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To Kill A Mockingbird
This is an idea book. It was designed for you, the literature teacher, as a time-saver that brings together key ideas, background information, and suggestions for teaching the novel successfully. Choose from the suggestions in the book to suit your style; adapt and expand on activities as they suit your students. Above all, this book is meant to be a tool to assist you in intensifying your students' involvement with the text and with the way literature helps to make sense of our world.
286 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1960
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 30, 2015
There are times, rare times, when a wonderful novel lands on your hand; tough to begin with, it later encapsulates you to an extent that you're left wondering why you didn't read it earlier. It leaves you with such a positive feeling and beautiful message at the end that your heart smiles and your mind can't stop reflecting on it. This was the feeling I had on finishing 'To Kill a Mockingbird', by Harper Lee.
TKAMB was lent to me by a wonderful writing-buddy-cum-colleague. One day, through a chance conversation, she asked me if I had ever read TKAMB. When I replied in negative, she asked if I had heard of Harper Lee. A second negative nod followed. Rather than mock me with a 'I-can't-believe-you-haven't-read-such-a-great-author', she simply bought the book next day and handed it to me saying "Read it when you get time. It's an amazing book."
Upon returning home, I eagerly started reading the book. It took me a while to get used to the American accent of Deep South. Jeremy, Scout, Atticus, Calpurnia, Boo Radley - I felt at sea with these character names at the start. I struggled to get past the initial few pages. Just like it happened with 'The Alchemist', I began the book twice only to leave it each time. Finally when I began it for the 3rd time, I found it unputdownable :). I'm beginning to get a tad superstitious about this '3rd time' thing. Once I got over my starting hiccups, the rest of the book was an easy read.
TKAMB is narrated by Scout, a 6-year old inquisitive girl who shares a wonderful bond with her father, Atticus and her brother, Jem. The story begins when she's 6 and ends when she's nearly 9. It take us on an interesting voyage of the innocent lives of children and their playful ways, how their character gets moulded in early days, the role a society plays in influencing it and how hard a parent tries to bring up his children. It is also about the simple and serene way of life in a small town as much as it is about the superstitions and perennial racial discriminations a society indulges in. Though a little girl tells this story, one would find that it's more than applicable to adults too. And the way the story is narrated, one can't help but fall in love with it. In a nutshell, TKAMB is about the journey of self-discovery and the lessons a young girl learns and inculcates from her introspective and ethical dad and how in the nick of time, she puts into practice those very lessons and surprises even her dad.
Atticus is the fulcrum of TKAMB. His character is etched in a way that makes him truly adorable. Doting, loving, caring, disciplined and yet not at all restrictive, his character is one that's the same within the walls of the house as well as outside. The pain he takes to educate and nurture his children is heart-touching as are the 'honest' conversations he has with his little daughter and the patient resolution of her insatiable curiosities. I was enthralled when he defined courage as "It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do". I was even more touched to read " You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view, until you climb into his skin and walk around in it". This has been the single biggest lesson I've learnt from this book - to not judge a person without first thinking from his side. This has saved a lot of negativity from cropping up in my mind and avoided me many unpleasant situations which otherwise would have arisen had I not applied this principle. His character shines like a full blue moon when he says "The one thing that doesn't abide my majority rule is a person's conscience". And his speech in the court while defending a black Negro is outstanding. While reading his lines, I couldn't help drawing a parallel with Bhagwad Gita and I kept feeling that Atticus was Lord Krishna while the young Scout resembled Arjuna.
The book reminded me a lot of my childhood days when we would play with sand and soil in those days when computers were few and far between. It brought back memories of yore when we kids would enact parts of Ramayana and Mahabharata after seeing it in the "DD Channel" and play with bows and arrows. And when Atticus reads to Scout every night, it made me nostalgic recollecting how my mum would read those beautiful picture books of fairies, prince and princesses while I blinked and listened and dreamt and slept thinking of the magic wand of a fairy.
The plot thoroughly captivates the reader from start to end except for some parts about Aunt Alexandra, which I found a trifle boring. But the ending more than makes up for it. The ending has a novel twist and a brilliant suspense that makes the reader smile a 180-degree smile. And the best line of the book comes in this section when Scout reminds Atticus about the same lesson he taught her and Jem. This one line defines the gist of this book. The reader needs to make a concentrated effort to understand this. It feels truly enchanting to read the last few pages where Scout summarizes her entire journey that ends with "Jem and I would get grown but there wasn't much else left for us to learn, except possibly Algebra".
I'd rate this book 4.5/5. Go and give this book a definite shot. This is one book that should adorn your library shelf for you'll want to come back and re-read it after a few weeks :)
TKAMB was lent to me by a wonderful writing-buddy-cum-colleague. One day, through a chance conversation, she asked me if I had ever read TKAMB. When I replied in negative, she asked if I had heard of Harper Lee. A second negative nod followed. Rather than mock me with a 'I-can't-believe-you-haven't-read-such-a-great-author', she simply bought the book next day and handed it to me saying "Read it when you get time. It's an amazing book."
