To Kill a Mockingbird

Apr 22, 2013 Steve aka Sckenda rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Steve aka Sckenda by: Mrs. Combs

Shelves: favorites-contemporary, 20th-century, southern, legal-thriller, african-american, social-justice, coming-of-age, read-aloud-to-my-kids, pulitzer-prize, favorites, multi-read, father-and-sons, fathers-and-daughters, first-person, human-rights, time-100

I met Atticus Finch the year my father died. My father was kind, soft-spoken, and courteous. Like Atticus, “he did not do the things our schoolmates’ fathers did: he never went hunting, he did not play poker or fish, or drink or smoke. He sat in the living room and read.”

While he was alive, I wished my father more heroic, but I was a boy with a shallow understanding of courage. Worst of all, my father told self-effacing stories like the one about a drunken Marine who sneered at him. “I bet I co...more I met Atticus Finch the year my father died. My father was kind, soft-spoken, and courteous. Like Atticus, “he did not do the things our schoolmates’ fathers did: he never went hunting, he did not play poker or fish, or drink or smoke. He sat in the living room and read.”

While he was alive, I wished my father more heroic, but I was a boy with a shallow understanding of courage. Worst of all, my father told self-effacing stories like the one about a drunken Marine who sneered at him. “I bet I could kick your ASS!” My father’s reply: “I bet, too, you could!” My dad defused him, bought him coffee, thanked him for his service, and the Marine left peacefully. I was not impressed. But then, I read about Bob Ewell spitting in Atticus’ face, and Atticus calmly wiping the spittle and walking away. Like Saul of Tarsus, the scales fell from my eyes. I was blind, but then I saw.

One of the themes that resonated with me was the way Jem's appreciation of his father grows. Jem proclaims, “Atticus is a gentlemen, just like me!” As Atticus advised, I “climbed into another’s skin and walked around in it.” I stepped into the shoes of another boy my age, blessed with a rare and magnificent father.

I have read this book six times, and it rests on my altar bookshelf. As I have become a lawyer and a father myself, I have stepped into the skin of Atticus, and I have taken measure of where I fall short and where I am satisfactory.

I sometimes wonder how I became a small-town lawyer who often asks, "what would Atticus do?" Then I remember. I am the adopted child of Atticus Finch.

I’m sorry if you came here seeking a review of a beloved book and you got me instead. Some books are so well known that there is nothing new to write. Yet some books wound us so deeply that they become a part of the landscape of our scars. Some books absorb our pain; some books inflict pain; some books transform our pain. This book served as a conduit for the pain of a fatherless boy. Harper Lee helped him come to grips with the magnitude of what he had lost. She taught him a new metaphor--that his father was a mockingbird, slain by God. Steve, Steve, "stand up....your father’s passin.’”

Written January 31, 2013(less)

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Oct 10, 2012 Lou rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: january-list-next

A wonderful piece of literature, great characters, plot and prose. There is sadness and happiness, racism and equality, immaturity and maturity, injustice and redemption.
Atticus is a man we could all love and look up to a grounded just and fair man he sees beyond race and finds the goodness in people. His cook Calpurnia Is honest good black lady who you just gotta love in this story, she works for a nice family who are about to go through some obstacles and testing times.
A lot of the story is t...more
A wonderful piece of literature, great characters, plot and prose. There is sadness and happiness, racism and equality, immaturity and maturity, injustice and redemption.
Atticus is a man we could all love and look up to a grounded just and fair man he sees beyond race and finds the goodness in people. His cook Calpurnia Is honest good black lady who you just gotta love in this story, she works for a nice family who are about to go through some obstacles and testing times.
A lot of the story is told through a young girl and is enjoyable to see things from a young perspective for example this excerpt...
"There was a man Dill had heard of who had a boat that he rowed across to a foggy island where all these babies were; you could order one— “That’s a lie. Aunty said God drops ‘em down the chimney. At least that’s what I think she said.” For once, Aunty’s diction had not been too clear.

"You know the truth, and the truth is this: some Negroes lie, some Negroes are immoral, some Negro men are not to be trusted around women—black or white. But this is a truth that applies to the human race and to no particular race of men."

“Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”

Some trivia about the book and movie...
Finch was writer Harper Lee's mother's maiden name.
Despite the novel winning the Pulitzer Prize, the studios were not interested in buying up the film rights as they deemed it lacking in action, there was no love story and the villain doesn't get a big comeuppance. Producer Alan J. Pakula disagreed however and persuaded director Robert Mulligan that it would make a good film. Together they were able to convince Gregory Peck who readily agreed.

Truman Capote, who grew up with Harper Lee, also knew the inspiration for "Boo" Radley, and had planned to base a character on him in one of his short stories. After seeing how well the character was realized in Lee's novel, however, he decided against it.

Some images..

Harper Lee on the right.

http://more2read.com/?review=to-kill-a-mockingbird-by-harper-lee(less)

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Jan 25, 2008 Denise rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Everyone

Recommended to Denise by: Bookgroup

Shelves: books-i-love-so-much-i-bought, classics, made-into-movie, bookgroup

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I looked up Harper Lee online this is her only published book. However, she did write a few articles that one can find and read online:
Love in other Words - Vogue
Christmas to me - McCalls
When Children Discover America
Romance and High Adventure

Her full name is Nellie Harper Lee - I bet she dropped the Nellie part so publishers would mistakenly think she was a man and read her material. She is also still alive and living in Monroeville, Alabama. And once you read about her and her family, you will...more

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Oct 24, 2009 Kim rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: cultured, frosh, mmix

Why is it when I pick up To Kill A Mockingbird , I am instantly visited by a sensory memory: I’m walking home, leaves litter the ground, crunching under my feet. I smell the smoke of fireplaces and think about hot cider and the wind catches and my breath is taken from me and I bundle my coat tighter against me and lift my head to the sky, no clouds, just a stunning blue that hurts my eyes, another deep breath and I have this feeling that all is okay.

Why? Why this memory? I mean, this takes pla...more Why is it when I pick up To Kill A Mockingbird , I am instantly visited by a sensory memory: I’m walking home, leaves litter the ground, crunching under my feet. I smell the smoke of fireplaces and think about hot cider and the wind catches and my breath is taken from me and I bundle my coat tighter against me and lift my head to the sky, no clouds, just a stunning blue that hurts my eyes, another deep breath and I have this feeling that all is okay.

Why? Why this memory? I mean, this takes place in Alabama and mostly in the summer, well there is that one climatic scene on Halloween, but I bet it’s still hot enough to melt the balls off a brass monkey.

It must be the school thing, my daughter just finished reading it, prompting me to give it another go, to fall back into Scout’s world and pretend to be eight and let life simply be.

How is that? How can life for Scout be simple? I mean, she lives in the south, during the depression, she has to deal with ignorant schoolteachers and town folk, her ideas of what is right, what is what it should be are laughed at by her schoolmates… man, and I thought my childhood was rough.

Still, she lives in this idyllic town, I mean, except for the racism and the creepy neighbors and the whole fact that it’s, you know, the south…(forgive me… I’m not immune to the downfalls of the north, I mean, we had witches and well, Ted Bundy was born here…) But, there’s this sense of childlike innocence to this book that makes me believe in humanity… even in the throes of evil. What am I saying here? I guess, that this is a good pick me up.

