To Kill a Mockingbird in Reading the Classics

Oct 19, 2010 Ashley rated it did not like it

I don't really want to write a lot about this book because it was so AWFUL!!!!

The kids were unbelievable and the plot...what plot?
If you really try to piece it together it seems to be about Scout understanding Boo Radley through the comprehension that most people have motivations for their actions that she just might not understand or agree with yet people are ultimately people and deserve to be treated as such. OK. That and her complete naivety, that no child her age really has, especially wit I don't really want to write a lot about this book because it was so AWFUL!!!!

The kids were unbelievable and the plot...what plot?
If you really try to piece it together it seems to be about Scout understanding Boo Radley through the comprehension that most people have motivations for their actions that she just might not understand or agree with yet people are ultimately people and deserve to be treated as such. OK. That and her complete naivety, that no child her age really has, especially with Dill, is slightly bearable. But then there's the side story that occurs in the book about Atticus' court case, and everything related to that infuriated me. Because this book is heralded as possibly the greatest book to be produced by our nation as well as incredibly influential in the viewpoints of race and racism, it has to hold more weight in my mind because it does so in our general psyche.

It's infuriating because this book is so COMFORTABLE for its intended audience. It is well nested in the long standing tradition of using the plight of black folks as a tool, in this case literary, to educate a white state of mind. In this case I don't even think it worked that well. Scout was pretty racist, especially to have a father like Atticus and a friend like Dill. Lee was also pretty inconsistent in Scout's innocent portrayal. I think this was because her initial innocence was so unrealistic that at times she had to give way. During the whole court sequence and after she still didn't seem to understand that black people WERE people. She got her first clue after thinking about Calpurnia outside of her domestic duties but she never seemed to really make the mental leap. For a girl that was supposed to be a little smarter than her peers she sure seemed a bit dull in this case. Even after the trial and after seeing and hearing all of the wise things those around her told her, she still didn't get that black people were people, and honestly I think it was because Lee didn't truly see the need to make the black people real people.
Now I'm not saying she thought black people were less of a being. I mean it in the sense that she was a White woman who wanted to show a world through the young and innocent eyes of a child, specifically a world of hypocrisy. She however did not manage to create a consciousness that was truly naive. It may have been because of some inconsistencies in Scout's character when it came to talking about those unlike herself it may be because Lee had not conquered her own inner conflictions of a southern
female upringing with a true understanding of the law. (Let's not forget Scout's somewhat awkward and undeveloped confrontations with southern femininity.)Scout could not and did not ever put herself into black skin, as her father kept advising.

Whatever it is that didn't work, it worries me that this book still touches people in the same way it may have in the 50s or 60s. It should have a different reaction with us since we are presented as and should be a different country than the one read about. But perhaps people haven't really changed many of the ways that they raise their children.

Some people say that they cried when they read this book. I really don't know why...
This book was just annoying and aggravating. More so because it is basically seen as some sort of new UNCLE TOM'S CABIN. (which frankly had a much better storyline than this book.)

A lot of people like this book, but I am entitled to my opinion. I in no way wrote all of my thoughts about this book here and there were a few moments I thought entertaining. However I cannot read literature masquerading as an eye opener that I can clearly see feeds into the nostalgic view of a life when Black people were grateful for the benevolent deeds done for them, that they deserved in the first place.

I know and appreciate this book because it is a "classic" and a cultural reference. But just as our experiences and studies influence who we are and how we interpret life, I simply did not like this book. ...more

6 likes · Like · see review

Jun 13, 2012 Mturney1010 rated it it was amazing

Shelves: classic-books

“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.”

This central theme in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird is not new or earth shattering, yet in the context of the novel it spoke to me, and realized the value of empathy. I can’t believe it took me nearly thirty years to read this American classic by Harper Lee. The prose was simple, yet beautiful. The book is obviously a product of its time, yet still ...more

Like · see review