To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee | August 3

[Monique]

Happy August!

This is the buddy read thread for Harper Lee's first and only novel, To Kill A Mockingbird. This is in preparation for September's joint discussion with FFP as we read the "new" Harper Lee novel, Go Set A Watchman.

Suggested reading plan is 5 chapters a day. There are 30 chapters in all so we can finish the novel in more or less a week.

Please join us!

[Meliza]

Thanks for setting the thread up, Monique. I'll start reading today right after I finish this YA fantasy novel that I'm currently reading.

[Alexa]

Just finished Ubik (wew) so I hope I can join this! :)

[Ranee]

Thanks Monique! Let's do this!

[Ranee]

Thanks Monique! Let's do this!

[Ingrid]

Yaaaay, buddy reading

[Monique]

Monday, Aug. 3

(view spoiler)[It took me sometime to get used to the fact that Scout calls her own father by his first name. I got confused at first what their relationship truly is. And then I realized that, perhaps, calling one's father by his first name was a thing in the early twentieth century in the US?

Noticed also the use of the word "Negro".

And I'm APPALLED that Miss Caroline would tell Scout to tell her dad to stop teaching her already! Another sign of the times, I guess?

Reading about Scout, Jem, and Dill's summer (mis)adventures reminded me of my childhood, playing around in the neighborhood with the other kids. I'm grateful I lived as a child of the 80's, when "fun" meant running around outside, playing in the yard, playing hopscotch or tumbang-preso with playmates. Kids today, ah. Puro electronics ang hawak. Anyway. Sorry for the trip down memory lane. Ehe. (hide spoiler)]

[Prex]

I remember reading this side by side "Anne of Green Gables," you know, innocent kids and their love for entertainment and learning.

[Monique]

Tuesday, Aug. 4

(view spoiler)[
I'd really, really love to meet Arthur "Boo" Radley. I wonder if he's the one putting stuff in the hole in the tree trunk? That's why Mr. Nathan Radley covered it up in cement?

Scout's angst is beginning to develop and I think it's pretty understandable. She respects and idolizes her father so it's natural to come to his defense whenever the other kids call him "nigger-lover." I'm curious to know more about Atticus, though. I'm hoping I'd be able to read more about him in the next chapters. (hide spoiler)]

[Mabelle]

Join ako... :)

[Angus]

I'm rereading this but I'm at Chapter 23 and I'd rather read at my own pace (because of headmaster duties). Would rather discuss it with you guys before the F2F, if you're early. I have very strong feelings for this book since it's the first novel that I read (not the first book though since I've read lots of fairy tales, comic books, science/trivia books before it).

[Meliza]

Chapters 1-5

(view spoiler)[They say that it's becoming a trend again (in the US) to call their parents by their first names. Maybe it just depends on how they were raised. Maybe Scout and Jem call him Atticus because that's what they hear from other people, especially since they don't have a mother anymore who will tell them how to call them differently. Did they call their mom by her first name too?

Same reaction here regarding Miss Caroline. Kainis. Hehe. Just like Scout, when she saw her bury head in her hands, "Had her conduct been more friendly toward me, I would have felt sorry for her."

I also remember my childhood, specifically summers too! Even though my mother had a lot of rules(don't play too far, should be home by this time, should take a nap first in the afternoon, can't play in the rain, etc.), we still had fun. I also recall some games that we made up, a lot of them silly. Hehe.

Katawa yung Dill asked Scout to marry him, then he promptly forgot about it...said I was the only girl he would ever love, then he neglected me. Also, their story about Uncle Jack yelling for Miss Maudie to come marry him every Christmas.