What I also get from this book is that I have severe Daddy issues. I consume Atticus Finch in unnatural ways. He is the ultimate father; he has the perfect response for every situation. He is the transcendent character. My heart melts at each sentence devoted to him and I just about crumble during the courtroom scene.

Am I gushing? I sure am. I was raised by a man who thought that Budweiser can artwork was the epitome of culture. That drinking a 6-pack was the breakfast of champions. That college was for sissies. He could throw out a racial slur without a single thought, care or worry to who was around. I won't even get into the debates/rantings of a 16 yr old me vs a 42 yr old him... What a role model.

So, I thank Harper Lee for giving me Atticus. I can cuddle up with my cider and pretend that I’m basking in his light. I can write this blurb that makes sense to maybe a handful but that is okay, I am approved of and all is good.
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Jun 01, 2012 Mike (the Paladin) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, classics, rereading

This rates possibly as my favorite novel. It has no down side. Wonderfully written, amazing characters (based on reality), and marvelously readable.

A side issue, I can at times hate preachy, self righteous, or PC books. This book carries it’s moral compass proudly and does it well. Atticus Finch, is in many ways the man I wish I was.

I love this book and could not tell you how many times I’ve read it. Don't miss this book...for whatever reason. This is THE AMERICAN NOVEL.

Update: 5/30/2012

Read an...more

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Jun 23, 2009 Meghan rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

If I could give this no stars, I would. This is possibly one of my least favorite books in the world, one that I would happily take off of shelves and stow in dark corners where no one would ever have to read it again.

I think that To Kill A Mockingbird has such a prominent place in (American) culture because it is a naive, idealistic piece of writing in which naivete and idealism are ultimately rewarded. It's a saccharine, rose-tinted eulogy for the nineteen thirties from an orator who comes not...more If I could give this no stars, I would. This is possibly one of my least favorite books in the world, one that I would happily take off of shelves and stow in dark corners where no one would ever have to read it again.

I think that To Kill A Mockingbird has such a prominent place in (American) culture because it is a naive, idealistic piece of writing in which naivete and idealism are ultimately rewarded. It's a saccharine, rose-tinted eulogy for the nineteen thirties from an orator who comes not to bury, but to praise. Written in the late fifties, TKAM is free of the social changes and conventions that people at the time were (and are, to some extent) still grating at. The primary dividing line in TKAM is not one of race, but is rather one of good people versus bad people -- something that, of course, Atticus and the children can discern effortlessly.

The characters are one dimensional. Calpurnia is the Negro who knows her place and loves the children; Atticus is a good father, wise and patient; Tom Robinson is the innocent wronged; Boo is the kind eccentric; Jem is the little boy who grows up; Scout is the precocious, knowledgable child. They have no identity outside of these roles. The children have no guile, no shrewdness--there is none of the delightfully subversive slyness that real children have, the sneakiness that will ultimately allow them to grow up. Jem and Scout will be children forever, existing in a world of black and white in which lacking knowledge allows people to see the truth in all of its simple, nuanceless glory.

I think that's why people find it soothing: TKAM privileges, celebrates, even, the child's point of view. Other YA classics--Huckleberry Finn; Catcher in the Rye; A Wrinkle in Time; The Day No Pigs Would Die; Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret; Bridge to Terabithia--feature protagonists who are, if not actively fighting to become adults, at least fighting to find themselves as people. There is an active struggle throughout each of those books to make sense of the world, to define the world as something larger than oneself, as something that the protagonist can somehow be a part of. To Kill A Mockingbird has no struggle to become part of the world--in it, the children *are* the world, and everything else is just only relevant in as much as it affects them. There's no struggle to make sense of things, because to them, it already makes sense; there's no struggle to be a part of something, because they're already a part of everything. There's no sense of maturation--their world changes, but it leaves them, in many ways, unchanged, and because of that, it fails as a story for me. The whole point of a coming of age story--which is what TKAM is generally billed as--is that the characters come of age, or at least mature in some fashion, and it just doesn't happen.

All thematic issues aside, I think that the writing is very, er, uneven, shall we say? Overwhelmingly episodic, not terribly consistent, and largely as dimensionless as the characters.
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May 24, 2011 Stephen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: easton-press, 6-star-books, all-time-favorites, classics-americas, 1954-1969, literature, life-changers, classics, good-guys

6.0 stars. I know I am risking a serious “FILM AT 11” moment and a club upside the head from Captain Obvious for voicing this, but nabbit dog I still think it needs to be said…TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD is one of the BEST and MOST IMPORTANT American novels ever written. Okay, I said it, and I will wait patiently while you get your DUHs and DERs out of the way and hang your “no shit” signs outside for Inspector Holmes.

Okay, now given the gruntload of reviews/ratings this book has I know I’m not the f...more

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Nov 07, 2008 Houston rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

“Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing.”(p. 20)

I love this book and this idea of reading being like breathing. As Scout did, I read early too, and often. Every night before bed I would read and still do. I saw a Twilight Zone Episode once where the main character loved to read and only wanted to be left alone to do so. After falling asleep in the vault of the bank where he worked, he awoke to a post-disaster world where only he was left. He busily gat...more “Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing.”(p. 20)

I love this book and this idea of reading being like breathing. As Scout did, I read early too, and often. Every night before bed I would read and still do. I saw a Twilight Zone Episode once where the main character loved to read and only wanted to be left alone to do so. After falling asleep in the vault of the bank where he worked, he awoke to a post-disaster world where only he was left. He busily gathered together all the books he wanted to read, all organized and stacked up. Just as he chose one to start with, his glasses fell and he stepped on them trying to find them. It was terrible and I remember feeling horrified that this man would never get to read again! Such a thought had never occurred to me. This semester I had to get glasses myself after suffering migraines from reading. I was so nervous at the eye doctor because the thought of not being able to read was too much for me. Of course, I only needed readers, but when I ran across this quote, I thought about how much like breathing reading is for me.

“Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win.” (p. 87)

Never say die! Fight the good fight no matter what! I love the anti-defeatist message in this quote. Even though Atticus knows the deck is stacked against him, he tries anyway. He understands that sometimes you have to fight the un-winnable fight just for the chance that you might win. It makes me think that what he’s trying to teach his children is never to give up just because things look dim.

“...before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience.” (p. 120)

As Shakespeare said, “To thine own self be true.” That’s really all that matters. At the end of the day, when you lay down, you have to know that you did the right things, acted the right way and stayed true to yourself. Again, Atticus understands that the town is talking; he has to explain to his kids why he continues against the tide of popular thought. He sums it up so well here.

“We never put back into the tree what we took out of it: we had given him nothing, and it made me sad.”(p. 320)

I love the sad way this quote sounds. It is clearly the thoughts of a child, for hadn’t Scout just given Boo his dignity as they were walking home? Hadn’t she and Jem given him children to care for and watch over? But she knows too, even from her child’s perspective, that they could never give him anything close to what he had given them—their lives. It just sounds so beautifully sad.
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May 02, 2012 Jason Koivu rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, favorites

If the total output of your entire career should include only one thing, make it something special.

