This page is a place where we can take a closer look at sections of books. This could help you if you are confused about a particular part of the book and possibly find a deeper meaning in it all. THIS PAGE WILL SPOIL THE BOOK IF YOU HAVE NOT READ IT!
To Kill A Mocking Bird - Looking Back - May 24, 2013
I can't decide if I liked this book or not. There were a lot of parts that I did love, but others I found to drag on in unnecessary repetition. I did like the key points like the trial and all the adventures with Boo Radley. However, I didn't like all the background. There would be chapters all about a single person who doesn't seem to fit in anywhere. Even with these boring parts, I did find some key themes in the book. One of these is all about nurturing the mocking birds among us. These mocking birds are said to be the people picked on when they haven't done anything wrong. A few examples of mocking birds are Boo and Tom because, even though they are good, it is said that they did terrible things. I think this theme is very present in our world today. We have to stand up for those "mocking birds" among us, even when others will think lower of you in the process. We have to help them get through all the tough times. Atticus really represented someone who nurtured mockingbirds in the book. When he agreed to be Tom's defendant at the trial, many people were not happy with him. They thought that he was doing the wrong thing for this situation. But, according to the themes of the book, he did what was right. He defended that poor mockingbird even though others didn't think it was right. In our world, there are not enough people standing up for those mocking birds. To many times, people just walk past. We need to be more like Atticus, and we need to nurture the mocking birds.
To Kill A Mocking Bird - Boundaries of Fear - May 23, 2013
Fear can be very harmful in people's lives. It can lead to prejudice and and unnecessary anxiety. It can also cause you to not take opportunities such as doing the right thing. We can be so scared of others judging us that we wont do the right thing. When we create this barrier of fear, it cripples us from being able to love. When we start building this wall, it is so difficult to tear it down. I think there are a lot of these fears in the book. Whether it is the fear of the unknown, or the fear of being socially outcast for doing the right thing. Only a few people in this book are able to get over these boundaries. Calpurnia and Dolphus are just about the only two people in this book that are not afraid to step over that social boundary. They don't fear the social output. The whole rest of the town is scared to death of a crippled innocent man just because he is black. They all know he is harmless, but they refuse to step over the line. They are so scared of being socially outcast. Stephanie Crawford make these fears worse. She creates a great deal of fear towards Boo Radley. She created all of these stories up in her mind and makes it so people can't even walk past the house without their stomach turning.
These fears don't just happen in the book, it happens to all of us as well. We have so many fears that stop us from doing things that could change our lives forever. Yes, some of these fears are good. However, some of these fears are so unnecessary. If we can just step over those fears and walk down the road a bit, we could experience something that would change us forever. We just need to find the courage to leap.
To Kill A Mocking Bird - Chapters 22-24 - May 22, 2013
This book has so many historical ideas it is amazing. For one, it is incredible to look back into the racial prejudice of the time. Even though Tom had incredible evidence that would prove his evidence in our court system, this wasn't the case. Just because of his color, he was pronounced guilty. Even when the evidence was indisputable, he was still subjected to death. Knowing the torture he would be put through, he tried to escape and was shot to death. It is a tragic event for the times, showing how terrible blacks were treated.
There is also a coming of age with Jem in these chapters. He is finally figuring out what it means to be like Atticus. He finds it appalling that Tom was sentenced to death, even with all the evidence against his conviction. Jem has finally realized what it means to be a gentleman, and is beginning to step over the racial boundary of the times.
To Kill A Mocking Bird - Court Room Scenes - May 20, 2013
For this part in the book, I am going to try to get into Mayella’s brain. She was called onto the stand to testify for Tom Robinson’s imprisonment. She seemed to be fine while she was up on the stand. She stuck to her story and didn’t seem to be very troubled. Then Atticus tried to talk to her. She tried to get out of the situation saying that he scared her and would hurt her, but the judge ignored it. I am guessing at this time Mayella was feeling very on edge. She knew that Atticus was extremely cunning and would be able to see through her lies completely. You could tell the way she feared the truth coming out by the way the book talks about her glancing around and stuttering in a way. Then Atticus has Tom stand up, which reveals his lame arm. Knowing that her story couldn’t hold, I believe she became extremely nervous. She had been caught in a lie, and knew she only had two options. The first option was to tell the truth, and the second was to lie her way out of the situation. Knowing that her father would be disappointed in her, she chose the second option. She lied to no end just to save her hide. Atticus pummeled her with question after question, knowing she had to slip up at some point. Knowing she is defeated, she begins to cry real tears. Atticus asks her questions, yet she sticks to her story. She was let down from the bench and sent back to her chair after a time. Atticus knew he was close to cracking her, but the jury didn’t give him the time to do it. The only thing that the jury thought was important is that the man was black. His story was thought to be untrue just because a few people couldn’t get over that racial border. This really shows the racial side of that time, as well as how horrible it was to be a colored person. I think that, when she was on the stand, she figured that it wouldn’t matter if he died or not.
To Kill A Mocking Bird - Chapters 17-18 - May 17, 2013
I really liked these chapters. It shows how intelligent Atticus really is even though the rest of them dont think so. They find that he blabbers on about things that seem rather irrelevant. However, the idea about the good hand of the "attacker" really stunned me. The fact that he was able to think of this on the fly amazed me. His intelligence surpasses his education by decades. I now understand where Scout gets her intelligence from.
