father, is a wonderful character because he shows his love and respect for his children as well as for everyone else. He shows he has moral values rather than social ones when he defends a black man being accused of having raped a white women. This shows that no matter how bad or how wrong things are, there is always someone willing to stand up for what they believe, and that there are good people in the world. This took alot of courage on Atticus's part considering they lived in the South. And although he loves both his children dearly, he seems to have a special bond with Scout. He teaches her that a person doesn't really understand someone else until they've walked in their shoes. That is excellent advice no matter who you are or how old. What is also highly interesting, and very original to this story, is the mystery behind Boo Radley. He's one of the main characters in the story yet he never really appears in person. In the first half of the story the children talk so much about him that they make jokes and at some points make him sound like a monster, not knowing that in the end he's the one who saves the day. I believe that what I love the most of this story is that it isn't a love story or an action/adventure kind of story, but one that tells the experiences that all of us can learn from. They're experiences we see happen sometime in our lives. Justice and injustice, prejudice in the society we live in, and courage and respect for other human beings. Anyone and everyone can relate and learn from this story, this is why it's a wonderful story for anyone to enjoy.

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Summary: To Kill A Mockingbird
Review: To Kill a Mockingbird was an amazing book, and I loved it! It displayed the many hardships of growing up, as portrayed through the eyes of young Jem and Jean Louise, "Scout", Finch. From the beginning of the book we realizes that the Finches are among the intelligent and "well-brought-up-folk" in society, and with their name comes certain expectations. "Scout" is expected to act more like a lady and less like a tomboy. Jem is expected to act like a gentleman, and Atticus Finch, a lawyer and there father is expected to raise his children up to act like the lady and the gentlemen that they are. I could relate to many of these expectations, but the trails don't cease here in fact the above don't even scratch the surface, but you'll have to read to find out more. However, the main conflicts in this novel come about when Atticus begins representing a young black man Tom Robinson in court, and society turns against him in his pursuits due to Tom's race. In conclusion not only was I able to relate to this book; I also learned the lesson, which everyone should gather in a book filled with them: Prejudice and hatred toward people of a different race leads only to destruction, and the wound from such destruction is not easily mended. It leaves a scar that will last for lifetime, teaching the generations to come the importance of equality. So, if you're looking for an insightful novel packed with many side plots and interest I would definitely recommend To Kill a Mockingbird.

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Summary: To Kill a Mockingbird
Review: To Kill a Mockingbird is definitely one of my all time favorite books. It teaches everyone a great lesson about being prejudice to other people of a different race. It shows that even kids like Scout and Jem are aware of these issues and can be bigger people about the issue than some adults. They also face other hardships in their life other than prejudice. Scout is always being pressured into being lady like and not to play with the boys and what they do. That is not what Scout is like though, she likes she be with her brother and his friend and do what he wants do to. She doesn't like to be with other girls have tea parties. She is one very unique girl. I can relate to her in this way, because nobody wants to be girly all the time. Sometimes you have to be different from other people. Nobody wants to sit up straight all the time and be nice and pretty. Being different isn't bad all the time. Both Jem and Scout have to deal with having no mother and living with only their father and their caretaker. They are very different characters but that is what makes them so interesting. This book has a clear lesson, that we should treat every person with the same amount of respect. We shouldn't treat people of a different race differently. They are the same on the inside as everybody else. I think if you're looking for a good book to read this would be the one to choose.

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Summary: My favorite book
Review: I read this book in my freshmen english class in high school. No other book comes close to this one. This is definitely my favorite book. I'm glad that high school english classes introduced me to reading classics. I don't think that I would've read this book if it were not assigned. I liked how the book is told in Scout's perspective. Both the book and the movie are great. If you haven't read this, READ IT NOW! This should be on everyone's reading list.