Not only was To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee's only novel, at one point she nearly destroyed it. That would have been a terrible loss, for - coming from an insular, white-New England upbringing - this book was a game changer for me and my young outlook on life and race relations. Having read it as a youth, it's coming-of-age or loss-of-innocence theme spoke to me while the idea of equal rights fo...more

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Jun 13, 2012 Kua rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, fiction, gdl, a-5-2

Mi aspettavo un libro sul razzismo, invece... non è solo quello. E' anche un libro sull'ipocrisia della gente, che da una parte condanna le ingiustizie e dall'altra le appoggia. E' anche un saggio sulla tolleranza verso tutte le persone, di qualsiasi fede o colore di pelle, sull'importanza di fermarsi a pensare agli altri e di provare a mettersi, anche solo per un attimo, nei loro panni. Ma soprattutto è un libro che sottolinea con forza come sia importante lottare per le cose in cui si crede, a...more

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Nov 26, 2008 Hasna Diana rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

Buku ini akan menjadi buku fave-ku sepanjang masa.. TOP BGT! Serasa sudah lama banget ga ketemu buku yang bagus, tapi baca buku ini, mengobati rasa kehilangan itu.. alhamdulillah..

Membaca halaman awal buku cerita setebal 533 halaman ini, benar-benar sebuah upaya yang tidak ringan. Tidak terlalu paham apa yang dimaksud penulisnya, tapi biarlah, tetap saja dibaca halaman demi halamannya, mungkin nanti juga akan mengerti.

Cerita ini dikisahkan dari sudut pandang Scout, seorang gadis tomboy berusia 7...more

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Jul 25, 2007 Mona rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: law, social-justice-human-rights, 20th-century-lit, historical-fiction, literature, united-states

I read this book a long time ago, when I was ten years old. I remembered nothing from it except thinking it was really, really good. And here I am, thirteen years later. I picked it up again because I was curious about what my reaction would be to it now.

The book follows three years in the life of Scout Finch, her brother Jem, their father Atticus, and their fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama, in the era of the Great Depression. The first half of the novel focuses mainly on Scout and Jem's child...more

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Aug 22, 2008 gieb rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

kalau hanya ada satu jenis manusia, mengapa mereka tidak bisa rukun? kalau mereka semua sama, mengapa mereka merepotkan diri untuk saling membenci (hal 431)

kutipan di atas berhasil mengingatkan saya, bahwa beda itu perkara besar pada zaman kita. bahkan, kondisi hari ini, beda tak lagi dilihat dari luar, dari kulit tubuh dan pakaian, tapi dari dalam, dari iman.

ketakutan mbah harper lee ini sekarang lebih merajalela. hari ini, dengan mudah darah muncrat dari seorang manusia hanya karena beda. ke...more

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Dec 02, 2009 Bunga Mawar rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, translated-into-indonesian, buku-perpus-smart

Ardi, salah seorang siswa kelas 5 di sekolah saya, berdiri di ujung barisan siswa kelas 2 yang antri masuk kelas setelah berhasil menjawab sebuah pertanyaan yang saya ajukan. Wajahnya terlihat sedang berpikir keras. Dia menunggu sampai siswa kelas 2 terakhir masuk, dan mengajukan satu pertanyaan pada saya.

"Itu, Atticus Finch... Dia bapaknya Jem dan Scout?" Disebutnya tokoh-tokoh protagonis dari novel yang dua hari sebelumnya saya sarankan kepadanya untuk dibaca.

Saya mengangguk. "Iya."
"Kok... an...more Ardi, salah seorang siswa kelas 5 di sekolah saya, berdiri di ujung barisan siswa kelas 2 yang antri masuk kelas setelah berhasil menjawab sebuah pertanyaan yang saya ajukan. Wajahnya terlihat sedang berpikir keras. Dia menunggu sampai siswa kelas 2 terakhir masuk, dan mengajukan satu pertanyaan pada saya.

"Itu, Atticus Finch... Dia bapaknya Jem dan Scout?" Disebutnya tokoh-tokoh protagonis dari novel yang dua hari sebelumnya saya sarankan kepadanya untuk dibaca.

Saya mengangguk. "Iya."
"Kok... anak-anaknya manggil bapaknya langsung pakai nama, sih?" tanyanya lagi.
"Apakah itu menjadikan anak-anaknya kurang ajar pada orang yang lebih tua?" saya beretorika.
Dan Ardi menggeleng. "Enggak sih. Ceritanya juga bagus kok," katanya seraya pamit menuju kelasnya sendiri pagi itu. Selasa pagi minggu berikutnya Ardi mendapat giliran melakukan book sharing saat apel pagi di depan seluruh siswa dan guru, dan dia memilih buku ini untuk menggambarkan kekuatan cinta dalam keluarga sebagai contoh yang patut ditiru.

Bukan hanya untuk Ardi, buat saya pun cerita buku ini keren. Sambil membacanya, saya sempat pengin punya bapak kayak Atticus :)

Buku ini memperlihatkan pada kita tentang keluarga-keluarga tua kulit putih perintis kota Maycomb di negara bagian Alabama dan tinggal di pinggiran kota. Pertama keluarga Finch jagoan kita, kemudian tetangga misterius mereka keluarga Radley, keluarga Atkinson yang menyisakan Miss Maudie, dan banyak lagi keluarga lain yang tinggal di perkotaan. Nah, cerita utama adalah kehidupan tenteram Jem dan Scout yang berbeda usia empat tahun. Mereka dibesarkan oleh ayah mereka Atticus, pengacara nan demokratis, serta Calpurnia, wanita kulit hitam yang datang setiap hari mengatur rumah tangga kecil itu.

Tanpa ibu, kedua anak ini kemudian besar bersama kota kecil yang mekar seusai perang konfederasi. Kehadiran Dill, sahabat setiap liburan musim panas datang, menempatkan Jem dan Scout sebagai penegak kehidupan mereka sendiri. Bermain peran, menyelidik, dan berprasangka khas anak-anak. Berbagai perangai orang dewasa di sekitar mereka, misalnya menjadi pengisi hidup. Di tengah dugaan-dugaan mereka (yang seringkali kelewat imajinatif) atas nasib Boo Radley yang puluhan tahun tak pernah dilihat semua orang, dan di tengah tudingan warga (kulit putih) atas pembelaan Atticus pada Tom Robinson yang negro, anak-anak ini tidak tergoyahkan pada nilai kebenaran yang mereka pegang.

Segala dugaan dan prasangka memang membawa manusia merasa pantas menghakimi yang lain. Ini bisa juga kita bandingkan dengan Remember the Titans yang dibintangi Denzel Washington, sama-sama menayangkan kota Amerika yang terbelah atas prasangka rasial perbedaan warna kulit. Prasangka bisa membunuh, dan prasangka telah membuat orang-orang yang mengetahui kebenaran tetap tidak mau menyatakan diri membela kenyataan. Tapi prasangka ini tidak ada di keluarga Finch. Kekuatan ikatan keluarga membuat Jem dan Scout selalu berada di depan membela ayah mereka, dan kasih sayang membuat Atticus senantiasa mempercayai tindakan anak-anaknya lebih dari orang lain. Bahkan Atticus menolak permintaan Alexandra kakaknya untuk memecat Calpurnia hanya karena prasangka atas warna kulitnya.

