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Summary: My Favorite book
Review: To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, is a wonderful book that centers on a stage in a young girl's life, while, and at the same time analyzing the extent of racial bias in a small town. I think one of the rights of passage in life should be reading To Kill a Mockingbird. The themes, characters, and situations remain an indentation in my life, and they are respectively profound, believable, likeable, noble, enigmatic, detestable (in this last case, the Ewell family, of course) and, unfortunately, current. This novel is one of those unique readings that appeals to both young and old alike. That is simply because it defies the decomposing to which many contemporary writings give way and I think that is why I enjoyed it. After having read this classic at least Three times, I find something new each time. Some interesting plot device, characterization technique, theme, motive or symbol - that I had overlooked before. This, surely, is one of the signs of not merely a good novel, but great literature. I suppose this is one of those books that will endure for many years to come. It truly is a great part of American literature and will be a not only timeless but an ever-enduring classic. This is one of those books that you fall into "the trap" of thinking just because it is popular it is good. This book is a good book and its good to fall into the trap. Something about the story: This timeless classic is about Scout Finch and what she sees through her eyes during the story. Her brother Jem, her father Atticus, and she live together in Maycomb, a small county in Alabama out in the country. Their mother had died when Scout was only two years old. Across the street, Miss Atkinson lived who cared deeply about her flowers that she grew. Mrs. Dubhouse, an old lady who picked on everyone that passed her house, lived down the road. Two houses down from the Finches, the Radleys lived. Their house was old and their door was always closed to the world. Mr.Radley lived with his mysterious son. Mr. Radley would be seen now and then walking down the road to the town. He didn't speak much. His son, Arthur was rarely seen unless during the night. Rumor had it that 0h! he would watch people through their windows while they slept, and scratch on their screen doors. The children of Maycomb called him Boo. Dill, the nephew of Miss Atkinson came to Maycomb every summer to see his aunt. Dill became good friends with Scout and Jem. When Dill learned about Boo Radley he came up with the idea of making him come out. Together, Dill, Scout, and Jem have a lot of adventures trying to contact Boo. During the same time when they were having their exciting times together, Atticus was defending a black in court. At the time, Blacks were free, but they weren't considered equal to whites. Not everyone in Maycomb believed that Atticus should be doing this, but he held his head high and tried his best in the trial. With the feelings from the people that didn't think what Atticus was doing was right, and the longing for contact with Boo from the kids, it turns into a near death experience for Jem and Scout.
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Summary: required high school reading!
Review: This book is truly an amazing work of art. Although I titled this "high school reading", I think that it's a book that can be read and understood by all ages. It is beautifully written and narrated by the adult Jean Louise "Scout" Finch, as she talks about when she was 8, and how her family(herself, her brother Jem, and her father Atticus) dealt with Atticus defending black Tom Robinson for a crime he didn't committ against a white woman in a racist town. Atticus is probably one of my favorite all time characters. He is so sweet and compassionate, and just like that other review said, a perfect rolemodel. Even though the ending of this book is pretty depressing, I still love it to death. I'll try to not give too much of the ending away for those of you who haven't read it. It just seems upsetting to me that Atticus proved so many times that Tom Robinson didn't do it, and the defense had nothing and they still won, just because Tom Robinson was black. Maybe that's why the book is so good, though. It doesn't give a Disney ending. The ending is harsh and serious, but it's realisic. I have read a few of these reviews, and I was really sad that no one explained the meaning of the title. I wrote a report on it, so I should know this. Tom Robinson, the man falsely accused of a crime he didn't commit, and represented by Atticus, is a mockingbird. When Jem and Scout get guns for Christmas, Atticus tells them the only thing they can't shoot are mockingbirds because they don't do anything but make sweet music for us to hear. This is why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird. Much in the same way, it was a sin to kill Tom Robinson(he dies) because all he ever did was help the girl who accused him of raping her(the crime he was convicted for). I suppose I just ruined the ending, so I'll stop now. But the bottom line is: This is a really great book, and you should read it if you haven't already. Or, if you already have, read it again. It's a great lawyer book.
