To Kill a Mockingbird: February 2012

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Final thoughts about the book

This book had a very confusing start for me. At first I didn't understand why Scout and Jem was so curious about the Boo Radley's house and why it was brought up so often in the book. As I read, Atticus had to help Tom Robinson get through the trial. When the book was moving over to a trial scene, it confused me again. I didn't quite understand what the topic and the main theme was about in the book. However, at the end of the book the scenes and the title of the book all made sense. They all instantly connected and I was able to realize that Boo Radley was not so strange as Scout and Jem thought. He was actually a hero in this book. He kills the Mayella Ewell's father but was not in any trouble even though the police captured the scene. The police just let Boo Radley go. They all knew that Tom had died because of something that he did not do. He was innocent. So, my personal thoughts on Radley's action; I think that Radley had done the right thing because a person's got to pay for what they did wrong and he was able to get punished. The mockingbird symbolized innocence in the book and the bird represented Tom. Atticus mentioned in the book that people should not kill mockingbirds. This also has a hidden meaning which could also apply to human being. Not making someone guilty and getting them go through death penalties. The book was very interesting. It discussed about social problems and as a reader I was able to think more deeply and come to a realization that in reality it is worse. So this book made me think about the society that we live in and how the book relates to it. It was a fun book to read and also helped gain and remind myself about the social issues that we face everyday in real life.

Sunday, February 26, 2012

racial issues in the book

The book apparently discusses about racial issues and this issue caused the trial to open. In the trial Tom who is innocent gets accused of raping Mayella Ewell. However, it was untrue. The woman was the one to cause trouble. The racial here in this trial was that Tom was claimed of guilt and had to go through a death penalty so he died. Through this readers are able to understand the seriousness of racial issues handled during this time. Also, some white people had to fake it by acting as if they were drunk or in any other way in order to look as if they were just hanging out with them because they were out of their minds. Some white people tended to like hanging out with the black people but the society disapproved strongly. It makes me, as a reader feel deep sorrow for the innocent person such as Tom getting executed because of something that he didn't do. Through this it makes me realize serious issues that have been happening at those days.

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Final Thoughts on "To Kill a Mockingbird"

The book "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee started off slow and steady. I honestly thought I would fall asleep in the first couple pages. As it progressed, I felt it was a light and nice read, but nothing I was necessarily looking forward to. By the end, I did not even realized that I had missed dinner, and was clutching the book for dear life. The ending really pulled it together, and I was so excited to find out how Boo Radley and everything was related. My favorite character was Scout, no doubt, from the way she sounded AMAZINGLY cute in that ham outfit, and how she treated Boo Radley when she finally met him, I loved her. I also enjoyed Jem and his big brother attitude, and also enjoyed his adventures with crazy Dill. I really liked Atticus, and how insightful, modest, wise, and calm he was. He sounded like the perfect father, and I was really glad that he did not treat black men and women like dirt, like most of the town did. Honestly anyone in the town that did not treat others depending on the color of their skin were my favorite people. I found Mr. Dolphus Raymond to be interesting, for her pretends to always be drinking whiskey to appear as the town drunk, so he has a excuse as to why he likes to hang out the the black people of the town more. He comments that if anyone does anything weird or out of the ordinary in Maycomb, if you give the ladies and gentlemen an excuse as to why it's done, they'll leave you alone. For example Bob Ewell lives near the dump and is known to be rude, but everyone knows he is white trash and has no money, therefore he has reasoning behind his actions and therefore they are considered tolerable. I find that statement to be true in life everywhere, if we can find an excuse for something, we did not doubt why it is done or not. "To Kill a Mockingbird" really is a heart warming and insightful story. Having seen that Tom Robinson really had no chance when he was trial because of his skin color was heartbreaking, yet the truth. I would highly recommend "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, a true classic, to anyone.