Dengan mengambil sudut pandang Scout yang baru delapan tahun, Harper Lee telah melangkah dengan lambat, tidak bisa disalahkan memang. Tapi beruntunglah Scout dan Jem yang punya ayah Atticus. Jadi pernyataan di atas saya ralat: jadi pengin punya suami kayak Atticus! Tapi yaaa jangan setua Atticus dong ya, hahaha...
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Sep 16, 2011 eleonora - rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, classici

Siete in campagna, distesi sull'erba, e sentite un usignolo cantare. Beatamente lo ascoltate e, altrettanto beatamente, vi addormentate.
Ora immaginate che sia mattina presto e che tale usignolo riprenda a cantare svegliandovi, interrompendo i vostri sogni, rovinandovi la pace trovata: cosa fareste? Non pensereste, forse, per un solo secondo, di metterlo a tacere? In fondo si tratta solamente di un uccello.

Dimenticate tutto quello che ho scritto finora, perché non ha niente a che fare con la tram...more

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Aug 24, 2008 nanto rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: novel, nant-s-book, history-and-sociology

Alurnya masih terasa lambat. Sepertinya memang begitu seharusnya untuk menggambarkan ketegasan Aticus yang berpesan kepada anaknya tentang usaha melawan rasialisme dengan pemikirannya. Ia tetap menghormati pendapat mayoritas yang berbeda dengan dirinya, yang utama buat Aticus adalah, "sebelum aku mampu hidup bersama orang lain, aku harus hidup dengan diriku sendiri. Satu hal yang tidak bisa tunduk pada mayoritas adalah nurani seseorang(hal. 206)."

Perlawanan atas rasialisme yang telah menahun dan...more

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Dec 07, 2007 Jennifer rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: american-literature, books-i-ve-named-pets-after, classics, own, fiction

Notes from an academic discussion about the book:

Each time I read this book, a different “universal truth” jumps out at me. When I was younger, I pondered the themes of prejudice, kindness, and dignity that run through the book, but now that I’m considerably older, what stuck out to me this time were the themes of innocence, and loss of innocence running through the whole book.

This reading I was particularly caught by the child-like perspective that the book gives each of the events. From the ki...more Notes from an academic discussion about the book:

Each time I read this book, a different “universal truth” jumps out at me. When I was younger, I pondered the themes of prejudice, kindness, and dignity that run through the book, but now that I’m considerably older, what stuck out to me this time were the themes of innocence, and loss of innocence running through the whole book.

This reading I was particularly caught by the child-like perspective that the book gives each of the events. From the kids all thinking anything that touches the Radley property is poisoned, to Scout’s minimal understanding of the words used in the trial, but her complete understanding of the concepts. Likewise, with the exception of the trial, throughout the book innocence trumps experience. A particular example was when Scout first finds the goodies in the Radley tree. She finds the gum, ponders its origins, and decides that she’d like chewing the gum better than being all grown up about it. Jem, who always represents a more mature (but not much more until near the end) perspective, and he makes her spit it out when he finds out where she got it from. In the end though, Scout’s innocence let her get a good chew out of a wad of gum.

I think the fact that the book takes place over three years helps show the contrast between the innocent time at the beginning of the book, when Scout was six, and Dill, Jem and she played as relative equals, to Scout’s first day of school where Jem begins to brush her off as the “little sister.” By the end of the book, when Scout is nine, she may be physically older, but it seems that she is even more sheltered by Jem, who thinks the concept of the trial may be too grown up for her. He moves through the story from her equal to her protector, which only helps to keep Scout innocent through the book.

In the end though, the book really proves that there is something magical and golden about innocence. There is a purity and truth in innocence—whether it’s a dignified response to an unfair world, or simply an acceptance of things even if they are strange and different.

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Apr 18, 2012 Chris rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was mandatory reading in grade eleven—but, as was my experience with the majority of the material assigned in English class back in the eighties, I found it so exceptional that I subsequently read it again for pure personal pleasure. I'd be hard pressed to say whether it was this or A Separate Peace that I most enjoyed from the stack of school-ordained literature. Probably Harper Lee's perfect gift to the reading public, though Knowles' sparse knuckle-duster about the gamut of uglier emoti...more This was mandatory reading in grade eleven—but, as was my experience with the majority of the material assigned in English class back in the eighties, I found it so exceptional that I subsequently read it again for pure personal pleasure. I'd be hard pressed to say whether it was this or A Separate Peace that I most enjoyed from the stack of school-ordained literature. Probably Harper Lee's perfect gift to the reading public, though Knowles' sparse knuckle-duster about the gamut of uglier emotions that lurk within us all, especially when the hormones are running amok like superheated popcorn kernels would, at the very least, be nipping at the Mockingbird's splayed feet. But I mean, my chest couldn't have squeezed any tighter—without ejecting a lung from my mouth like the world's biggest wad of tobacco-gravy Hubba Bubba™ —when that jury returned the disgraceful verdict of guilty on the obviously innocent Tom Robinson. Or that entire sequence at the end when Boo Radley brings his awkward and shy ol' self out of the prison created for him by a ramrod father in order the save the children, and Scout manages to conjure up a passel of naïf wisdom to compliment the following proffered by the sheriff:

I may not be much, Mr. Finch, but I'm still sheriff of Maycomb County and Bob Ewell fell on his knife. Good night, sir.

Attaboy, Heck Tate!

There's so much else at work here, of course—Scout and Jem and their sibling hijinks and Southern-flavored love of life while trying to sort certain confusing and complex scenarios out; Calpurnia and her firm and musical love, her glimpses into the life of blacks in segregation; and Atticus, Big A, an indelible portrait of a thoroughly decent man endeavoring, at all times, to try and do the right thing. Failing, at times and at ends, as we all do, but using that fact neither as an excuse to retreat from such a difficult standard nor as a seedbed for the cultivation of a weary or waspish cynicism. Sure, there is an aspect of his character that offers a thrill of righteousness for all of those whites either complicit in the injustice or tsk-tsking it from a disapproving height; but it required men of such decency, such a willingness, from the position of privilege and power to make those determinations, didn't it? It had to begin somewhere, even if that beginning may have taken on the reality of approaching the critical point of straws being laden atop a sturdy camel's back. But that hewing of cruel injustice makes for such potent and enduring imagery—one that is forever lodged within my memory is that of Tom's boss, Link Deas, hands wringing with the agonies of what he is observing taking place, unable to control himself from standing up and announcing:

I just want the whole lot of you to know one thing right now. That boy's worked for me eight years an' I ain't had a speck o'trouble outa him. Not a speck.