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Summary: One of the most compelling and important stories of the 20th
Review: century. I first read this book when I was in the 7th grade and have returned to it numerous times during the intervening 39 years. It is a story of courage, heroism, and the loss of innocence of individuals, a culture, and a country. Set against the richly satisfying backdrop of the deep south in the early part of the twentieth century, is a story of man's inhumanity to man, and one man's struggle to do what is right against all odds. No syrupy sweetness here. No sense of the brave white man rescuing the poor, defenseless negro. This is a story of the dignity inherent in all men as they seek justice in one small corner of the world. This is must reading for all, preferably before highschool graduation. A slim volume, and deceptively easy to read, it reverberates to the core of one's being for years to come.
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Summary: A good book for adults and children alike
Review: To Kill a Mockingbird is a good book for all ages. It is full of good lessons and morals. I teaches you to follow your conscience and be a person of compassion. The setting is a sleepy town in 1930's alabama. It is mostly about two children growing up in this town and learning about the evil in the human heart and losing their inocence. They also learn to be children of compassion and conscience. They learn this mostly through the character of Boo Radley their next door neighbor. The town treats him as a disgrace and blames him for most of the problems. The children finally learn of his situation and realize they should have compassion for him. It also centers on racism in a way through the case of Tom Robinson it show how hunams can be cruel and unfair to one another. Overall this was a good book and i recomend it to all ages of readers. ....
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Summary: To Kill a Mockingbird
Review: To Kill a Mockingbird was an very marvelous and entertaining book. The book is told through the eyes of a 5 year old name Scout Finch who lost her mother and lives with her brother Jem, and father Atticus. This is a wonderful novel with a great plot and many little events that go on around the man plot. Harper Lee uses very good time and setting for this book. The time is 1930's and Scout is 5 and Jem is 12. There father, who they call by his first name, is a lawyer who takes care of Scout and Jem all by himself till his sister moves in to help. Atticus is a very moral man and a good father to his children. back in the 30's racism was every where and especially in the town of Maycomb. Maycomb is where they live and where the play. Atticus is put in charge of a very difficult case that involves a black man who is accused of rape. Atticus has to defend this black man against Bob Ewell, who is a very mean cruel individual. Most of the town is for the white man just for the fact that he is white. The town is against Atticus because he is representing a black man. This novel is great display of how the world is today and shows the qualities of good and bad individuals. THis is a wonderful book that I recommend to everyone. I give it 5 stars.
Rating: 
Summary: To Kill a Mockingbird
Review: My first memory of the book To Kill a Mockingbird came in the eighth grade. We had to bring a book to school to show to our teacher. Well, I forgot my book. I knew we were reading To Kill a Mockingbird in ninth grade and it looked really boring but she didn't know that i knew. My teacher said it was an honest mistake. I was relieved because I had gotten away with it and I sure didn't want to read it. Then came the day we had to start reading it and I found out that it wasn't as bad as I thought, but it was actually good. The main character in this book is Jean Louise Finch, otherwise known as Scout. She is young, stubborn, and a tom boy. Her older brother, Jem, grows up and matures in this book. They have a friend named Dill who spends the summer with them and loves to exagerate. Atticus, Jem and Scout's father, is a hard working and honest man. His sister, Aunt Alexandra, comes to live with them to help raise the children and she is very tough to live with. There are two themes in this book. The first one is the Need for Compassion and Understanding. Atticus tells his children that they should get into the other person's skin and walk around in it. This means that they would see things from the other person's view and they would be more compassionate and would understand what the other person is going through. One important character in this book is Author (Boo) Radley. Author stays in his house all the time and the kids are scared of him. They realize what he has to go through and are more compassionate towards him. The other theme is the Need for Conscience and Courage. Atticus is a man of conscience and courage. He takes a case where there seems like he has no chance of winning. This case is for Tom Robinson, a black man, who was charged for rape on a white woman. Atticus can't turn down the case because he feels he can't live with himself if he does. This took a lot of courage and shows what kind of man Atticus is.
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Summary: To kill a mockingbird was GREAT!