Upon returning home, I eagerly started reading the book. It took me a while to get used to the American accent of Deep South. Jeremy, Scout, Atticus, Calpurnia, Boo Radley - I felt at sea with these character names at the start. I struggled to get past the initial few pages. Just like it happened with 'The Alchemist', I began the book twice only to leave it each time. Finally when I began it for the 3rd time, I found it unputdownable :). I'm beginning to get a tad superstitious about this '3rd time' thing. Once I got over my starting hiccups, the rest of the book was an easy read.
TKAMB is narrated by Scout, a 6-year old inquisitive girl who shares a wonderful bond with her father, Atticus and her brother, Jem. The story begins when she's 6 and ends when she's nearly 9. It take us on an interesting voyage of the innocent lives of children and their playful ways, how their character gets moulded in early days, the role a society plays in influencing it and how hard a parent tries to bring up his children. It is also about the simple and serene way of life in a small town as much as it is about the superstitions and perennial racial discriminations a society indulges in. Though a little girl tells this story, one would find that it's more than applicable to adults too. And the way the story is narrated, one can't help but fall in love with it. In a nutshell, TKAMB is about the journey of self-discovery and the lessons a young girl learns and inculcates from her introspective and ethical dad and how in the nick of time, she puts into practice those very lessons and surprises even her dad.
Atticus is the fulcrum of TKAMB. His character is etched in a way that makes him truly adorable. Doting, loving, caring, disciplined and yet not at all restrictive, his character is one that's the same within the walls of the house as well as outside. The pain he takes to educate and nurture his children is heart-touching as are the 'honest' conversations he has with his little daughter and the patient resolution of her insatiable curiosities. I was enthralled when he defined courage as "It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do". I was even more touched to read " You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view, until you climb into his skin and walk around in it". This has been the single biggest lesson I've learnt from this book - to not judge a person without first thinking from his side. This has saved a lot of negativity from cropping up in my mind and avoided me many unpleasant situations which otherwise would have arisen had I not applied this principle. His character shines like a full blue moon when he says "The one thing that doesn't abide my majority rule is a person's conscience". And his speech in the court while defending a black Negro is outstanding. While reading his lines, I couldn't help drawing a parallel with Bhagwad Gita and I kept feeling that Atticus was Lord Krishna while the young Scout resembled Arjuna.
The book reminded me a lot of my childhood days when we would play with sand and soil in those days when computers were few and far between. It brought back memories of yore when we kids would enact parts of Ramayana and Mahabharata after seeing it in the "DD Channel" and play with bows and arrows. And when Atticus reads to Scout every night, it made me nostalgic recollecting how my mum would read those beautiful picture books of fairies, prince and princesses while I blinked and listened and dreamt and slept thinking of the magic wand of a fairy.
The plot thoroughly captivates the reader from start to end except for some parts about Aunt Alexandra, which I found a trifle boring. But the ending more than makes up for it. The ending has a novel twist and a brilliant suspense that makes the reader smile a 180-degree smile. And the best line of the book comes in this section when Scout reminds Atticus about the same lesson he taught her and Jem. This one line defines the gist of this book. The reader needs to make a concentrated effort to understand this. It feels truly enchanting to read the last few pages where Scout summarizes her entire journey that ends with "Jem and I would get grown but there wasn't much else left for us to learn, except possibly Algebra".
I'd rate this book 4.5/5. Go and give this book a definite shot. This is one book that should adorn your library shelf for you'll want to come back and re-read it after a few weeks :)
June 17, 2021
This book is really amazing, and cute.
January 8, 2012
To Kill A Mockingbird is an amazing book. It is interesting, and full of suspense. To Kill A Mockingbird tells the story of a family in Alabama (The Finches) and the cruel reality that is segregation at this time in Alabama. Atticus Finch takes on the rape case of Tom Robinson, a black male how was accused of rapping Mayella Ewell; a white 19 year old teenager. This stirs up conflict in the town of Maycomb. Ultimately causing the Finches problems when Bob Ewell (Mayella's father) tries to kill Atticus's children, Jem and Scout. He doesn't succeed, but he is killed. In the end Bob Ewell got what he deserved.
April 3, 2011
I read this many years ago but am re-reading for bookclub.
Was even better than I remembererd. Thought I'd zip through it since I've read it before but took my time.
Was even better than I remembererd. Thought I'd zip through it since I've read it before but took my time.
April 25, 2015
This is a classic for a very good reason. Wonderful storytelling, imaginative language, lovable characters plus a moral lesson.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews