Jayson’s Reviews > To Kill a Mockingbird > Status Update
Jayson
is on page 56 of 323
Notes:
(1) The most striking thing so far has to do with people's names. The brother and sister, Jeremy and Jean, are nicknamed Jem and Scout.
- It's notable that practically everyone calls them by their nicknames, which are both decidedly unisex—I can't be the only one who saw "Jem" and thought "and the Holograms"?
- Possibly it's to underscore a time of innocence, before sexuality kicks in.
(Continued in comments)
— Jan 04, 2024 03:30AM
(1) The most striking thing so far has to do with people's names. The brother and sister, Jeremy and Jean, are nicknamed Jem and Scout.
- It's notable that practically everyone calls them by their nicknames, which are both decidedly unisex—I can't be the only one who saw "Jem" and thought "and the Holograms"?
- Possibly it's to underscore a time of innocence, before sexuality kicks in.
(Continued in comments)
69 likes · Like flag
Jayson’s Previous Updates
Jayson
is finished
Notes:
(1) It's always difficult to write reviews and form opinions on books people hold in high esteem, enthuse about, and even herald as classic literature.
- What if I don't like it? Will people forever swarm and pester me?
- Thankfully, I liked this book a lot. I wouldn't rank it among my all-time favorites, but I'm notoriously stingy with five-star ratings and effusive praise in general.
(Continued in comments)
— Jan 10, 2024 08:00AM
(1) It's always difficult to write reviews and form opinions on books people hold in high esteem, enthuse about, and even herald as classic literature.
- What if I don't like it? Will people forever swarm and pester me?
- Thankfully, I liked this book a lot. I wouldn't rank it among my all-time favorites, but I'm notoriously stingy with five-star ratings and effusive praise in general.
(Continued in comments)
Jayson
is on page 293 of 323
Notes:
(1) Atticus: "There’s nothing more sickening to me than a low-grade white man who'll take advantage of a Negro’s ignorance."
- I feel like modern audiences reading this line, specifically "a Negro's ignorance," might be quick to label Atticus a racist.
- I know, it's ridiculous given the overall context of the book and of this quote. Though, I've seen harsher reactions to milder words.
(Continued in comments)
— Jan 09, 2024 10:30PM
(1) Atticus: "There’s nothing more sickening to me than a low-grade white man who'll take advantage of a Negro’s ignorance."
- I feel like modern audiences reading this line, specifically "a Negro's ignorance," might be quick to label Atticus a racist.
- I know, it's ridiculous given the overall context of the book and of this quote. Though, I've seen harsher reactions to milder words.
(Continued in comments)
Jayson
is on page 249 of 323
Notes:
(1) Mayella, we learn, has no friends. Even among her many siblings, they're always out with each other while she does the household chores alone.
- Of course, solitary individuals in this book are either taken as monsters (Boo Radley) or prone to making poor and impulsive decisions (Dill). Mayella is arguably both.
(2) Speaking of which, why was Boo Radley the primary focus of Part 1?
(Continued in comments)
— Jan 08, 2024 07:10AM
(1) Mayella, we learn, has no friends. Even among her many siblings, they're always out with each other while she does the household chores alone.
- Of course, solitary individuals in this book are either taken as monsters (Boo Radley) or prone to making poor and impulsive decisions (Dill). Mayella is arguably both.
(2) Speaking of which, why was Boo Radley the primary focus of Part 1?
(Continued in comments)
Jayson
is on page 204 of 323
Notes:
(1) This has been a real slow burn. Not that it's been bad, just it's been going at a leisurely pace and hasn't been at all what I expected.
- The story doesn't really find a clear direction until the jailhouse scene. After that it's been laser-focused on the trial of Tom Robinson.
- From Chapter 17 onward, it's been pretty much a pure law procedural, albeit from a child's perspective.
(Continued in comments)
— Jan 07, 2024 08:15AM
(1) This has been a real slow burn. Not that it's been bad, just it's been going at a leisurely pace and hasn't been at all what I expected.
