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Caramellunacy: Both stories are about a young girl in the South coming to terms with racism. Secret Life of Bees features an teenaged protagonist whereas To Kill a Mockingbird's Scout is quite a bit younger, but I thought there were themes that resonated between the two.… (more)
paulkid: There are many similarities between these books. For example, a strong father-daughter relationship, where the father teaches by example by taking the moral high ground in protecting a persecuted minority - also kids that break down the barriers between secluded and socially awkward neighbors through books and sundry shenanigans.… (more)
Caramellunacy: Both stories about a young girl coming of age in the South and racial intolerance. Also both beautiful reads! To Kill a Mockingbird is told by Scout Finch - the daughter of the town lawyer called upon to defend an African-American man accused of rape. Roll of Thunder is told from the point of view of the daughter of a cotton-picking family who only slowly grows to realize the extent of prejudice her family faces.… (more)
atimco: These books share a precocious narrator, vital family relationships, and themes that are funny and sad and thought provoking all at the same time. Extremely well written and engaging.
DanLovesAlice: An African-American facing an uphill battle against a highly prejudiced jury and public. Wright, like Lee, explores the dangers of the stereotypes created by insular and ignorant societies.
Othemts: These books are two sides of the same coin of life in a small Alabama town. Where there's dignity and hope in Mockingbird, Other Voices is decadence and demoralization
Sadie-rae_Kieran: Similar setting, 1960's in the south. Deals with some similar issues as well,including racism/discrimination. Though sad at times, a beautiful and touching story.
lilithcat: For the real story of race relations in Alabama in the thirties, read this autobiography of Haywood Patterson, one of several young black men judicially railroaded for the rape of two young white women, and sentenced to death. A national and international campaign ultimately resulted in their exonerations, but their lives had already been destroyed.… (more)
Representation: Black and biracial (half Black and half white) characters Trigger warnings: Assault mentioned, racism, sexism, racist and sexist slurs, gun and knife violence, animal death Score: Two points out of ten. Find this review on The StoryGraph.
I didn't enjoy To Kill a Mockingbird at any point in the book. I saw this one circling my recommendations, making me want to read it. When I discovered my library had this, I immediately wanted to pick it up. Soon enough, it was time to read it, and I initially thought it would be enjoyable, but it wasn't.
Spoilers ahead. I've warned you.
It starts with the first people I see, Scout and Jem Finch, recounting their lives in a small town named Maycomb. Nothing much happens in the opening pages (actually the first 150 pages,) until a court case occurs involving a Black person being accused of assaulting a white person. To say To Kill a Mockingbird was disappointing only scratches the surface of how abhorrent it is. To Kill a Mockingbird portrays a white saviour narrative as the white lawyer, Atticus Finch, swoops in and solves racism for the Black character, Tom. That has to be one of the most unrealistic rendering of racism I've seen.
To Kill a Mockingbird ignores the fact that Black people and other minorities stood up for themselves to stop injustice and instead sends a message that only white people can stop racism for them. I would've liked the characters if they didn't play the white saviour. All I see is racism from the white perspective, and never hear from any of the Black characters. The last 100 pages weren't much better as all the characters in this fictional composition reflect on what happened, but not before one of them delivers a speech on colourblindness and how race doesn't matter and they are all only people.
To summarise, this piece of fiction from the author initially seemed promising, but when I closed its final page, I felt disgusted. You can read other books concerning discrimination like The Hate U Give instead of this.( )
I've seen the movie several times, but never read the book. While the movie follows the book closely, I think reading the book added a layer of charm and feeling hard to convey in a movie.
The writing is amazing, you are effortlessly pulled into the lives of the characters and feel transported to a time of hot steamy summers in a small southern town. I will be reading this again. ( )
Many seem to have read this when quite young - probably as a school text. I missed it back then but although I'm old now I felt at ease with this book's warm southern American tone - largely developed through the voice of Scout the narrator and assisted by occasional passages of gentle humour. A deliberate and cleverly constructed contrast to the intractable depth of prejudice and injustice in the USA (just as bad in Australia). The book is a beautifully sustained series of interconnected life-stories that peaked for me during the meeting of Aunt Alexandra's missionary circle where, 'the ladies were cool in fragile pastel prints: most of them heavily powdered but unrouged;...'
'His food doesn't stick going down does it?' Miss Maudie said it. Two tight lines had appeared at he corners of her mouth. She had been sitting silently beside me, her coffee cup balanced on one knee... 'Maudie,, I'm sure I don't know what you mean,' said Mrs Merriweather. 'I'm sure you do,' said Miss Maudie shortly. She said no more. When Miss Maudie was angry her brevity was icy.
Lawyers, I suppose, were children once. ~ Charles Lamb
Dedication
For Mr. Lee and Alice in consideration of Love & Affection
First words
When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow.
Please spare Mockingbird an Introduction. (From the Foreword by Harper Lee)
Quotations
Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.
People generally see what they look for, and hear what they listen for.
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.
Not from, but about To Kill a Mockingbird, with apologies:
Monroeville, Alabama January, 1966
Editor, The News Leader:
Recently I have received echoes down this way of the Hanover County School Board’s activities, and what I’ve heard makes me wonder if any of its members can read.
Surely it is plain to the simplest intelligence that “To Kill a Mockingbird” spells out in words of seldom more than two syllables a code of honor and conduct, Christian in its ethic, that is the heritage of all Southerners. To hear that the novel is “immoral” has made me count the years between now and 1984, for I have yet to come across a better example of doublethink.
I feel, however, that the problem is one of illiteracy, not Marxism. Therefore I enclose a small contribution to the Beadle Bumble Fund that I hope will be used to enroll the Hanover County School Board in any first grade of its choice.
Harper Lee
Last words
He would be there all night, and he would be there when Jem waked up in the morning.
The explosion of racial hate in an Alabama town is viewed by a little girl whose father defends a black man accused of rape.
▾Library descriptions
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▾LibraryThing members' description
Book description
"To Kill a Mockingbird" was my absolute favorite books to read in school. I would maybe wait to have students read this until middle High School but I think it can be a great learning experience for students. The topics of this book raises awareness about rape, racial inequality, and family. The way that my teacher in High School set up her lesson was that she had everyone in her classroom dress up like a character from a book and make everyone talk and act like that given character. It was fun to watch what everyone wanted to dress like so it will for sure go into my teacher toolbox.
Haiku summary
Scout recalls her youth Mad dogs, rabid mob threaten Lawyer Dad defends. (pickupsticks)
Dad says it's O.K. To kill a blue jay. But not A mockingbird. Why? (pickupsticks)
Trigger warnings: Assault mentioned, racism, sexism, racist and sexist slurs, gun and knife violence, animal death
Score: Two points out of ten.
Find this review on The StoryGraph.
I didn't enjoy To Kill a Mockingbird at any point in the book. I saw this one circling my recommendations, making me want to read it. When I discovered my library had this, I immediately wanted to pick it up. Soon enough, it was time to read it, and I initially thought it would be enjoyable, but it wasn't.
Spoilers ahead. I've warned you.
To Kill a Mockingbird ignores the fact that Black people and other minorities stood up for themselves to stop injustice and instead sends a message that only white people can stop racism for them. I would've liked the characters if they didn't play the white saviour. All I see is racism from the white perspective, and never hear from any of the Black characters. The last 100 pages weren't much better as all the characters in this fictional composition reflect on what happened, but not before one of them delivers a speech on colourblindness and how race doesn't matter and they are all only people.
To summarise, this piece of fiction from the author initially seemed promising, but when I closed its final page, I felt disgusted. You can read other books concerning discrimination like The Hate U Give instead of this.