To Kill A Mocking Bird - Chapters 6- 16 - May 15, 2013
There were a lot of important events in these chapters, but one thing stood out to me specifically. I like how Atticus represents the black man on trial. He knows that his reputation will be damaged, but he doesn't care. He also says that if he doesn't represent him, that he will never be able to forgive himself. I believe this is a key part of showing his character and his humility. I think that he is a key character in this book, and I love his character. He is definitely someone that everyone should strive to be.
To Kill A Mocking Bird - Chapters 5 - May 13, 2013
To Kill A Mocking Bird - Chapters 1-4 - May 7, 2013
In this book there are a lot of boundaries. These boundaries can be physical, mental, and social. A physical boundary is that they can not leave their neighborhood boundaries given to them by Atticus. Also t here are a lot of relational or social boundaries. The kids have a kind of boundary with Calpurnia because, even though she was a slave, they had to treat her as they would treat any other adult. Also there is a relational boundary between Scout and her brother at school because he said she couldn't talk, or even get near, to him. A last relational boundary is between Miss. Caronline and Scout because she expected Scout to not learn anything other than in the class. The whole situation with the Radleys could be counted as all kinds of boundaries. It is mental in a way because the kids are all scared of going there. However, it could also be a social boundary because no one would even bring the Radleys up in conversation. Scout and her brother both broke this boundary numerous times.
There were so many interesting things in these chapters it is hard to fit them all in a post. The first thing that really interested me was the quote, "'Thank you ma'am. Thing is, foot-washers think women are a sin by definition. They take the Bible literally, you know'" (Lee 45). This was said by Miss Maudie when her and Scout were talking about the people who took their faith to an extreme. I find this quote interesting because it really shows the conception of women at the time. We were thought of as lower than men, and that we could never do anything right other than having children. This quote may seem sexist, but it really gives us insite on how it was back then.
This book gives us insite about extremists and their faith as well. Miss Maudie said, "'There are just some men who -- who're so busy worrying about the next world they've never learned to live in this one," (Lee 45). I feel like this quote can relate to many people in this world. Many people of faith tend to think so much about going to heaven that they forget how to live. They will revolve their lives around always going to church and always doing what their book says. I'm not saying this is wrong, but many of these people also tend to judge others for not being as godly as they are. This drives people away from religion since they feel so judged for making mistakes. We should instead be inviting them into the religion, no matter how broken they are. If we do not live once in a while, we could miss amazing opportunities to share our religion with others. We can not fear or worry about the future because it is not here yet. We must focus on the now.
The last quote that I love is said by Miss Maudie as well. She said, "The things that happen to people we never really know. What happens in houses behind closed doors, what secrets --," (Lee 46). I find this quote very true in the real world. We never really know what happens behind closed doors. I feel like a lot of us tend to judge and think that their troubles are nowhere near as bad as ours. But without actually stepping in their shoes and walking in them, we can not judge. We never know what happens when we aren't around, or what emotional turmoil they may have. We just have to respect each other, and do our best to ease the burden.
This book gives us insite about extremists and their faith as well. Miss Maudie said, "'There are just some men who -- who're so busy worrying about the next world they've never learned to live in this one," (Lee 45). I feel like this quote can relate to many people in this world. Many people of faith tend to think so much about going to heaven that they forget how to live. They will revolve their lives around always going to church and always doing what their book says. I'm not saying this is wrong, but many of these people also tend to judge others for not being as godly as they are. This drives people away from religion since they feel so judged for making mistakes. We should instead be inviting them into the religion, no matter how broken they are. If we do not live once in a while, we could miss amazing opportunities to share our religion with others. We can not fear or worry about the future because it is not here yet. We must focus on the now.
The last quote that I love is said by Miss Maudie as well. She said, "The things that happen to people we never really know. What happens in houses behind closed doors, what secrets --," (Lee 46). I find this quote very true in the real world. We never really know what happens behind closed doors. I feel like a lot of us tend to judge and think that their troubles are nowhere near as bad as ours. But without actually stepping in their shoes and walking in them, we can not judge. We never know what happens when we aren't around, or what emotional turmoil they may have. We just have to respect each other, and do our best to ease the burden.
To Kill A Mocking Bird - Chapters 1-4 - May 7, 2013
An Important quotes:
"You never really undertand a person until you consider things from his point of view" (Lee 30).
"Hush your mouth!Don't matter who they are, anybody sets foot in this house's yo' comp'ny, and don't you let me catch you remarkin' on their ways like you was so high and mighty! Yo' folks might be better'n the Cunninghams but it don't count for nothin' the way you're disgracin' 'em -- if you can't act fit to eat at the table you can just set here and eat in the kitchen!" (Lee 24).
List of other boundaries -
Physical
Boo's House
Social/Relational
Boo's House and the rest of Maycomb
Cunninghams (only take what they can pay back)
Emotional/Mental
Boundaries of Fear (Like Boo's House)
Cultural
Miss Caroline and Maycomb (page 30)
Socioeconomic
Ewells (live in dump), Finches (Upperclass), Cunninghams (only take what they can pay back).
Family Expectations
Treat Calpurnia right
To Kill A Mocking Bird - Chapters 1-3 - May 6, 2013
So far this book is amazing! I really like how the characters are portrayed. But one thing really gets me. How is scout so smart? The average first grader is around the age of 5 or 6. If she is 5, how does she know how to read and write so well? I get that she would try to write and read a lot, but what kid would write for fun? Even though she had no one to play with, I am sure a tomboy like her would like to go play in the mud once and a while. I almost feel like she has a supernatural gift for literature (both writing and reading). She also seems to understand a lot of things that people in elementary school usually don't. I love her character though; she absolutely fascinates me.
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