Racial Issues

In the book "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, all the issues involve race. It was after the civil war, so although slavery was not alive in the country, down south, white people were still very rude and demeaning towards blacks. In the book, Mr. Bob Ewell, also known as a complete piece of white trash, accuses a Tom Robinson, a honest and helpful black man, of raping his daughter Maya. Everyone in the town knows that Tom is innocent, but admitting that and letting the black man claim defeat over the white would be against the social rules, and would cause a major uproar. So although the town of Maycomb is filled with people who would love to see Bob go to jail, and not get away with accusing an innocent black man, they all understand that it cannot be done. Judge Taylor assigns Atticus Finch, the best lawyer and town and the father of the main characters Scout and Jem Finch, to the case, in hope that with a really good argument, the jury might be able to change their mind that has been set before they even walked into the court room. It does not, but Atticus states that they were deciding for a long time, and that is one baby step closer, to making man equal.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

one word

The trial ends by concluding that Tom Robinson is guilty. However, at the trial when Atticus tried to defend Tom and prove that he was innocent it showed how Atticus was brave enough to stand up for Tom. It was a challenge for Atticus to defend his undertrial, Tom because Tom was black and at that time blacks were not well- treated by the society as the whites were treated. Most of the people thought that Tom was guilty. He had every reason to be accused of guilt since he was a black man. So the word, that describes the situation would be bravery/courageous. An incident in my life that portraits courage would be when I had to give a speech in elementary school about pollution. The speech was written about how the world would be if the pollution got worse later in the future. I wrote a speech about the impacts that the pollution would bring to our environment and why we should stop it from happening. This was an act of bravery for me because I gave the speech at a high school where the faculties and other groups of people were listening to us speakers and thinking of a way to make a better environment. I was speaking for the others in order to stop people from polluting.

I was inspired by the act of courage that Atticus put on trial.

One Word

In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus stands outside of the jail that his client, Tom Robinson is in. He is doing this to protect him from a Maycomb gang that is trying to hurt him, and never through a punch when the gang threatened to. The one word I would use to describe this scenario is courageous. Tom Robinson is black, and even though everyone knows he is right, and did not rape Mayella Ewell, no one will ever admit it, except for dear Atticus. This is courageous, for he is standing up for someone when no one else would. Some courageous stories that have happened in my life that I have seen, are when a little boy stood up for his brother at a playground. Another little boy had came up and shoved the little brother into the sand box. The mother had been talking to my mother, and did not see. The older brother jumped off the swings, helped his little brother up and told the bully to go away. I was surprised to not see either boy push back in defense, but feel this is a perfect example of being courageous. The boy stood up for someone else and did not fight back, just like Atticus. There are many other stories I am sure I have seen, for the world can be a caring place. I not only hope that I can, but many others can act as courageous and caring as Atticus, with the loving and equal mindset he has

Monday, February 20, 2012

Old and New Connections

Jem and Scout Finch are two peas in a pod. When they were younger, the two would do everything together. Dill would come during the summers, and the three would continue on adventures together. Then, suddenly Scout noticed a difference. Jem got older, and felt that he had authority. Scout and Jem were no longer best friends, but there were an invisible difference that was obvious and cumbersome in Scout's life. Jem tries to instruct her what to do, and initiates his authority. They are no longer as close as they were, for the fact that Jem is an older brother has been established. They still go on adventures, but Jem is usually reluctant. He looks out for his sister now even more, for he feels responsible now. Scout gets easily annoyed by how cocky her brother can sound, because he feels he is now more knowledgeable know that he is older. They no longer are as close, but Jem looks out for his sister, for they are family.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Scout and Jem's relationship

Scout and Jem in the book were siblings that would always hang out together when they were little. Jem as a child told Scout not to be so girly. He would tempt her to do brave things such as going to the Bradley's house together at two in the morning. They would do everything together when they were little. They were more like best friends. However, as Jem grew up there has been a change between their relationship. He was telling Scout to be more like a lady and act like a girl. He would act differently towards her sister. I think that this could be shown as a demonstration of any other siblings in real life. When they are young, they get along very well but then when one grows up and by the time they reach the age when they think they are mature and grown-up they tend to ignore and keep distance with their younger siblings. I think this relationship between Scout and Jem is interesting because the readers with siblings are able to understand and agree on it.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