It's a useless, possibly counter-productive thing to offer up at that point in the trial, but the man wouldn't be able to live with himself if he didn't say something. There were a lot of useless and counter-productive deeds cast into the pit over the years, but eventually they filled it sufficient that a person could walk over it at an even level with the rest of the land, or at the very least without worrying about falling into its inky depths. It made for an emotional and thought-provoking experience, ingesting it all in those days when a youth's idealism burns with a heat and purity unattainable to those in adult years—simple but lovely family life; decent human beings trying to prevail and to live with one another and assist each other as best as they can; murderous violence evaporated by the simple gift of a recognized suffering and sharing; forgiveness for those who harm us, intentionally or not; and that differences and eccentricities and norm-breaking can convince us we're spying and hunting monsters, when all that time we are merely seeing reflections of ourselves from a image with a slightly different warp and weft—and that with such recognition, there'd never be a need to kill a mockingbird. Harper Lee laced her beautifully-written and -populated book with a bevy of themes and thoughts that have, presumably and enduringly, affected a wide variety of its readers while moving them with her storytelling. Hell of an accomplishment, Miss.(less)

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Sep 25, 2011 Sue rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: american-southern, classics, fiction, race, favorites, read-in-2011, library-book

As I said before, what a wonderful book. The characters are so well written and the setting actually seems to come to life in my mind. The tug of right and wrong on Scout as she grows through childhood in the deep South includes learning issues of race in day to day living. Having a father like Atticus means that lessons will be learned in a different way, not through books, but through actions. Scout and Jem see what their father and other townspeople do from day to day in reaction to life's ch...more

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Sep 20, 2011 Patrizia O rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporanei, autori-autrici-usa

“Se vuoi capire una persona, devi provare a metterti nei suoi panni e riflettere un poco.”

Questa frase, a mio parere, racchiude l’intero spirito del libro. E che ci vuole, direte voi?! E no, caro lettore: ci vuole!
Per riuscire a mettersi nei panni degli altri (o fuor di metafora, cercare di comprendere la visione del mondo altrui), è necessario spogliarsi momentaneamente dei propri e indossarne altri, anche se questi panni ci sembrano sporchi (fisicamente e/o metaforicamente), estranei e se...more

“Se vuoi capire una persona, devi provare a metterti nei suoi panni e riflettere un poco.”

Questa frase, a mio parere, racchiude l’intero spirito del libro. E che ci vuole, direte voi?! E no, caro lettore: ci vuole!
Per riuscire a mettersi nei panni degli altri (o fuor di metafora, cercare di comprendere la visione del mondo altrui), è necessario spogliarsi momentaneamente dei propri e indossarne altri, anche se questi panni ci sembrano sporchi (fisicamente e/o metaforicamente), estranei e sentirseli addosso ci crea molto disagio. In una parola, significa essere “empatici”, rimanendo consapevoli che non sempre comprendere significa anche condividere le ragioni altrui.
“Il buio oltre la siepe” (ma perché non hanno lasciato il titolo originale?), ci racconta, attraverso gli occhi di Scout (una bambina di 6 anni), dei pregiudizi attorno a cui è organizzata la vita di Maycomb, una cittadina dell’Alabama: i negri sono tutti violenti, i bianchi hanno sempre ragione, le persone si valutano in base alla storia delle loro famiglie, il coraggio è saper usare le armi, chi non si adegua alle convenzioni sociali o è matto o è un sociopatico.
Con l’aiuto del padre Atticus, Scout scopre che chi ha il coraggio e la determinazione di andare oltre le apparenze scopre gli altri come sono e non come sembrano. “Quasi tutti sono simpatici, Scout, quando finalmente si riesce a capirli”, dirà Atticus alla figlia di fronte alla strabiliante scoperta di questa che le persone possono essere diverse da come le avevamo giudicate sulla base della nostra univoca (e a volte ristretta) visione del mondo.
Ho apprezzato molto che tutta la vicenda narrata sia filtrata dagli occhi di una ragazzina, le cui osservazioni diventano più “mature” man mano che si trova immersa, suo malgrado, nel mondo complicato e ipocrita degli adulti. Alla fine del romanzo Scout ha quasi nove anni ed è molto diversa dalla bambina di sei anni che all’inizio del libro si preoccupava solamente di come trascorrere le vacanze estive senza annoiarsi . Tutti i personaggi sono ben tracciati e Lee Harper è molto brava nel delineare la vita di una cittadina di provincia, dove si riflettono tutti i problemi che travagliano il sud degli Stati Uniti, problemi che di lì a qualche anno esploderanno in conflitti e lotte contro la discriminazione e il razzismo.
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Aug 13, 2008 Roos rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: furious

Dah selesai...bentar baru nulis reviewna nih...hehehehe.
Duh mau nulis apa yah...bukunya Bagus banget ternyata...

"Kau tidak akan pernah bisa memahami seseorang hingga kau melihat segala sesuatu dari sudut pandangnya...hingga kau menyusup ke balik kulitnya dan menjalani hidup dengan caranya." Harper Lee.

Quotation ini sebenarnya sudah lama diajarkan sama orangtuaku, jika kita terlalu sempit dalam menanggapi suatu permasalahan. Terutama saat kita mengeluarkan komentar mengenai tindakan atau perilaku...more Dah selesai...bentar baru nulis reviewna nih...hehehehe.
Duh mau nulis apa yah...bukunya Bagus banget ternyata...

"Kau tidak akan pernah bisa memahami seseorang hingga kau melihat segala sesuatu dari sudut pandangnya...hingga kau menyusup ke balik kulitnya dan menjalani hidup dengan caranya." Harper Lee.

Quotation ini sebenarnya sudah lama diajarkan sama orangtuaku, jika kita terlalu sempit dalam menanggapi suatu permasalahan. Terutama saat kita mengeluarkan komentar mengenai tindakan atau perilaku seseorang yang kita anggap tidak atau kurang baik, pasti keluar pertanyaan: Bagaimana kalo kamu diposisi mereka? Apa yang kamu lakukan?...Wakkkssss.

Ini pertanyaan yang tidak mudah dijawab...Persis apa yang dikatakan Atticus kepada Jem dan Scout, ketika mereka selalu menanyakan tindak-tanduk orang-orang yang tinggal di Maycomb County. Dengan latar belakang Kehidupan warganya yang beragam kita jadi bisa memahami apa yang dilihat Scout melalui mata pemahaman seorang anak terhadap orang dewasa disekitarnya. Dan bahwa manusia itu tidak selalu yang kita sangka, kadang mereka bertingkah aneh dan diluar nalar karena mereka memang menginginkan seperti itu. Contoh saja nih Mr.Dolphus Raymond yang selalu membawa botol dibungkus kertas coklat dan cara minum seperti orang setengah mabok...anak-anak pikir dia minum wisky atau minuman beralkohol lain dan pantas untuk dijauhi, tapi ternyata botol itu selalu berisi Coca Cola. Anehnya, dia lebih suka orang berprasangka terhadap dirinya sebagai orang yang mabok. Disini Faktor MANUSIA-lah yang membedakan satu dengan yang lain. Selain mengajarkan mengenai kedewasaan melalui keterbukaan dan kasih sayang, To Kill a Mocking Bird juga mengajarkan bagaimana menjadi Wanita Terhormat...*halah*. Dibagian ini aku agak geli...

