(#30) / To Kill a Mockingbird / by Harper Lee/ (Book)

Opening

Bibliographic Information:

To Kill a Mockingbird / by Harper Lee

ISBN-13: 978-0446310789 / Grand Central Publishing

p. 281 / $7.99 (Amazon)

1960

Body of Content

Summary: Set in the Deep South, Harper’s tale spins the narrative happenings of the adult world from the eyes of a child – a girl named Scout Finch. To Kill a Mockingbird starts its story in the 1930s with Scout’s father – a lawyer named Atticus – taking the legal defense of an accused rapist.  Tom Robinson faces charges – as a black man – of raping a white woman.  The story centers on racial issues – as the story finds resonance in a time in American history with segregation and racial inequality as commonplace.  In such a time, the reader must wonder if justice will transpire for the sympathetically portrayed Robinson – while dealing with a racially charged community, where the majority of the white citizens believe in the man’s guilt on an inherent basis.      

Critique: In the novel, the children of Atticus Finch – Scout and Jem – start to experience the adult world – a world filled with racial tensions – not so evident in their own childhood state of innocence.  The character Boo Radley serves as a comparison character to the social events in the book. Both the character and the tensions in the book are mysterious through the eyes of the children.  Ultimately, Radley becomes an epistemological lens – the more of his life discovered by the children, the more of the adult world begins to make sense.

The children never knew much of their neighbor – nor did they know much about the reasons for white hatred against blacks.  But through the act of protection provided by Radley, the children learned not only of the good intentions of a previously misunderstood character, but also about the hatred of a local drunk – who would turn his anger towards Atticus and direct it at two children.    

Teaser: A child learns the way the world is – and the way the world should be.

Information about the Author:  Harper Lee published just one novel – the aforementioned title.  She did write a second novel titled In Cold Blood – but it never was published.  Her sole best-seller won the Pulitzer Prize in 1960.  Harper did write some articles for newspaper and articles – but she is chiefly known for To Kill a Mockingbird (A&E, 2011).

Her novel focused on life in the Deep South – which she knew very well – having been born in Monroeville, Alabama and eventually enrolling in the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa.  A third novel title The Reverend – which never was published either – focuses again on a story set in Alabama.  Overall, Lee lives quietly and privately in dual residences – New York City and her hometown of Monroeville.  Now in her 80s, Lee usually avoids interviews or any events dealing with her novel (A&E, 2011).   

Supplemental Material

Genre: Drama

Curriculum Ties: History – segregation, civil rights, small town America / English – Southern Gothic literature

Booktalking Ideas: 1) What would you do as the son of a lawyer – if your father took on a very controversial case? 2) Does segregation still exist – or just exist in different forms today?

Reading Level: The reading level – of the prose – is straightforward enough for lower ages of high school students – with the content still relevant for older ages – (15-19).

Challenge Issues and Defense: Various challenges have been issued at the book – mostly centered on the civil rights issues that the book addresses.  The book has become a classic since its original publication in the 1960s – and a staple of high school classrooms in educational settings.  Most challenges occurred in earlier decades – but the premise of a court case dealing with a rape still could lead to challenges in the present-day.  But again, the various merits (awards) and usage (educational) of the book help defend its challenges. 

Personal Reasons for Inclusion: I once built a replicate house of Boo Radley’s in high-school English class. It was quite lovely (like the book) – and I wish I had kept the house – I forget to pick it up on the last day of class – and it got thrown away – along with the 20+ hours of construction time.  So, at some level, I’m nostalgic about this book.  

Last Thoughts

References:

A&E Television Networks. (2011). Harper Lee [Webpage]. Retrieved from

http://www.biography.com/people/harper-lee-9377021

Listening to (Music):

Artist – Fee / Album – “Hope Rising”