Can anyone please explain this further? "Jem finally realized that he had been done in by the oldest lawyer's trick on record." It's Atticus' way of asking, right? But what specific trick? Because Jem didn't really say this: "putting his life's history on display for the edification of the neighborhood".
(hide spoiler)]

[Monique]

MELIZA: (view spoiler)[As far as I could tell, the "oldest lawyer's trick on record" is to lead the witness (in this case, Jem) to reveal what he said or did by saying something even worse. In their conversation, Atticus wanted to know what the kids did with Mr. Radley, right? But Jem didn't want to spill the beans. So Atticus said something like, "Stop tormenting him." And Jem said that they weren't laughing at him or making fun of him - the things that they were actually doing. In litigation practice it's what's called "leading questions" or "leading the witness." Perhaps we can talk about it some more at the F2F? It's a little hard to explain. :)) (hide spoiler)]

[Ingrid]

I'm so behind
T___T

[Monique]

Wednesday, Aug. 5

(view spoiler)[
I'm getting apprehensive about the Tom Robinson case that Atticus is handling. That meeting near the jail which the children "crashed" sounded very ominous, and the mention of the Ku Klux Klan is reminiscent of John Grisham's legal thriller, A Time To Kill which also involved a black American defendant who killed a white man. I hope Atticus doesn't get harmed defending this Robinson guy. :/ (hide spoiler)]

[Monique]

Thursday, Aug. 6
Chapters 16-20

(view spoiler)[Possibly my favorite parts of the book. Particularly Atticus's examination of the witnesses. It makes me really proud of the legal profession (especially litigators, though I'm no longer one). But because of this trial, I'm now pretty apprehensive (even scared) about the repercussions on the family. I hope they don't get hurt, whatever the verdict. (hide spoiler)]

[Meliza]

Chapters 6-11

(view spoiler)[I want to meet Arthur "Boo" Radley too. Yes, I think he's the one who put things in the tree hole, and the blanket too, right?

Jem and Scout are good kids, no? It's a bit unfair that other people say that they are wild, as if they're not raised right by Atticus, because they don't have a mother. I admire Atticus, he's a kind and honorable gentleman.

I love it when Jem said, "Atticus is a gentleman, just like me!"

His kids should be proud of him. Good thing, they're starting to be responsible even though they're still innocent kids. I hope they'll have the "real courage" that Atticus was talking about.
(hide spoiler)]

[Ranee]

Monique wrote: "Thursday, Aug. 6
Chapters 16-20

[spoilers removed]"

Monique, I was thinking about you while I was reading this part. Made me wonder how you litigate/cross examine your patients.

[Monique]

Doc Ranee: (view spoiler)[I don't do that anymore, I gave up litigation after 2 years. Haha. Medyo stressful kasi. But the American judicial system and rules are quite different from ours, so medyo hindi kasing bongga nitong sa book ang nangyayari dito sa Pinas. Hahaha. (hide spoiler)]

[Meliza]

Chapter 12-15

(view spoiler)[I'm worried about Atticus too. I wonder what would have happened if Jem, Scout and Dill didn't go to the jail that time. And Jem is starting to be a grown-up. I'm proud of him. I also like reading about Scout's innocence. (hide spoiler)]

[Monique]

Chapters 21-25

(view spoiler)[At the back of my mind I already knew that the jury was going to convict Tom Robinson but it was still very depressing to have it confirmed. I know how must Jem must feel; being so sure of one's victory and then having to be disappointed.

I really liked how Jem wanted to justify how there's only one "kind" of folks - just folks, regardless of color or race. The kids are so innocent and it's so heartbreaking that the world around them is so corrupt and twisted. "The white man always wins." I want to strangle these people with my bare hands, and it sucks to know that racism is still alive even in present-day society. (hide spoiler)]

[Monique]

Chapters 26-31
[Homestretch na so I spent my lunch hour reading this, hehe!]

(view spoiler)[The ending clinched it for me. Yes, Tom Robinson's trial and the defense provided by Atticus were awesome, but this part affected me even more.

Questions for you, buddies:
(1) If it wasn't immediately clear to you, who did you think killed Bob Ewell?
(2) What did you think was Heck Tate's reason for the cover-up? Do you think that justice was served in the end?
(hide spoiler)]

[Ranee]

Waaa! There were parts I was ready to cry. Had to stop myself because it will look awkward. I read in public transports and coffeeshops.

[Meliza]

Monique:

(view spoiler)[1. I think it was Boo Radley who killed Bob Ewell.

2. Heck Tate did it since no one really saw the stabbing maybe except Boo. If there would be a trial, Boo will draw a lot of attention and it would be uncomfortable and difficult for him. I think justice was served even if not under the law. As Tate said, "If it was any other man, it'd be different. But not this man, Mr. Finch." (hide spoiler)]