Beruntung juga Jem dan Scout mempunyai ayah seperti Atticus meski membesarkan dua anak seorang diri dia cukup mampu menjadi ayah dan ibu sekaligus. Dan Jem maupun Scout pun bukan tipe anak pembangkang, tapi anak-anak pintar yang suka menanyakan apa yang mereka pikirkan.

Buku yang bagus dan Wajib untuk dibaca...
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Oct 15, 2010 Mariel rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: boo didley

Recommended to Mariel by: my mother

Shelves: rubber-ring

It's a bit intimidating to review a much loved classic such as To Kill a Mockingbird. What could I say that hasn't been expressed much more eloquently by thousands of other goodreaders? The thing is, though, this isn't an untouchable classic. I don't mean "Oh, why did people like that, let's knock it off its pedestal" untouchable. I mean you could find it randomly sitting on a park bench, never having heard a breathed word about it, and immediately fall into the story. It's touchable because it...more It's a bit intimidating to review a much loved classic such as To Kill a Mockingbird. What could I say that hasn't been expressed much more eloquently by thousands of other goodreaders? The thing is, though, this isn't an untouchable classic. I don't mean "Oh, why did people like that, let's knock it off its pedestal" untouchable. I mean you could find it randomly sitting on a park bench, never having heard a breathed word about it, and immediately fall into the story. It's touchable because it doesn't matter what anyone else says. To Kill a Mockingbird is the finding your own thing in it, in this book about so many of the tough life things: racism, losing your religion of rights and wrong, government, cruelty, friendship, growing up. I read 'Mockingbird' when I was fourteen. I'd carry it with me in between classes and hold it up while I walked to classes. That hooked. Anyway, I loved that it talked to me like a person. That's so rare. Being told what to read aside, it's not being told to think that is really appreciated when you're young and confused (and old and confused). Touchable indeed.
Years later I read Truman Capote's Other Voices, Other Rooms and it knocked my socks off that Scout and Idabel were based on the same girl that Capote and Harper Lee grew up with. I highly recommend reading both books and seeing this marches to the beat of her own musical troupe girl. Capote's writing isn't straight forward but more like the insidious horrors of growing up and the dark sides that force their way and halt growing up so-called adult views. Not black and white, definitely not. The confusing kaleidoscope scope, maybe. I loved the emotional sense of that and I also love Lee's comforting wish-you-had-an-adult-like-that-to-talk-to during rough times voice. Anyway, I was amazed, after all that time in between reading (like ten years). (Needless to say, that must have been one hell of a girl to inspire both Scout and Idabel.)

P.S. Bo Didley lived in our town and the kids in my high school were always talking about going to look for him. I thought it was sooo funny to call him Boo Didley and make 'Mockingbird' jokes about them. No one ever got it. Maybe because I wasn't funny.

P.S.S. My cousin looked just like Scout in the movie when growing up. We'd call her Scout and piss her off. (She also hated that her mama named her after Scarlett O'Hara. Poor thing was tortured more than the average kid with required reading lists.)(less)

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Aug 05, 2007 Rishi rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: no one

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Mar 30, 2011 Thomas rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: five-stars, read-for-high-school, favorites, pulitzer-prize

*Reaction to when I read this as a freshman in high school*
After my second read-through of the novel (some parts independently and some parts at school) I've really realized just how amazing this book is. I actually got teary-eyed quite a few times. Lee infuses tremendous writing technique with a story so real, raw, and damaging that it just left me irreversibly changed. There is no question why schools teach lessons with this novel; it's just... amazing. My heart is still aching and rooting for...more

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Jan 09, 2013 ايمان rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

رواية أمريكية مناهضةللعنصرية جاءت على لسان طفلة تتبعت حياة منطقة من الولايات الجنوبية وحاولت رصد
الطبيعية الاجتماعية لتلك الفترة و التي طغى عليها اللون فاصبح الشخص يعامل على اساس لونه اولا ثم طبقته الاجتماعية ...الرواية تناولت عد مسائل لكني سأركز على مسالتين اثنتين شغلتا بالي و أنا أقرا ما تقوله سكاوت اولا : تربية الأطفال و كيف انهم من صغرهم يبرمجون على الكراهية و التعصب او لعكس التفهم و محاولة فهم الآخر اتيكوس الاب الشخصية الميثالية جدا و التي نراها في عدة افلام امريكية حاولت تلطيف مأساة السود...more

رواية أمريكية مناهضةللعنصرية جاءت على لسان طفلة تتبعت حياة منطقة من الولايات الجنوبية وحاولت رصد
الطبيعية الاجتماعية لتلك الفترة و التي طغى عليها اللون فاصبح الشخص يعامل على اساس لونه اولا ثم طبقته الاجتماعية ...الرواية تناولت عد مسائل لكني سأركز على مسالتين اثنتين شغلتا بالي و أنا أقرا ما تقوله سكاوت اولا : تربية الأطفال و كيف انهم من صغرهم يبرمجون على الكراهية و التعصب او لعكس التفهم و محاولة فهم الآخر اتيكوس الاب الشخصية الميثالية جدا و التي نراها في عدة افلام امريكية حاولت تلطيف مأساة السود في تلك الفترة حاول ان يربي أطفاله على الوعي بقضية السود حتى يتابعوا ما بدأه هو في الدفاع عن قضية السود و ان كان الأمر يستحق قرون كما كان يقول و لم امنع نفسي من السخرية و أنا اجيبه هامسة لم يتطلب لامر قرون بل فقط عقود و الآن يحكم الولايا المتحدة رجل اسود.
الامر الثاني الذي شد انتباهي هو غرابة النظام القانوني في الولايات المتحدة و الذي يرتبط بشكل اساسي بالعواطف فهيئة المحلفين التي تبتعد عن اي مهنية قانونية هي المسؤولة عن مصير الاشخاص و هو امر يبد غريبا جدا و غير منطقي.
الرواية جميلة في اسلوها المشوق لكني بذلت مجهودا لافهم طريقة السرد فهل سكاوت حكت القصة بعد بلوغها التاسعة ام بعد ذلك بسنوات لأن الحكي فيه من النبوغ و الفهم الوعي ما يدعوا الى هذا التساؤل لكن على العموم هي رواية تحاول السير على خطى هارييت بيتشر و روايتها الخالدة كوخ العم توم و التي قال عنها لينكون ان هذه السيد اشعلت الحرب الاهلية الامريكية.(less)

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Mar 01, 2010 Jimmy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: lagi-dipinjam

To Kill a Mockingbird (The Movie)

Etnis Afrika-Amerika, yang sekarang lebih sering disebut sebagai Afro-Amerika adalah kelompok etnis di Amerika Serikat yang nenek moyangnya berasal dari Afrika di bagian Sub-Sahara dan Barat. Umumnya, rakyat etnis Afro-Amerika berdarah Afrika, Eropa, dan Amerika asli. Dulu, etnis ini sering disebut dengan sebutan “negro” atau “colored” yang juga merujuk kepada warna kulit hitam orang yang bukan penduduk Amerika Serikat. Namun sekarang, sebutan kulit hitam atau “b...more To Kill a Mockingbird (The Movie)

Etnis Afrika-Amerika, yang sekarang lebih sering disebut sebagai Afro-Amerika adalah kelompok etnis di Amerika Serikat yang nenek moyangnya berasal dari Afrika di bagian Sub-Sahara dan Barat. Umumnya, rakyat etnis Afro-Amerika berdarah Afrika, Eropa, dan Amerika asli. Dulu, etnis ini sering disebut dengan sebutan “negro” atau “colored” yang juga merujuk kepada warna kulit hitam orang yang bukan penduduk Amerika Serikat. Namun sekarang, sebutan kulit hitam atau “black people” lebih sering digunakan karena penggunaan kata “negro” dan “colored” dianggap sebagai penghinaan bagi etnis Afro-Amerika ini. Bahkan, kata-kata tersebut juga sering digunakan untuk mendiskriminasikan mereka.

