Melanie Harrington Q1

Earth Stream

To Kill a Mockingbird Book Review

Harper Lee’s compelling classic, To Kill a Mockingbird, forever touches the hearts and minds of those who read it. Harper Lee created a thought provoking world that would not soon be forgotten. While the genre may be fiction, the book is anything but. It still remains today to be one of the best books ever written and over 30 million copies have been sold worldwide since its publishing date in July of 1960. Upon it’s release it generated a lot of controversy and uproars among its readers. A few aspects of the book are perceived to have come from Lee’s experiences and life in her hometown, Monroeville, Alabama. To Kill a Mockingbird is the only piece of writing she ever published.  It is amazing how someone’s first and only book turned into a worldwide best seller, won the Pulitzer Prize and several other awards and was adapted into an Oscar Award winning movie. To Kill a Mockingbird is still taught in classrooms across the nation today.

Nelle Harper Lee was born on April 28, 1926 in Monroeville, Alabama. Lee developed an interest in writing and literature during her high school years. When she graduated in 1944 she attended the all-female Huntingdon College in Montgomery. Unlike many of the girls who attended, Lee focused less on fashion and boys and more on her studies and writing. It wasn’t until after she transferred to the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa and enrolled in a law program that she took all of her focus away from writing, when she finally confessed to her family that it was her true calling. Soon after, at twenty-three years old, Lee dropped her law studies and moved to New York City to follow her dreams. With the help and financial support from new founded friends, Lee finished her manuscript of To Kill a Mockingbird in 1959.

This mind blowing novel follows the life of a family living in Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s. The world may be changing but Maycomb is in no hurry. Racism and gossip are prevalent in this small town. An innocent black man is put on trial by the word of a white man and Atticus Finch, lawyer and single father of two kids, is put on the case. Atticus faces the scrutiny of the town and his family for openly defending a black man and the choices he makes when raising his children. Jean Louise “Scout” Finch takes us through her early years and the events that all add up to the trial, all the while opening our eyes to the many themes brought up in the book.

To Kill a Mockingbird is not based on any one topic in particular. Every event undergone by Scout and her brother, Jem, bring up a new theme for discussion. Childhood, parenthood, innocence, justice, social norms and racism are a few that recur throughout the novel.  Every theme is interconnected and the transitions are flawless.

Society is ever changing. All of the unspoken rules we abide by without question are created and upheld by society. Face forward in an elevator, not back, bring a gift to the host or hostess, don’t take your shoes off unless you’re at home, call before you show up, fill up the gas tank before you return a borrowed car. We follow these rules every day and don’t even realize it. It just comes naturally to us because it’s the way we were brought up. We watched others do these things and assumed we had to as well.

Society and it’s norms force us to do one of two things. The first is to conform into society’s ideal person. This means following all the rules, spoken and unspoken, following trends in style and technology, making sure that you meet every standard and resemble every other person around you, in every aspect, in order to fit in. The second thing society forces us to do is break away and rebel on our own. This means standing alone, being different, and not following the set rules and guidelines to life.

Throughout the book society has an impact on the way people present themselves. Atticus, the wise and very observant lawyer, sees the flaws in the way society is made up but can not speak up about it because it would be frowned upon greatly. The choices he makes when raising his kids are scrutinized by the entire town and speaking out would only cause more trouble. Scout is in a constant battle of fitting her aunt’s idea of a perfect lady. Even Boo Radley, the town shut in, battles with fitting in on a daily basis. On the other hand, the Ewells, the sleaziest white family in Maycomb, actively rebel against society. The children run wild, they don’t go to school, aren’t polite and collect free money like a shelf collecting dust. They refuse to be a part of the black and white sea that is society and instead prefer to make a sea all of their own.

To Kill a Mockingbird is recommended to anyone looking for a good historical fiction or drama book or someone who is interested in one of the topics listed above. Considering there is some mature content throughout the book it is not recommended that children who are not mature enough to handle it read it. Do not force yourself to read this book if you are uninterested. It will ruin your reading experience. Come back when you grow a little older and see how you like it. You won’t ever regret picking up this book if you do and the life lessons will stay with you forever.

Title: To Kill a Mockingbird

Author: Harper Lee

Publisher: J. B. Lippincott

Date of publication: 1960

Number of pages: 384

Genre: historical fiction, drama, suspense, legal

“Quiet as it’s kept, there were no marigolds in the fall of 1941. We thought, at the time, that it was because Pecola was having her father’s baby that the marigolds did not grow.”  Who’s Pecola? How did she end up pregnant by her father? What the heck do Marigolds growing have to do with any of this? If you're anything like me the start of this book made questions began to pop up in your head. The first sentence succeed in catching my eye. Did it catch yours? This quote is from the book “The Bluest Eye” Toni Morrison. A novel full of lust, love, racism, drama, and american comedy written in the time of the 1940’s.

“The Bluest Eye” is categorized as a fictional novel. The author Toni Morrison, talks about a year in a black girl named Pecola Breedlove life. Pecola is facing the reality of  becoming a pre-teen/teenager. The struggle and shame of her family and how she looks. The story takes place in Lorain, Ohio Fall of 1941-summer of 1942.  It was published in 1970 as Toni Morrison's first novel. This is a very informal written book. Its written in third person, and told mostly by Pecola and Claudia. The smaller characters have some isolated dialogue about their lives as well.

Toni Morrison was born in Lorain, Ohio. Just so happens to be that thats where the inspiration of the setting came for the book. Some of her favorite authors as a child include Jane Austen and Leo Tolstoy. She studied at Howard University, receiving her B.A in english. Then went on to her Cornell University to earn her “Masters of Arts Degree” in English. Morrison has done many things before she published her first novel (in 1970). She taught at Yale University and Bard College. Worked as an editor for New York City headquarters of Random house. Random House is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world.

Along with “The Bluest Eye” Toni Morrison has written “Song of Solomon” and “Beloved.” Song of Solomon won the “National Book Critics Circle Award” in 1977. It was the first book written by a black person to win since 1940. Her book “Beloved” caused 48 black critics and writers to protest the fact that the book did not win the “National Book Award” and or “National Book Critics Circle Award.” the protesting worked and shortly after the book won “Pulitzer Prize for Fiction” and the “American Book Award”

Themes found within this book include racism. Using whiteness as the standard of  beauty. Insest, sexual abuse from Pecolas father and many others. Throughout the book there are many important symbols. References to the bluest eye as symbolizing beauty. Marigolds in comparison to pregnancy. This book is a great read for all ages over fifthteen. It is one of those books you don’t put down, just keep reading and reading. The main tone of the characters include lyrical, and slang from the 1940’s. I strongly recommend this book to all willing to read. this book gives you a different insight on life. Many people can relate to the conflicts that come along as you read. Such as rape/ molestation, school life and struggle with parents, struggle as parents. Morrisons beginning reason for writing the bluest eye was due to the “Black is Beautiful Movement” tried to reclaim African-American Beauty. Some factors of the family dynamic for Claudia came for Toni’s own life experience with her parents.

Toni Morrison is a smart and intelligent writer. Although the bluest eye was not an immediate success its a book that all 14 and up, boy and girl should read. Its a book you won't want to put down. the interest and rise of the story stays constant throughout the entire reading. After reading this book it will give you a different more appreciative outlook on life, yours and the world around you. It makes you think deeper about race, sexuality, social and economical class.