Did you like this book?, Share your opinions here. |
 Aug 8 2008, 05:01 PM
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#1
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Exclusive distributor of The Dungbomb Protection Kit  Posts: 2,632 Joined: 10:52pm March 5, 2007    |
To Kill a Mockingbird was published in 1961, and won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1962. The book is generally found on lists of recommended reading for young people, and is often listed as required reading in U.S. high schools.
Did you like this book? Why, or why not? Do you think it is still relevant for today's society? Is it relevant to global society? Were you bothered by the language at all? |
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Aug 9 2008, 08:49 AM
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#2
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TLC's Official Dungbomb Distributor  Posts: 1,455 Joined: 3:27pm June 3, 2006 Location: With Fred beyond the veil opening a new branch of WWW |
To Kill a Mockingbird is a timeless classic (and I say that in the best of ways!). It's unlike so much of the required reading in schools these days that you read and wonder why in the world someone decided to call it a classic in the first place. And I loved the rhythm of the language. Having actually seen the movie before reading the book, I was pleased to see that both were equally good and I found myself reading TKAM through the voice of the narrator in the movie which transported me into the book so deeply that I felt I had stuck my face right into the middle of a pensieve!
The book is as relevant now as it was when it was written on so many different levels. The story of Atticus Finch being willing to fight against the prejudices of his time and stand up to those who should have been his friends (hmm...where have we discussed that before?) to protect the rights of one individual to the best of his ability is inspiring and should make all of us want to try a little harder to be a little better. But equally important is the story of his children watching him and perhaps thinking he was a little disappointing as a father because he was a bit older and had no special talents or skills in comparison to the other fathers they knew, to their discovery that he was the most extraordinary man they had ever met. There's so much more to say, but I'll give someone else a chance to weigh in before I monopolize the discussion! --------------------  Devoted thanks to Dreamteam for the pics! She's a champion of the computer illiterate!! |
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Aug 9 2008, 09:19 AM
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#3
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Cauldron Bottom Measurer Posts: 112 Joined: 9:42am April 15, 2008 Location: With my nose in a book... |
QUOTE(Pyxis @ Aug 8 2008, 05:01 PM)  To Kill a Mockingbird was published in 1961, and won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1962. I think you made a mistake with the dates because on the back of my version of To Kill a Mockingbird it says that it was first published in 1960 and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1961. But it doesn't really matter. The book was really good, not on my top 10 but before 20. For this past summer we had to read it and write a report on it for 9th grade honors. To me it was better then the other book we had to read, Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie, but I bet you my class will disagree with me. TKAM is really well written, has you connecting with the characters, and (well to me) is really relistic. I think that Harper Lee had a similar writing style to JK, the feel is the same, except there is no magic or wizards in the story. I strongly recommend it to people. -------------------- A Last Note From Your Narrator: I am haunted by humans...
P.O.T. (Potter over Twilight) "I, Artemis Fowl, have been bamboozled by myself." "What's he doing in there?Take two guesses. Lemurs cannot use advanced plumbing. See for yourself. Whatever's in there, I'm blaming Jayjay." |
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Aug 9 2008, 12:48 PM
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#4
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Dumbledore's Personal Secretary  Posts: 4,684 Joined: 10:28am December 31, 2006 Location: At a violin concert with my boss. |
TKAM is one of my faourite books !  I'll admit I didn't get too enthused at my first reading of the first few pages, but when I stuck to it, what a reward it was ! Jean (Scout) Louise's marration transports one back to one's childhood as if by magic. It made me think of the weird things I used to believe as a child and the silly games we used to play - the trio's version of Boo Radley in particular was so nostalgic and real at the same time. There is so much innocence in the book, in the characters. One of the best lines in the book is Dill's declaration that he would join the circus, become a clown and laugh his head off at folks. It portrays the whole thing from a child's point of view - they haven't fully understood why people act the way they do, but have realised that it is very silly of them to do so. It's a fantastic bit of writing whichever way you look at it and will be relevant for ever for prejudice will always be present in this world in one form or other as will innocence, courage and truth. I have recommended TKAM to many people with some amount of success too. 
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Aug 9 2008, 02:34 PM
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#5
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Just Through the Brick Wall Posts: 7 Joined: 11:28am July 31, 2008 Location: England |
To Kill A Mockingbird is one of my all-time favourite books. We did it for our GCSE also, and I loved it because I could write about something I know so well. The book's just so, interesting and how the children grow up and percieve things through their own eyes is amazing.