Review: To kill a mockingbird was a really good book. It is a book that, though I had heard a lot about, I had never had the chance to read. I was glad that I got the opportunity to read a book that interested me in a classroom setting. This story takes place in the early nineteen-thirties (coming out of the great depression) in a small (fictitious) town called Maycomb located in Southern Alabama. The novel's plot revolves around the lives of Scout, the narrator looking back on her childhood, her brother Jem and Atticus their father. The book tells how these children, growing up in an extremely prejudiced old southern town learn from their father how important it is to show compassion to all and be people of conscience. Another main figure in the book is the town scare and scapegoat Boo Radley. Boo was put away in his own house to be kept prisoner by his parents and brother for many years. Naturally the people of the town not understanding the whole Radley family's introverted and sometimes odd ways are cruel and prejudiced against them especially Boo when the truth is Boo hadn't ever hurt anyone and didn't deserve the unkind treatment he was receiving by both his family and the town. The children, Jem and Scout were taking part, to some degree, in this talk and gossip against the Radley's but as the book progressed they realized that Boo really wasn't a creepy bad person at all, but a person just like them with a heart and feelings. They realized that like the mockingbirds in the trees he was there only to help and not hurt and by gossiping and making fun they hurting an innocent thing who needed compassion and care instead of cruelty. They found in the end that he was their friend and that one truly can't judge by appearances. This book was a good lesson on human nature, showing both the positive and negative side of how we treat people. It was a very moving story and I enjoyed it thoroughly.
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Summary: To Kill A Mockingbird
Review: To kill a Mockingbird is a wonderful book. I recommend it to people of all ages. This book illustrates two main motifs. One is the need for compassion and the other is the courage and conscience. One of the main character in to kill a mockingbird is Boo Radly. In the begging of the book he was made out to be an evil, scary, mean man. All the kids were scared of him and thought he was a mysterious man. The kids started finding things in a hole in a tree that was right next to the radley house. This shows that he is watching the kid's and likes them. They later come to realizes that boo is there friend and he is not a mean man he is a trapped nice man. The kids learn to like Boo and this illustrates the need for compassion. Later in the book Atticus, that is scout and Jems dad has to defend Tom robinsion, which is a black man that is on trial for rap on a white woman. They go to trial and tom is found guilty even though by the evidence he is clearly innocent but the people are so racist that they don't even look at the evidence they just find him guilty. Jem does not understand the concept of racism and he is confused by the whole trial. After the trial bob Ewell is mad at Atticus because he defended tom and made him look bad. Bob is trying to get revenge so he goes after Jem and scout with a knife he ends up getting killed and boo is the one that saved Jem and scout. This shows that boo cares and illustrates the main motif, the need for compassion. This book is a great book for all ages and really illustrates the to main motifs, the need for compassion and courage and conscience. The main symbol in this book is the mocking bird. Examples of this symbol is boo and tom. They both did nothing to hurt anybody but people are trying to hurt them. This is wrong and and immoral. This was a great book I enjoyed it a lot.
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Summary: To Kill a Mockingbird
Review: To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is an excellent novel that is told from the view of a young girl. Her name is Jean Louise Finch, but they call her Scout; and she is just beginning first grade as the story begins. Her mother died before she ever really knew her, so this left her father Atticus Finch and their cook Calpurnia watching out for Scout and her older brother Jem Finch. They live in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama. The story begins in the summer of 1933 and ends on Halloween night of 1935. At this time the majority of the town is racially prejudice. Scout and Jem are learning from their father how to treat others, and they are gradually maturing from the beginning to the end. In part one of the book, Scout, Jem, and their friend Dill are trying to get their neighbor, Boo Radley, to come out and play. Boo is a grown man that is kept inside their house and isn't ever let out. When Boo was a teenager he got in trouble, and his father locked him inside the house. After Boo's father died, Boo's older brother Nathan Radley comes and takes their father's place. Nobody ever sees Boo, but the kid's gossip describes him as mean and ugly. The kid's attempts are not successful for getting Boo to come out. In part two of the book, Tom Robinson, a local black man, is accused of raping Mayella Ewell. Mayella is the nineteen-year-old daughter of Bob Ewell. Bob is a poor farmer who makes no attempt to live with dignity. He spends his state relief checks on liquor and often abuses his children. When school starts his children go for the first day and don't ever go back for the rest of the year. They live right next to the town dumpsters and they have a garbage filled yard. Judge Taylor assigns Atticus Finch to be Tom's lawyer, because he knows that Atticus is the only lawyer that has compassion for black people. Atticus fulfills his job to the highest of his ability even though the consequence from it is almost unbearable for him and his kids. This was a wonderful novel that I would recommend to anybody. The first thing you will learn from it is the need for compassion and understanding. The second thing it will teach you is the need for conscience and courage. This novel shows how people really treat others, and it teaches people how they should treat others.
