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To Kill A Mockingbird

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To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel by Harper Lee published in 1960. It was instantly successful, winning the Pulitzer Prize, and has become a classic of modern American literature. The plot and characters are loosely based on the author’s observations of her family and neighbors, as well as on an event that occurred near her hometown in 1936, when she was 10 years old.
The novel is renowned for its warmth and humor, despite dealing with the serious issues of rape and racial inequality. The narrator’s father, Atticus Finch, has served as a moral hero for many readers and as a model of integrity for lawyers.

I love this story I think because at it’s core it is a story about simpler times and reminds me of my own small town upbringing. I also believe that at the end of the day, we should all try to live our lives in a way that isn’t destructive to things that should be treasured and/or appreciated.  Too often I think we pass through our lives without noticing the good things that are happening right in front of us.   If you haven’t read it………..read it!  If you have read it before…………READ IT AGAIN.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is rightly considered an American classic. Lee writes wonderfully, in the voice of a Southern child. The story is easy to read and the action is entertaining. While all these characteristics would qualify To Kill a Mockingbird as a good read, they do not necessarily indicate a classic.What moves To Kill a Mockingbird to classic status is its morality and ability to draw sympathy out of readers as much today as when it was written in 1960. To Kill a Mockingbirddeals with heavy issues–racism, oppression, injustice. Amazingly, it is able to handle these deep and sensitive areas without feeling depressing or preachy. Lee accomplishes this by making the narrator a child and allowing us to learn along with her.

Lee’s writing makes it is easy to enter the world of depression era Alabama. Despite all the flaws of the town, it is also easy to love many things about the place and many of the characters. If you have not yet read To Kill a Mockingbird, you will not regret picking it up. If you read it awhile ago, it may be time to visit this world again.

 

Favorite Quotes From To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

“They’re certainly entitled to think that, and they’re entitled to full respect for their opinions… but before I can live with other folks I’ve got to live with myself.  The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience.”  – Atticus Finch
“I think I’ll be a clown when I get grown,” said Dill.  “Yes, sir, a clown…. There ain’t one thing in this world I can do about folks except laugh, so I’m gonna join the circus and laugh my head off.”  “You got it backwards, Dill,” said Jem.  “Clowns are sad, it’s folks that laugh at them.”

“Well, I’m gonna be a new kind of clown.  I’m gonna stand in the middle of the ring and laugh at the folks.”

 

“I think there’s just one kind of folks.  Folks.”  -Scout Finch

“Bad language is a stage all children go through, and it dies with time when they learn they’re not attracting attention with it.”   –  Atticus Finch

Atticus Finch: “If you just learn a single trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.”

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