-------------------- the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. |
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Aug 9 2008, 05:26 PM
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#6
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Leaky's Official Donut Maker and Mosquito Man Posts: 11,070 Joined: 10:51am August 25, 2005 Location: Playing kal-toh with Professor Snape |
This is a really awesome book, for so many reasons and on so many levels. It tells a beautiful story with awesome imagery, and it tells the ugly side of life with truth and openness and no pretences. I guess it's told from a child's point of view and kids see and tell things as they are, even the tough stuff.
It's also written with beautiful narrative that just sweeps the reader right along with it, it's like being there, experiencing the fear, the anger, the sadness, the laughter ... I thought I was going to severely dislike this book but, I love it and yes I would recommend for everyone to read it. --------------------   I'm 1 of the 99.99% W.L.Y.J.  When I sleep I dream, and when I dream I can rise above the walls Remember Cameron Duncan Thanks Jeff! |
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Aug 9 2008, 06:22 PM
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#7
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Ron Weasley's #2 squeeze  Posts: 2,796 Joined: 11:00pm July 13, 2007 Location: Ottery St. Catchpole  |
I read this book back in high school and I really enjoyed it. It's one of those books I wanted to read. I wanted to continue and go further than the assigned chapters. It was in ninth grade when were reading a bunch of boring things that I absolutely hated, but this book, I didn't hate.
--------------------  Win-gar-dium Levi-o-sa Ron Weasley: He Does it Anyway. |
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Aug 9 2008, 07:39 PM
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#8
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Transfiguration Today's Star Reporter  Posts: 2,011 Joined: 3:59pm May 15, 2008 Location: Sunny Phoenix, Arizona("It's a Dry Heat!") |
For the first question, I answered yes. I did enjoy reading this book, even though I noticed a tendency to be a bit free with English language conventions. As with Hemingway and some other writers that fall into this category, I would not choose this book as an example for students in a writing class to follow.
Aside from that quibble, however, the story that Nell Harper Lee tells in this book is compelling. As a side note, Nell was friends with a young Truman Capote and it's rumored that he was the model for Jem and Scout's friend, Dill. For the second question, yes, I would recommend this book (except as assigned reading for an English class--IMHO, too many classics have been ruined for students by being assigned reading in junior high/high school ). This post has been edited by Fricka: Aug 9 2008, 07:41 PM -------------------- "It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Phoenix avatar courtesy of ofenjen; thanks to atschpe for help |
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Aug 9 2008, 08:09 PM
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#9
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Flesh-Eating-Slug Catcher Posts: 146 Joined: 7:46pm June 22, 2008 Location: Springfield, Mo |
Prior to being introduced to Harry Potter i would have said To Kill a Mockingbrid is my all time favorite book and in many ways it still is, I love this book. i read it as a junior in high school and loved it and then when i first became (was forced to become) an english teacher i was very excited to teach it. i love the voice of scout and the character of atticus, who rfemains in my opinion on of (if not the greatest) hero in literature... however, what i have learned, rather harshly from teaching this book is that it is a book that is more enjoyed the older or more mature a reader is i think, so for some freshmen who are forced to read it they are fine and enjoy it and GEt it, but others HATE IT andthat is so sad to me. and many of these same people enjoy the book when they read it later, on their own, i think it is a book better tauhgt-if it is right to force any book on people (questionable), -at an age higher than freshmen, because so many fresmen, even those who read it and don't hate it, still don't get it. please don't hate me, if you read it as a freshman and did get it and enjoy it, i just mean as a whole--it is so lost and wasted and it is a book i hate to see HATED, it breaks my heart.
the themes, symbolism and even the humor is so layered and even the reading level is much above many of the students i work with and many of them really dislike the pace. many of them also find the vocabulary and switching of an older voice and a younger voice of scout very confusing. for me, though, there are still a few scenes in the book that bring tears to my eyes. -------------------- "Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?" Mr. Weasley was looking around. He loved everything to do with Muggles.... |
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Aug 9 2008, 08:16 PM
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#10
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Stocking Snitches at Quality Quidditch Supplies Posts: 661 Joined: 6:46am January 1, 2008 Location: At A Desk! x |
I thought it was utterly brilliant. I saw the film when I was quite little but never got around to reading the book until last term when we had to do it as one of our set books for English GCSE. It was absolutley superb, I really like the characters of Atticus and Jack but my favourite character has to be Heck Tate, I'm not exactly sure why but I find him extremley endearing.
I'm so glad I am doing my GCSE next year on a book that I truley LOVE! xxx --------------------   "Harry Potter isn't everything ... but it's right up there with Oxygen! |
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