Anne Arundel County Public Library discussion
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To Kill a Mockingbird
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June 2015 Book Discussion: To Kill a Mockingbird
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I'm excited to re-read this book as an adult as opposed to an oppressed, know-it-all high school student!
While I think that Scouts young voice adds an element of innocence to the story, in some ways making her a more reliable narrator, I have a similar issue with her narative that I have with some of John Green's books. Namely, that her vocabulary seems a little too mature for her age level.
My book club also thought it would be fun to re-read this classic, in anticipation of the new release. Since I am a middle school educator, I want to say that I find the voice of Scout realistic -- I don't think we give our children enough credit for meaningful thought and ability to express themselves! Looking forward to hearing more from other readers.
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Tyson I agree with you, as an adult re-reading To Kill a Mockingbird I find that my assumptions and compassion toward each character are more sympathetic. I am so glad that you are looking forward to re-reading, let us know how it goes, and thanks for contributing to the discussion :)
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Hi Elaine, Scout's vocabulary does seem sophisticated for a 8 year old, but then according to her brother Jem, she was "born knowing how to read". Scout is an interesting little girl, thanks for the comment!
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Hi Hanne, I agree that Scout's voice is realistic. To me it seems like Scout is mimicking adult words that she has heard/learned but with the innocent interpretations of a child. It is quite charming. Thank you for your comments.
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If Scout’s mother was still alive, do you think that Scout’s interpretation of the events in To Kill a Mockingbird would have been different?
Yikes, already getting to the middle of June - plans to re-read is on my To Do List -- better get started! Thanks for the comments - I will tuck these in my mind as I read and listen to Scout re-telling the story!
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Hi Diane, it does seem as if the month is racing forward :)
I hope that you enjoy the book this month, thanks for checking in!
Ok. I am starting to read this book tonight. My first time reading it.
I read this book in 7th grade for English class and remember loving it! I just went back and listened to the audio book since I'm hoping my middle school kids will read it over the summer and I can talk to them about the book. I love the fact that the book takes place from a child's point of view. Children have a way of seeing things more straight forward than adults do and it gives adult readers a different perspective of the story. As far as Scout's vocabulary, I thought her words sounded about right considering the fact that her father is a lawyer, talks to the children about current events and Scout would curl up and read the newspaper with Atticus every night.
If Scout's mother were still alive, I think her interpretation would be different. The family would probably not have Calpurnia as such an influence in their life. With Atticus working long hours, the children were essentially raised by her and I think they're views would have been more similar to those of their classmates if this were not the case. Also, with Atticus being the only parent, the children are probably closer to him then they might be if their mother were still in their life and they may not be as in tuned to what his career entailed.
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Hi Teresa,
I hope that you have a great reading experience! We are anxious to hear how it goes :)
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Hi Courtney,
For my second time reading To Kill a Mockingbird, I also listened to the audio version and loved the voice of Sissy Spacek as Scout. I found that there was so much detail I had missed or forgotten about the book over the years; Ms. Spacek did a great job of bringing the book to life.
Thank you for posting :)
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I agree Courtney, I don't think that Calpurnia is given the credit that she deserves since she was the adult raising Scout and Jem while Atticus worked. Because of the loss of their mother, Jem and Scout were open to other influences and they had to confront life circumstances and societal issues at an early age.
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Please comment if you read Go Set a Watchman, and let us know what you think :)
AACPL wrote: "Teresa wrote: "Ok. I am starting to read this book tonight. My first time reading it."Hi Teresa,
I hope that you have a great reading experience! We are anxious to hear how it goes :)"
This is Teresa. Well I liked the story. It maybe just me I only read up to where the children went the church. Just reading the book with N word so much in it. I was like I am done. I know it was written a long time ago...That part was hard for me and I am Caucasian and 50. Someone just bought me the movie and I liked it. SO I was about to read the astronaut’s wives club. However when I went to renew it would not let me because it was on hold for other people. So I am reading something else now. Sorry
I'm very late to this discussion, by am reading (listening to sissy spacek) it now. I somehow skipped reading this in grade school and I'm pretty grateful about that now. I had a tendency to automatically hate anything I had to read at that age. I am about halfway through it after dill runs away from home and is found hiding under scout's bed.
I had a similar thought about scout's vocabulary but dismissed it because if her upbringing and the times. she doesn't always know what the words mean that she's saying but she gives it her best shot.
Since we really haven't heard much about her mother, I'm not sure what influence she would have had. I'm guessing I'll learn more about atticus's background making him the man he is-like what happened to make him no longer want to shoot guns? etc Perhaps his wife spurred that change? I do agree that if his wife were around, he probably wouldn't have the same relationship with his children as he does. and perhaps scout wouldn't be quite as much of a Tom boy as she is.
With the anticipated release (July 14) of Go Set a Watchman, Harper Lee’s newly discovered novel set 20 years beyond To Kill a Mockingbird, I thought that it would be fun to re-explore this classic.
Since To Kill a Mockingbird continues to be a staple of High School curriculum, most of us will be reading this novel for the second time, allowing us the perspective of time and life experience to influence our insights.
When first published, a number of critics found the narrative voice of a nine-year-old girl unconvincing and called the novel overly moralistic. Do you agree?