- The story doesn't really find a clear direction until the jailhouse scene. After that it's been laser-focused on the trial of Tom Robinson.
- From Chapter 17 onward, it's been pretty much a pure law procedural, albeit from a child's perspective.
(Continued in comments)
Jayson
is on page 154 of 323
Notes:
(1) This is an odd sort of novel. So far, it's been more interconnected short stories than anything all that cohesive.
- Perhaps I'm just too used to the pace and plotting of modern books. Halfway through this and I don't really know where it's going, only an inkling based solely on the book's reputation.
(2) The whole First Purchase Church section is a fascinating bit of anthropology.
(Continued in comments)
— Jan 06, 2024 09:55AM
(1) This is an odd sort of novel. So far, it's been more interconnected short stories than anything all that cohesive.
- Perhaps I'm just too used to the pace and plotting of modern books. Halfway through this and I don't really know where it's going, only an inkling based solely on the book's reputation.
(2) The whole First Purchase Church section is a fascinating bit of anthropology.
(Continued in comments)
Jayson
is on page 102 of 323
Notes:
(1) "[Jem] went through a brief Egyptian Period that baffled me—he tried to walk flat a great deal, sticking one arm in front of him and one in back of him, putting one foot behind the other. He declared Egyptians walked that way."
- Hmm, I wonder if that's where The Bangles got it from?
- Rural American children learning about Egypt just seems odd. Greece and Rome seems more natural.
(Continued in comments)
— Jan 05, 2024 09:00AM
(1) "[Jem] went through a brief Egyptian Period that baffled me—he tried to walk flat a great deal, sticking one arm in front of him and one in back of him, putting one foot behind the other. He declared Egyptians walked that way."
- Hmm, I wonder if that's where The Bangles got it from?
- Rural American children learning about Egypt just seems odd. Greece and Rome seems more natural.
(Continued in comments)
Comments Showing 1-5 of 5 (5 new)
date
newest »
newest »
For me when I see Jem it reminds me of the character from Jacqueline Wilson’s Hetty Feather books which I read when I was a kid and for that reason I’ve always thought of the name/nickname Jem to be a male one.
Kadi wrote: "For me when I see Jem it reminds me of the character from Jacqueline Wilson’s Hetty Feather books which I read when I was a kid and for that reason I’ve always thought of the name/nickname Jem to b..."That's interesting. It can definitely go both ways. Depends on your point of reference too. I've never read that book series, but I know Jem and the Holograms as well as Jem the pop singer from the mid-2000s. So, for me it's always been a female name, to the extent that I've not previously known a male example.
Oh gosh, the Alabama vernacular 🤣 I noticed it but had no problems myself
Jenny wrote: "Oh gosh, the Alabama vernacular 🤣 I noticed it but had no problems myself"I did get used to it after a while 😅
(2) Both children refer to and call their father by his given name, Atticus. It just feels wrong, especially for this very antique setting. I mean, these aren't hippies we're dealing with.
- Unless this is explained later in the book, I figure I'll just attribute it to regional or cultural quirks.
(3) Both Atticus and the cook Calpurnia have Roman names. They're the only ones that do, despite being different races. It doesn't seem to be a family thing, Atticus' brother's named Jack.
- It's established early on how these are the book's two moral compasses, so this might be to highlight that idea since Latin is the language of law.
(4) It's an odd inversion of roles, where the teacher, Miss Caroline, is the one comforted, protected by, and at the mercy of the children in her class.
- The children here act more like adults and she acts like a scared child.
- Additionally, it's her comic unfamiliarity with how things are done locally that reinforces how insular a community Maycomb is.
(5) Atticus' personal morality seems to be distinctly utilitarian: the greatest good for the greatest number.
- He explains how the town allows the Ewell family to break local hunting and truancy laws so their children won't go hungry.
- Scout mentions how Maycomb has its own "ethical culture."
(6) I wish I had an annotated version of this. I'm not doing so well with the Alabama vernacular and phonetic spellings of words.
- I have to keep googling what things mean, which isn't difficult just tedious.