To Kill A Mockingbird

[Sophie]

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is #5 on the 50 books to read before you die list. It's one of our group reads for Q2 (April, May, June) of 2021. Published in 1960 this book has quickly become a classic.

Are you planning to read this book in the next 3 months? Have you read it before?

[Kunal]

reading it currently

[Adriana]

I read before

[India]

I love that book. One of my favorites.

[Renato]

Sophie wrote: "To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is #5 on the 50 books to read before you die list. It's one of our group reads for Q2 (April, May, June) of 2021. Published in 1960 this book has quickly become ..."

I would love to join in. Have read and taught it before but it has been a while so will give it a shot.

[Indeneri]

I read this one in school. It'll be interesting to see if my opinion has changed since then.

[Emma]

Studied this book for school, and got so sick of it due to the analysing and having to memorise sections, but I want to reread it now and really experience the story.

[Sophie]

I’ve got a copy of this book out the library and will be starting it soon.

[Sophie]

Okay so I've read TKAM and I have been thinking a lot about it. To start with, I completely understand why this book is a classic. Why it is so popular, widely discussed, loved and hated. There's a lot to dig into so prepare for a long comment and please join in the discussion if you disagree (or agree) with anything I've said or want to share your own thoughts!

Starting off, I want to acknowledge that the n-word, which had a different context and power in 1960, is used rather a lot in this book. That word is now painful to many more people and white people should not be throwing it around when they (that is to say I) quote or read out this book. This isn't censorship, it's simply respect.

The more important question (in my opinion) than "should we still be reading this book because of it's language" is actually thinking about how people are represented in the book, which is written by a white woman. Not making declarations of good or evil, right or wrong (about the characters or the book) but just noticing and talking about the tropes, the focus, the bias, the implications. The way I saw it put is that the black characters serve as props for the development of the white characters. We don't hear their voice or perspective. Calpurnia is the contented, maternal figure. We get glimpses of depth, but no more than that. Some of it is because of the narrator we have (which I'll talk more about).

It's interesting the perspective Daniela gives in a comment on leyne's review. "Harper Lee is aware of this [that she doesn't know about the lives of black people]. That's why when the children go with Calpurnia to her church Scout is so amazed that Calpurnia has a life outside their house. They never conceived it. That's Harper Lee understanding her own limitations and stating them point blank."

I love the narrative style of TKAM. Scout, our guide, is 5 when the story starts and 8 when it ends (although the story begins with the mentioning of Jem's broken arm, an event that actually takes place near the end - I love that). We're viewing all these events and people through Scout's eyes. I love the sibling bond between Scout and Jem, whose four years older than her and growing up in front of her eyes. Also Scout's adventurous, feisty personality was great. I didn't predict where the Boo Radley storyline was going, (view spoiler)[ the development from Scout's terror of that house to her standing on the porch looking out over the street was viseral (hide spoiler)].

I don't understand why Atticus Finch is known as one of the greatest characters in American literature (that phrase came up a lot in my research) though I guess when I start thinking about how he parented Scout and Jem I feel some fondess towards him. He makes a couple of less than great comments, the one that sticks in my mind is about why women aren't allowed on the jury - "I doubt if we'd ever get a complete case tried--the ladies'd be interrupting to ask questions." Like it's a joke and he obviously does have respect for the women in his life. But this is similar to, I think, where the white saviour trope may come into this story (view spoiler)[even though Atticus doesn't actually save Tom Robinson (hide spoiler)]. It's about Atticus's intention and motivation - does he believe in equality or is it that he wants to defend those he views as less capable than himself? He does make a good stand for equality in the trial.

I'm conflicted when it comes to Atticus' cries for understanding of, or compassion towards hateful people. Like that has a lovely feel and people are complex, but what are the limits and the consequences of that.

I could go on for a while longer! One more thing I'll mention now is that one of the issues people have with this book, which is more an issue with the society we live in, is that it is constantly lauded as a book about racism over and above books written by people who have actually lived that experience. I've ordered If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin and A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry to read soon for this very reason. Any other recommendations are welcome.

[Iulia]

I've heard a lot about this book, They say it's very good, that the plot is very well written, I've heard so much about it, that I'm afraid it's a lie, would you recommend it to me?

[Sophie]

Iulia wrote: "I've heard a lot about this book, They say it's very good, that the plot is very well written, I've heard so much about it, that I'm afraid it's a lie, would you recommend it to me?"

If you’re interested I’d say yes! I did not want to stop reading at some points, loved how the plot was structured (like the progression of time) and even teared up. It’s an engaging read.

[Diane]

Sophie wrote: "I’ve got a copy of this book out the library and will be starting it soon."

I think we do get an insight into Calpurnia's point of view, although it is filtered and somewhat limited by having Scout as the narrator.
In regard to the character of Atticus, I believe he is more complex than a lot of people (in real life) realize. I didn't remember the remark about women jurors, but am sure it reflected the attitude at the time, even though it may have been just a joke. Maybe the reason Harper Lee decided to release the sequel to TKM is in part due to further explaining Atticus's character. Filtered through Scout's childlike eyes, he is nothing short of a hero. I hear he is not so heroic in the sequel in which Scout is grown up. I could not bring myself to finish it, because TKM is one of my favorites. I did not like the change in tone or what I perceived as jadedness in Scout's adult character. I didn't really read enough to decide totally about Atticus. Maybe some day I will read the sequel as a book by itself, but I could not conceive of it as the next book after TKM.

[Diane]

Sophie wrote: "Okay so I've read TKAM and I have been thinking a lot about it. To start with, I completely understand why this book is a classic. Why it is so popular, widely discussed, loved and hated. There's a..."

Read it! There's probably no perfect book, at least not perfect according to everyone's taste, but most people agree the read is worth it. (Get past the first chapter, which reads a little slow.) It is considered a great American classic and has a fairly accurate commentary about life during this time in the Southern US.