To Kill a Mockingbird in ENGL 3390: Great Works for Middle Grades Spring 2012

Feb 07, 2012 Courtney Ballantine rated it it was amazing

To Kill a Mockingbird is a Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Harper Lee that follows the life of Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, a young girl, as she grows up in a small town in Alabama. The story is a coming-of-age novel that explores issues surrounding Civil Rights and racism. It follows Scout, Jem, and in many respects Dill as they lose their innocence. They begin as children who are only concerned with child-like activities: getting a long reclusive, Boo Radley, to come out of his house, building a To Kill a Mockingbird is a Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Harper Lee that follows the life of Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, a young girl, as she grows up in a small town in Alabama. The story is a coming-of-age novel that explores issues surrounding Civil Rights and racism. It follows Scout, Jem, and in many respects Dill as they lose their innocence. They begin as children who are only concerned with child-like activities: getting a long reclusive, Boo Radley, to come out of his house, building a snowman, acting out books, creating plays based on neighbors, etc. They are far removed from the racial tension that circulated the time the novel is set in. Scout’s father, Atticus, raises Scout and Jem without pointing out racial differences to an extreme. He is a lawyer who takes on a case defending a black man, Tom Robinson, who is accused of rape. At the onset of this event is when innocence begins to disintegrate for Jem and Scout. They are forced to confront racial injustice as the trial progresses. At the conclusion of the trial and the significant events that followed, Jem and Scout finally must come to terms with the racial inequality that permeates their world.

Although this novel is set in a different time that today, I do feel that the issues are still relevant and important for middle grades students to learn about. However, a careful consideration when choosing to introduce this novel to students is regional location. Being born and raised in the South, I can draw on the lessons I have learned growing up and understand the situations that arise in To Kill a Mockingbird. If I were to teach in a different region, I do not believe that students will be able to find as much to connect to their own lives. While the novel brings issues such as the equality of all human beings into play, the writing is very much set in Southern style and could be difficult for students outside of this area to relate to. That being said, Lee’s writing is engaging and addresses difficult topics such as racism in such a way that middle grades students can understand. Addressing these topics is crucial to developing your students’ appreciation of differences, and doing so with an easy-to-follow and interesting novel is the perfect place to start.
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Feb 08, 2012 Danielle Pitts rated it really liked it

To Kill a Mockingbird is written by Harper Lee, published in 1960. This book takes place in Maycomb County, Alabama during the 1930’s. Scout Finch is the narrator, both as a child and as an adult looking back. The readers learn of the Finch family’s life on their quiet street in Maycomb County. The father, Atticus, is a well-educated lawyer who raises his two children, Scout and Jem, on his own. The family has more money than most other families in the town, although Atticus still deems them as To Kill a Mockingbird is written by Harper Lee, published in 1960. This book takes place in Maycomb County, Alabama during the 1930’s. Scout Finch is the narrator, both as a child and as an adult looking back. The readers learn of the Finch family’s life on their quiet street in Maycomb County. The father, Atticus, is a well-educated lawyer who raises his two children, Scout and Jem, on his own. The family has more money than most other families in the town, although Atticus still deems them as poor. The children have a visitor each summer named Dill. He is a best friend to both children and has a bit of a daredevil streak in him. All three are curious about the mystery of Boo Radley, the man that lives down the street and never leaves his house. Dill dares Jem to knock on the door of the house, hoping that his friend would not be shot in his efforts.

The trial of Tom Robinson is hugely significant in this novel. He is a presumably innocent black man that has been accused of raping of a white woman. Atticus defends Tom but know that his case is a lost one. There is no way that a black man can win a case against a white woman’s accusations. This case is significant because it shows the poor treatment of black people in the South. Racism was an issue that Scout and Jem thought a way of life. Churches were separate, and the blacks had to sit in the balcony at the courthouse. Even their jobs were different as black people still worked in fields and tended to housekeeping.

The treatment of black people in the South was appalling to me while reading To Kill a Mockingbird. Although I had studied about racism and civil rights in school, I never really understood what happened. I enjoyed reading this book because my eyes were opened to such treatment. I liked reading about Scout’s world, learning how life was like in the southern United States. Many words were different for me too and I liked learning the meanings of new words.

I think this book is important for students to read to learn about the way things used to be. Perhaps this book might be too controversial for middle school students. The language, for example, when describing black people is highly offensive today, even if it was not almost one hundred years ago. I can imagine heated discussion about this book in a middle school class. For me, being a college student, this book was an appropriate read.
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Feb 05, 2012 Amanda Corley rated it really liked it

The story of "To Kill a Mockingbird" is set in Maycomb County. The story has many trials and tribulations which Jem and Scout have to deal with. Coming of age and can be a hardship in itself, but when your father is a lawyer and defending an African-American man in Alabama in the 1930’s life can become so much more. In this story of truth, justice and non-equality, Jem and Scout learn to temporarily accept what cannot be changed as they grow and find themselves rooting for the father they love a ...more

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Feb 06, 2012 Camila Gonzalez rated it really liked it

I loved reading To Kill a Mockingbird. Now that I am older I found reading this story a second time to be more inspiring. At a young age I don’t think I fully grasped the true meaning behind the story. The story starts off with the main characters Scout and Jem as young children. As the story progresses we see that the children’s childhood innocence is slowly fading away. The first half of the story focuses on the children’s games and school. Scout describes her problems she’s having with her ne ...more

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Feb 07, 2012 Cassandra Wright added it

To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, is one of those books that captivated me from the very first page. It is a tale set in the rural south, capturing the essence of the 1930's, as it follows the lives of Scout and her brother Jem over the course of several years. The book reads much like a trilogy, having several seemingly distinct sections. The first introduces the main characters and gives the reader insight into their personalities and the issues that they face in everyday life. It ...more

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Feb 04, 2012 Katie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: historical-fiction

To Kill a Mockingbird is a story of a young girl living during the Great Depression in a racist Alabama town. She is accompanied by her brother Jem and friend Dill through many adventures such as spying on a recluse neighbor and by watching a trial of injustice for a handicapped black man. Atticus, the father of Jem and Scout, is the hero of the story. He is a Christian man who believes in teaching his children to accept people who are different and also to have compassion for others. The purpos ...more

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Jan 17, 2012 Tiffany rated it it was amazing

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee has been a classic since the day it was published, and is reserved as one of the most influential books of all time. Even though Harper Lee never wrote another novel, her powerful story and significant words bring light to the society that she was trying to portray, yet reminds us in the current time of the timeless tale that still holds value in present day.
Lee uses the narrator, Jean Louise Finch, or better known as Scout, to show the issues presented in th ...more

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Mar 04, 2009 Jennifer rated it it was amazing

Shelves: personal-reading

This is one of my all-time favorite books! I first read it for my eighth-grade English class, and it was one of the first books I liked for school, the one that hooked me on reading more canoncial literature. I love the adventures of Scout, Jem, and Dill and can relate to their curiosities. I love the issues it raises about society and growing up. It is probably the most re-read book on my library shelf!

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