To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee (Group Classics Read June/July '15)

[Greg]

♥ Lisa ☯ wrote: "Other than Scout, my favorite characters so far are Calpurnia and Miss Maudie Atkinson. They all seem to have strong personalities but also a sense of compassion and insightfulness. ..."

I like this too Lisa, quite true!

[Greg]

Thanks Pink, and at this point, I think I'm with you on GSAW. Maybe I'll change my mind at some point, but I haven't yet.

I enthusiastically support others in reading what they like though. And I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised by some positive reviews of GSAW from friends recently.

[Alice]

Greg & Pink, I'm in your camp!

[Angela M]

Omg - just a few minutes ago I finished my reread of TKAM ! After I get my thoughts together I'll read the posts here and come back to comment .
"Hey Boo"

"Thank you for my children, Arthur ."

I wish I hadn't waited so long to reread this . I'm talking long - over 45 years !

[Greg]

Angela, somehow this was my first read of it - no idea how I missed this one for so long with my taste for classics, but I'm glad it was chosen for AAB's group read. I'm glad I read it!

[Leslie]

Angela & Greg, I am pleased to see that it was a good book for older first-time readers. I have been reluctant to spoil my positive feelings about this book that I first read as a teen by reading it again now -- sometimes books that speak to us as young adults are not as good when read as an older person.

[Angela M]

I finished rereading To Kill a Mockingbird 10 stars - 5 for the first and 5 for the second time around . My review :https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

@Leslie , it was in some ways more meaningful reading it again so many years later .

I hope to read the comments in this thread today . Looks like there has been a good discussion.

[Noorilhuda]

Pink wrote: "Greg wrote: "Noorilhuda and Pink, I have a great deal of respect for Toni Morrison and I understand where she's coming from, but I'm not sure I agree.

Of course, it's a wonderful thing to have bo..."

nice points and well said Greg and Pink

[Karen]

Also regarding the ending...sorry if someone else said this but....

The WHOLE point is that there are two mockingbirds....Tom & Boo. One needed justice to be done and didn't get it and it was a sin....the other needed to avoid justice to avoid the 'sin' of killing the mocking bird.

Scout learnt that there are degrees of rightness and that the 'wrong' thing may indeed be right. She also learnt a pretty clear lesson on how to judge this very fine line.

I think that is what HL was trying to say about justice and its application all through the book in many ways including the religious OT application of the bible and the gracious NT application.

There is so much more in this book about justice that we first 'get' upon reading it I feel. Just think about the profession she chose for Atticus, the whole courtroom scene and how Mayela was judged implicitly, the injustices of the school room, of being a girl not a boy, of being the younger not the elder, etc. etc.

Sorry if I am stating the obvious. i actually hadn't really thought it all through before writing this and maybe it is obvious.

I'm passionate about this book and about justice so I just want everyone to love like I do and 'get' the whole justice thing. Atticus being humble is also key because for justice to be fair and to be done it needs each one of us to develop this merciful, self control in order to give it to others and to pay it forward. These are world changing issues and to that end, although definitely a good book to read as a teen (when justice is such a heartfelt topic!), a good book at any time if we have the ears to hear the message and the heart to appropriate it........

[Greg]

Karen wrote: "Also regarding the ending...sorry if someone else said this but....

The WHOLE point is that there are two mockingbirds....Tom & Boo. One needed justice to be done and didn't get it and it was a si..."

Some good points Karen! I definitely saw the two mockingbird metaphors similar to the way you did. I also like what you say about it being a good book for teens given the focus on justice. I think you're right - justice is such a heartfelt topic at that age.

[Deborah]

I first read it young and have re-read many times. The book has remained as fresh each time, for me. The desire for fairness and justice I would call the driving force of my life, so no surprise I love this book so much! I hold that the only sins that exist in this world are intolerance and self justification - as I see it all bad/wicked behaviour is underpinned by these.

And justice is indeed a 'shades of grey' concept. As Karen said, the 'wrong' thing (in a black and white world) can be the 'right' thing to do - and vice versa. How can justice be served without discrimination?

I had rather Atticus choose justice than choose to be 'seen to be doing' what supported the law.

As I said before, what makes this book so great (as in one of the Greats) is that it contains so much meat that it generates discussion.

BTW I originate from the UK and live in NZ - I was a bit taken aback to see that anyone might think there was any possibility of not fully apprehending this book because of not being from the States?

[Bionic Jean]

Deborah said, "I was a bit taken aback to see that anyone might think there was any possibility of not fully apprehending this book because of not being from the States?!"

Was that me? It might have been as I needed to make myself a glossary of terms. (I too am from the UK.) Of course the main themes are powerful and immediately apparent, but because it was set in a particular small town and at a specific time, many of the details were unfamiliar to me. Small details which it would be perfectly possible to skip over, but I wanted to thrash everything I could from this great novel :)

eg. Here are 5 entries I noted from the middle of my list - I put the whole thing as a comment after my review, but perhaps you can see the sort of thing I mean ...

Calomel - a form of mercury (Hg2Cl2) which was used as a fungicide, an anti-itch lotion (good for poison ivy & poison oak, both of which are common in the South), and as a purgative (similar to ipecacuana) Used in this context as an old medicine to make you vomit
catawaba - "a bucketful of catawaba worms" - fishing bait
chiffarobe - an old dresser with drawers to one side
chinaberry trees - fast-growing ornamental trees, similar to lilac
cootie - lice, flea, any type of very small creepy crawly things. Little girls think little boys have cooties. It can be the same thing as "boy germs."

[Terry ~ Huntress of Erudition]

Off topic, but Jean I like your new profile picture!

[Bionic Jean]

LOL! Thank you Terry :)

[Maggie the Muskoka Library Mouse]

A Classic for a reason, this book is excellent.