Rating: Summary: A contemporary classic for all time Review: What do you do when you sit down to write a book and get it absolutely perfect the first time? Unfortunately, you never write another one... I guess anything that came after "To Kill A Mockingbird" would have been anticlimax. As it is, Harper Lee will be forever remembered for writing one of the greatest books of the 20th century. "To Kill A Mockingbird" is a deceptively simple story of a lawyer in a small southern town in the early 1930's, acting with principle and conscience in defending a black man from a bogus charge of raping a white girl. Atticus Finch is a single father, a country lawyer, a figure of towering integrity, struggling to raise his two young children alone and instill in them a basic sense of fairness and decency while their town is almost swallowed up by the ugliness of racism and bigotry that the trial sets loose. Harper Lee tells her story through the eyes of six year old Scout Finch, one of the most irresistable characters of modern fiction, who is forced, along with her ten year old brother, to learn more than they want to know about some of their near friends and neighbors, while discovering the intrinsic decency deep down in most people, when you finally get to know them. In plain language and with a wry sense of understatement, Harper Lee catches us up in her book until it becomes a part of us we can't bear to put down. I have read TKAM more times than I can count, and it has lost none of its magic since the first time I opened it. Thank you Harper Lee, for leaving this magnificent gift to the world.
Rating: Summary: NO Cliffnotes, READ THIS Review: Some of the books they make you read in high school are really boring. I am a high school teacher, trust me on this one. A Separate Peace, All Quiet on Western Front...boring. However, two books did standout in my opinion. Catcher in the Rye and To Kill a Mockingbird.To Kill a Mockingbirg is such a good book. The characters, the trial, but more importantly about race. I loved this book as a kid and I love it as an adult. Please, if you are assigned to read this book do so, I know the temptation for cliffnotes is there, and use them for a Separate Peace. But if you are assigned To Kill A Mockingbirg, read it. It is a wonderful book. YOu will remember this book forever.
Rating: Summary: Excellent, excellent climax and ending Review: Last night I could not put the book down for anything--the end was sooooo good! The reason that I rated a book that blew me away a four was that the beggining was kind of slow. It wasn't boring, but it did take Harper Lee a while to get to the point of the story. It is a phenomenal book that anyone, and everyone, should read, don't let the slow beggining turn you away. It all comes together in the end. I thought that the way the relationships between the characters was explored was excellent. I really felt like I knew them, especially Atticus, and Scout, the protaganist. This shows racism and prejudice in its simplest, most hateful and truest form, and the way it turns nieghbors and friends so strongly against each other.
Rating: Summary: Education and Life Review: "To Kill a Mockingbird," by Harper Lee, is a story of two kids growing up in a southern town. They have to face racism and prejudice when their father is appointed to defend a black man who is accused a raping a white girl. Every one in the town shows up for the trial in order to see the outcome. The two kids cannot fathom just how cruel and unfair people can be. The setting is very important element to support theme in the book. It is set in a small southern town that has hidden racism problems. The children become educated about the ways of the south and how to deal with racism and intolerence that affects themselves and their father. By setting the book in the south, the prejudice problems are more apparent. Education is a major theme that is brought out when people do things out of ignorance. Some of the white townspeople are largely ignorant and do not care about innocence or guilt, only skin color.
Rating: Summary: One of the best works of fiction of all time. Review: Certainly not much can be added to the accolades already given to "To Kill a Mockingbird," the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel which has become a classic of modern American literature. This is the powerfully told story of a family's struggle for justice in a small Alabama town in the 1930s, written from the perspective of the young daughter of a lawyer defending a black man charged with the rape of a white girl. With wit and honesty, the book examines the racial and class attitudes prevalent in the Deep South in the years leading up to the Civil Rights era. I recently finished reading "To Kill a Mockingbird" for only the second time (the first was in 1963, when I was 12 years old.) I found it to be just as wonderful a reading experience 37 years later! The characters and the setting come to life like no other novel I've ever read. The book made me laugh some, cry some, and get angry some. But, the most important thing it did for me was to make me evaluate once again my own attitudes and actions toward other people. And for that...thank you, Harper Lee.
Rating: Summary: Kept me on my toes Review: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is one of the best books I've ever read. Being in only eighth grade, I clearly remember the way I felt, and what I did during the summers when I,too, was as young as Scout. This book clearly portrays what a child would really do and think. It is believable in all ways (even though we would all like to believe that the racism was too extreame- it wasn't) and I really love that this story could have been the real life of a little girl. On top of the fact that it is realistic, it is also very well written and very gripping! I read this book for school and wasn't expecting to like it at all, but I loved it, partly because it is so incredibly well written, and partly because of the amazing emotions and thoughts that it stirs up in your mind. These issues being adressed by a child can be looked at and interpreted on a far deeper level. It can be read by anyone who enjoys any kind of book. It touches into many different genres and is loved by all kinds of people. It's a great book!
Rating: Summary: An all-time classic, a must-read for all! Review: To Kill A Mockingbird is definately a book you want to read. Although it was written long ago, the themes of the novel still have strong applications to the modern society. The issues are the same: race relations, family/single parent, education, customs/heritage, culture, legal system. Harper Lee's masterpiece gracefully tells the story of a young girl narrating her experiences growing up in the South. Reading the narrative allows for us to remember the kid in our own hearts, and the playfulness and innocence of such a childhood. Reading the book also puts a number of pressing social issues right into our faces, and subconsciously we find that we are influenced by the work of Harper Lee, in this respect. I have bought this book for many people, and strongly encouraged them to read it. Truly, in my mind, it is an all-time classic that nobody should miss out on.
Rating: Summary: Great! Review: I first got this book for my Literature and i got feedback from my Aunts and my mum. And they all said stuff like it was a really boring book. So i read it for myself and guess what! I actually found it GREAT! I recommend this book for all those who love Literature and reading. It contains good Vocabulary and this would be a great help to those who lack it. Being told from the child's point of view, it was exciting and of course, humourous! Read it! it's the perfect read!
Rating: Summary: Excellent Book Review: To Killl A Mockingbird is a slow start book. Harper Lee put herself in the book as Scout. She has a brother, Jem, her father is Atticus, and a family cook, Calpericus. The time period is of when people were very racist. Their father is a lawyer and ends up defending an "innocent" black man. The family is singled ou, plus they have a black cook. Time passes, and Atticus gets older, so Jem does more things with Scout. Yes, I would have someone read this book. It goes through a very interesting court trial. The trial displays the feelings white people had for black people. Once you get past the begining, the book keeps your attention, and makes you want to keep reading. There are many exciting "run-ins" with characters that are a joy to read.
Rating: Summary: Such a great book! Review: Harper Lee gets to you, from the start. she covers important issues like racism and growth. She creates such a vivid picture in your head, and covers the alabama accent clearly. I had to read this in 9th grade, and I plan on buying this book soon. There is a lot of symbolism in the book and hidden messages. Everyone should read it at least once!
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