Sejarah masuknya bangsa kulit hitam ke Amerika Serikat, dimulai dengan diperdagangkannya bangsa ini ke Amerika bagian Selatan sejak tahun 1607 sebagai budak. walaupun pada akhirnya pengimporan bangsa kulit hitam ini dilarang pada tahun 1807. Bahkan, setelah Abraham Lincoln, salah satu tokoh yang menentang perbudakan dilantik menjadi Presiden Amerika Serikat pada tahun 1860, perbudakan pun dihapuskan melalui status hukum pada tahun 1863. Berdasarkan sensus di Amerika Serikat, pada tahun 1790, populasi warga Afro-Amerika berjumlah 757.208 atau 19,3% dari total populasi Amerika Serikat pada saat itu. Dan, jumlah itu terus mengalami pertumbuhan dari tahun ke tahun hingga berjumlah 37,1 juta jiwa pada tahun 2003.

Namun, seiring dihapuskannya system perbudakan di Amerika Serikat, perlakuan berbeda dan tindakan diskriminasi rasial masih terasa kental diawal dan pertengahan abad ke-20, dan itu pula yang membuat bangsa kulit hitam mulai bangkit selawan diskriminasi terhadap etnis mereka. Puncak dari perlawanan mereka terjadi pada tahun 1960-an yang ditandai dengan munculnya Gerakan Hak Asasi Manusia yang dipimpin oleh Martin Luther King, Jr dan juga Roy Wilkins yang menuntut perlakuan yang lebih baik terhadap bangsa kulit hitam. Kini, kelompok etnis ini bisa mendapatkan kehidupan dan perlakuan yang lebih baik dan manusiawi baik dibidang ekonomi maupun sosial, meski tidak dapat dipungkiri kalau diskriminasi itu masih kerap terjadi yang terbukti dengan masih adanya kesulitan-kesulitan yang dialami oleh kelompok etnis ini untuk akses kesehatan dan mendapatkan pekerjaan. Salah satu tokoh muslim yang juga ikut memperjuangkan penghapusan diskriminasi terhadap kaum Afro-Amerika adalah Malcom X yang mendirikan Organization of Afro-American Unity pada 28 Juni 1964.

Pada tanggal 11 Juli 1960, Harper Lee menerbitkan sebuah novel berjudul “To Kill a Mockingbird” yang ceritanya didasarkan pada pengamatannya terhadap keluarga, tetangga-tetangga, serta kejadian-kejadian diskriminasi rasial yang terjadi sekitar tahun 1936, dimana saat itu Haper Lee masih berumur 10 tahun. Novel ini sendiri telah diulas di setidaknya 30 koran dan majalah, serta menempati peringkat teratas setelah Injil, sebagai buku yang harus dibaca orang sebelum meninggal (every adult should read before they die). Novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” menjadi satu-satunya karya Harper Lee yang diterbitkan.

Pada tahun 1962, novel ini pun diadaptasi menjadi sebuah film yang berjudul sama, yang disutradarai oleh Robert Mulligan. Film “To Kill a Mockingbird” berkisah tentang seorang duda bernama Atticus Finch (Gregory Peck), yang berprofesi sebagai pengacara di daerah Monroeville, Alabama pada tahun 1932. Dia mempunyai dua anak yakni Jem Finch (Philip Alford) dan Scout Finch (Mary Badham). Pada saat itu, Atticus menjadi pengacara yang membela seorang lelaki kulit hitam bernama Tom Robinson (Brock Peters), yang dituduh melakukan tindak pemerkosaan terhadap seorang perempuan kulit putih bernama Mayella Violet Ewell (Collin Wilcox). Konflik film ini menjadi menarik karena pada saat itu diskriminasi terhadap kulit hitam masih berlangsung, yang membuat sebagian besar kulit putih merasa berhak menghukum kaum yang menurut mereka adalah warga kelas dua. Warga sekitar sendiri sangat menyayangkan kenapa Atticus mau menjadi pembela kulit hitam di pengadilan. Adapun kasus ini sendiri adalah kasus fitnah yang mirip dengan kasus Yusuf yang difitnah dan dituduh hendak memperkosa istri Potifar seperti tertulis dalam Kitab Suci. Sepertinya halnya Yusuf, Tom Robinson akhirnya dinyatakan bersalah oleh para juri yang mendapatkan tekanan dari kelompok masyarakat pembenci kulit hitam, dan kemudian dibunuh dengan alasan melarikan diri dalam perjalanan ke penjara. Karakter Jem dan Scout sendiri sangat memainkan peran penting dalam membuat film ini lebih hidup. Mereka digambarkan sebagai anak-anak yang ceria, punya jiwa petualang, serta punya prinsip dalam hidup terutama dalam membela keadilan. Film hitam-putih yang berdurasi 2 jam dan 11 menit, dirilis pada tanggal 25 Desember 1962 dan didistribusikan oleh Universal Pictures. Film ini berhasil meraih tiga piala Oscar dari sembilan nominasi untuk kategori Aktor Terbaik (Best Actor), Skenario Adaptasi Terbaik (Best Adapted Screenplay), dan Artistik Terbaik untuk film jenis Hitam Putih Terbaik (Best Black and White Art Direction).

Kenapa berjudul “To Kill a Mockingbird”? Kalau diperhatikan disalah satu narasi cerita film ini, sempat dijelaskan tentang karakteristik burung Mockingbird. Burung ini digambarkan sebagai burung yang tidak pernah bersarang di atap rumah, dan tidak pernah mengambil hasil ladang para petani. Intinya burung ini tidak pernah merugikan orang, malahan burung ini mengeluarkan suara yang sangat merdu untuk menghibur orang. “To Kill a Mockingbird” bisa diartikan membunuh makhluk yang tidak berdosa. Sama dengan para korban tindakan diskriminasi rasial, mereka tidak memilih untuk dilahirkan sebagai kulit hitam, dan mereka juga tidak melakukan tindakan yang merugikan orang lain. Melakukan tindakan diskriminasi terhadap mereka (atau pun diskriminasi untuk isu lain) sama saja dengan membunuh mereka, mungkin tidak selalu secara fisik tapi secara psikis. Namun, bukankah membunuh secara psikis biasanya lebih sakit rasanya. Melakukan tindakan diskriminasi berarti “you are killing a mockingbird!”.
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Sep 23, 2007 Núria rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2007, mios, literatura-en-ingles, 4-muy-buenos, siglo-xx