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Summary: Fascinating Odyssey
Review: The Dictionary is perhaps, the most immaculate of all savants. Cold, unfeeling, and equally eloquent, it enlightens the minds of millions all over the world every second with deadly precision and conviction. But it was only when I read Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" that I understood, truly and fully the meanings of several simple words, some of which had not been deciphered by even the towering heights of Oxford or Webster. I understood the significance of the words: 'man' and 'father' like I had never fathomed before. To tell the honest truth, I felt, that all the multitudinous parent-children problems which exhibit themselves daily onto the world's doorsteps every day could be elucidated instantly if all of us chose the library, instead of the psychiatrist's as our destination and "To Kill a Mockingbird" as our Bible. "To Kill a Mockingbird", written in a simple yet sublimely beautiful language is flawlessly portrayed. Spaced out within the expanse of 250 odd pages, it describes the remarkable life of a bantam family of three in a small Southern town during the 1930s, with the protagonist being Jean-Louis "Scout" Finch, the six-year-old daughter of Atticus Finch, a middle aged, small town lawyer. The seemingly quotidian lives of Atticus, his daughter Scout and his son Jem go on in a delightfully lucent manner at the opening facets of the book. The amusing childhood of Jem and Scout in the small, somnolent town truly accounts for charming reading. Scout Finch is impish in her narration and her character is no contrast from that, as is clearly reflected from her total dislike towards anything feminine, her desire to be "a man like Jem" and her attraction for fighting Carthaginian battles whenever possible. Together, brother and sister enjoy many interesting adventures that the drab town has to offer, and of course, learn the lessons of life from their "Atticus". This mundane life of the Finches gets suddenly shattered when Atticus Finch decides to defend a black man wrongly accused of assaulting a local white woman, and the small town suddenly becomes a turbulent intricacy with waves of racist emotions, tensions and anti black attitudes. Everyone in the town is convinced that Atticus Finch is nothing but a "nigger-lover" and looks down upon him and his family. But Atticus remains steadfast; he believes firmly in the edict that every man was avowed equal in the patrician institution of the courtroom. It is only the mild, diffident tall lawyer who has the courage to stand out from the crowd and to follow faithfully the principle "to have faith in his own ideas; if everybody tells him otherwise then they are wrong" as Abraham Lincoln put in. However, is the blue blood and heroism of the placid lawyer enough to vanquish the iniquitous forces of racist thought? The answer lies in "To Kill a Mockingbird". And there always prevails the ever-arcane mystery of Arthur "Boo" Radley, a character little known before the concluding stages of the book. Who is Boo Radley? Some hideous vicious psychopath in human shape, as all the town hissed in undertones? Or a hapless victim of the mercilessness of the inexorable Society? Scout and Jem try in vain to explicate this insoluble mystery, much against the wishes of their Atticus. It is only in the final drama of the book that Scout realizes the reason for her father's disfavor. She discovers a new kind of racism: a bigotry, which exceeds far beyond the pitiless frontiers of colour but as torturous as ever: a racism practiced by the Community which ever relentlessly kills its helpless mockingbirds. Atticus Finch remains a resplendently inspirational character, throughout the book. He is the perfect father: a taintless blend of wisdom, devotion, affection and chumminess. It is he who remains the vital adhesive that holds the trio together during the exceedingly complex phase of their life, as the waves of censure and racist attitudes are in no manner lost upon his two children, who are, at first unsure as to who was right. He is impeccable at the courtroom, too: his superb manner and devotion: all add to the magic of his personality. In a sense, he closely resembles Dr. Stockman of Ibsen's "An Enemy of the People". This book is a treat from the start to the climax. Brilliantly inspirational, any of us who have faced circumstances, which have rendered us fighting alone against the raging Society, will instantly recognize comrades in Atticus, Jem and Scout Finch. A song of Rabindranath Tagore can aptly sum up the book's message: " If no one answers thy clarion call then walk alone in the darkness."
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