No sé por qué, yo siempre me había imaginado que 'Matar a un ruiseñor' estaría todo más centrado en Atticus Finch y lo noble y buen abogado que es, todo muy judicial, así que me he llevado una grata sorpresa al ver que todo estaba narrado desde el punto de vista de una niña que va creciendo y las historias de niñas, no niños, que crecen son mi debilidad. Así que podemos ver toda la hipocresía y las injusticias de la sociedad a través de sus ojos. La protagonista es Scout y tiene un hermano que s...more No sé por qué, yo siempre me había imaginado que 'Matar a un ruiseñor' estaría todo más centrado en Atticus Finch y lo noble y buen abogado que es, todo muy judicial, así que me he llevado una grata sorpresa al ver que todo estaba narrado desde el punto de vista de una niña que va creciendo y las historias de niñas, no niños, que crecen son mi debilidad. Así que podemos ver toda la hipocresía y las injusticias de la sociedad a través de sus ojos. La protagonista es Scout y tiene un hermano que se llama Jem; los dos se han criado en un ambiente liberal, en que les han enseñado a pensar por si mismos y a intentar ser justos con todo el mundo. Por eso cuando descubren que en realidad la sociedad no siempre se rige por los mismos principios que les han enseñado en casa (básicamente que la justicia no se pone siempre de parte de quien se la merece), la decepción y el golpe que se llevan es considerable, sobre todo para Jem. Quizás no lo sea tanto para Scoutt porque las niñas ya estaban acostumbradas a que no se las tratara con justicia respecto a los chicos.

Atticus es el padre de Scout y Jem. Y realmente está hecho del material que están hechos los literary crushes. Es noble, tranquilo, pacífico y valiente, lucha por lo que cree aunque sepa de antemano que va a perder, no le gusta salir por ahí y se queda en casa leyendo, lleva gafas y va notando que se hace mayor. Scoutt es una niña algo muchachote. Por eso consideran que es una niña rebelde, porque hace las mismas cosas y juega a los mismos juegos que se ven naturales en los chicos. Cuando aún es pequeña aún le permiten comportarse como un muchachote, pero a medida que va creciendo incluso ella se va dando cuenta que tendrá que dejar atrás todo esto para ser una dama y comportarse correctamente. Pero aún siendo una dama puede conservar su personalidad y no convertirse en una chismosa superficial más, como ha conseguido hacer la señorita Maudie, su vecina, que es casi como una figura materna para los dos hermanos. La señorita Maudie es un personaje que me ha fascinado, porque es una mujer que, aunque aparentemente ha aceptado las normas, sigue siendo ella misma, sigue teniendo su carácter y no mordiéndose nunca la lengua.

Me han encantado todos los pasajes referentes a la casa donde vive encerrado Boo Radley, porque en cualquier infancia ha habido una casa que decíamos que estaba encantada y que nos daba miedo, pero a la vez suponía una tentación irresistible para ir a investigar y a explorar. Y también me ha encantado el detalle de que en la escuela regañen a Scoutt porque ya sabe leer, porque se considera que sólo la escuela tiene derecho a dar una educación uniformizada para convertir a los niños en cabezudos que piensen todos igual, mientras que todo el conocimiento que viene de fuera es rechazado, porque es como peligroso.

Y el final me ha parecido magnífico. Es una novela redonda, porque al final se recupera una anécdota que se había mencionado justo en la primera página y de la que yo ya me había olvidado. Me gusta como Scout se hace mayor. Me gusta que el libro nos diga que nos hacemos mayores cuando ya no miramos tanto al futuro con ilusión sino al pasado con nostalgia; cuando nos damos cuenta que ya hemos aprendido lo esencial, que ya no aprenderemos nada más realmente importante, porque las bases de nuestra personalidad ya están cimentadas; cuando entendemos que ya no tenemos que tener miedo de fantasías que nosotros mismos nos hemos inventado; cuando somos capaces de ponernos en el lugar de otra persona, porque al fin y al cabo esto es lo principal que les ha enseñado Atticus a sus hijos: a ser capaces de ponerse en el lugar de los otros y entenderlos. Es por todo esto que es una novela tan valiosa. Y preciosa. Y acabas queriendo tanto a los personajes que cuando se termina te da pena tener que despedirte de ellos.
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Nov 24, 2008 Amanda rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fer-teenagers-kids-and-younguns, books-i-highly-recommend, perhaps-i-shall-read-it-again, 2008

November 21, 2008
It's been a long many years since I last read this novel. So it seemed high time to read it again. And this time my eyes have been opened to the loveliness that is Jem Finch. What a passionate and honorable young man. How did I never notice this before???

November 23, 2008
Full Circle Observation: Jem ends up with a wonky left arm, just like Tom Robinson. How did I never notice that before? I tell you peeps what--you've GOT to read this book paying special attention to Jem Finch's...more

8 likes · like · see review

Apr 21, 2013 Scott Pilgrim rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, favorites, epic, school, thought-provoking

16 likes · like · see review

Apr 11, 2012 Erika rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 50-books-before-die, classics, solo-books-read, watched-movie

I saw a list of some classic books that someone created saying which books everyone must read before dying. And i ~~was~~ am a bit ashamed to realize that i actually haven't read most of them. This is partly because these books are usually required to read when you are in high school in the US, and since i didn't study in the US, well... Anyway i think it's never too late to start reading these books, so I decided to start with the book that is probably the most famous and most read out there, To Ki...more I saw a list of some classic books that someone created saying which books everyone must read before dying. And i ~~was~~ am a bit ashamed to realize that i actually haven't read most of them. This is partly because these books are usually required to read when you are in high school in the US, and since i didn't study in the US, well... Anyway i think it's never too late to start reading these books, so I decided to start with the book that is probably the most famous and most read out there, To Kill a Mockingbird.

This was a really good book that shows us the importance of not prejudicing people just by what you think of them or by looks, without knowing them. This is very important because most of the times you see someone and you may start making things up in your head and start criticizing them, hating them or being afraid of them. You may start thinking how someone is strange but you don't really know what's going on with that person, so everything you think is idle. It's important to stop and realize it's a person as well.

Atticus is the father of 2 kids, Jean Louise aka Scout and Jem. He is a very interesting character and very unique, he is someone who always wants to do what it's right. And he tries to teach his children with his actions to always act this way. In occasions he even told them that he was doing certain things because if he didn't then he couldn't tell them anymore not to misbehave or do wrong things.

This book goes into the subject of racism. It shows us how the people in the book see the colored people like inferior creatures and don't stop to think that they are people too. In some part of the story there's a lady who is saying how what Hitler did was horrible, treating the Jews like that, that it was so wrong, but then again she was at home and was treating all the colored people the same way practically.

I watched the movie the same day i finished the book, and was so good, i really liked it. The scene with Tom Robinson was really heartbreaking, not that it wasn't in the book, but in the movie it all came to life and felt more real.

I totally can see why this book became a classic, why it is now regarded as a masterpiece of American literature. (less)

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