connections

Boo Radley's House is a mysterious house. The kids try to find out the unknown about the house. Keeley and I predicted that Jem breaking his arm is related to the Boo Radley's house. If him breaking his arm not related, I personally don't think the book would have mentioned it from the beginning of the book. But at this point, I can't even guess what would happen and what the relation the Boo Radley would have with the main character. Maybe they are not related but I do not understand why they would suddenly try to figure out what's hidden in Radley's house. I am very confused on what the book is focused on. I don't quite get the topic that they are concentrating on. Later, people talk about Atticus for him trying to help a black man. I feel the story is all over the place right now. This book is a bit hard to follow on what they focus on. But, I am looking forward to finding out how these different topics would connect.

Monday, February 13, 2012

Reading Schedule

2/9/2012 Thursday

chapter 1-3 (pg1-42)

2/10/2012 Friday

chapter 4-8 (pg43-98)

2/12/2012 Sunday

chapter 9-10 (pg99-131)

2/13/2012 Monday

chapter 11-12 (pg132-168)

2/14/2012 Tuesday

chapter 13-15 (pg169-207)

2/15/2012 Wednesday

chapter 16-17(pg208-238)

2/16/2012 Thurday

chapter 18-20 (pg239-275)

2/17/2012 Friday

chapter 21-24 (pg276-318)

2/18/2012 Saturday

chapter 25-28 (pg319-357)

2/19/2012 Sunday

chapter 29-31 (pg358-376)

The class discussion leader will switch everyday between Vanessa and I

The blog discussion will be on a topic we have agreed upon in class

We are doing separate final projects

Connections

How will the Boo Radley house connect to the story of how Jem broke his arm? This puzzles both me and Vanessa, what is the point of the story? Just discussing the lives of these kids in the south? The story behind how Jem broke his arm? Well, I predict the connection between that and the Boo Radley house will be a simple one. Earlier in the book, Jem ran and touched the house on a dare. I believe that Jem will be running to touch the house again, and will end up tripping. But Jem and Dill (who will most likely be there) and Scout won't see it that way. They will say that Boo Radley, the ghost, tripped Jem for going on his property again. That he tried to suck him under the porch where he hides, but Dill helped him out of the yard before the creepy ghost family could eat them or stick scissors into him. This is how I believe the Boo Radley House connects to the overall story (hopefully?) of how Jem broke his arm.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

First Impressions

To be completely honest, before I even started the book, I had my doubts. My mother had always bugged me to read it, and I thought that anything an English scholar liked must be boring. So I was very critical, and when the first paragraph started out as it did, I was relived. But after that first paragraph, you could hear my snores all the way in China. The couple pages were brutal, and I figured that was going to be the rest of the book. Yes, I was wrong, it was not as fact-filled and boring, but it was all my mother had droned about either. Given, I am only 8 chapters into the story, and it can be enticing, but I am not going to chose it over my pleasure reading. I do like Scout, our main character, and I am very curious about the Radley House. That was where my confusion came in, is the book all about the Radley house, or will it lead to the explanation of Scout's brother's accident? Or, is it just a day-to-day basis of these children's lives living in the south, dealing with school, and the neighborhood and such? The wide variety of characters, from mysterious to sassy, is an excellent touch. Even though I complain so much, I really am excited to figure out more.

First Impression of the Book

To kill a mocking bird is known as the "masterpiece of American Literature". Scout is the main character that narrates the book and her brother, Jem and her friend Dill are the two other boys that play a major role in this book. The three hangs out all the time during summers because Dill only visits the Maycomb county during summers. The interesting part of the story is when they hang out. They try to find out if Boo Radley is still alive. They want to figure out the mystery behind the Radley's house. This reminded me about the movie "Monster House". Them trying to find the mystery is very entertaining. As a reader of this book, I keep wondering about what the Radleys are hiding from.

Also the odd situation with Miss Caroline Fisher and Scout is very hard to comprehend. The teacher punishes Scout because she knew how to read when I think that Scout should be complimented for her intelligence in reading. But, the teacher scolds Scout because Scout should be learning at school, not getting taught before she comes to class. In my mind I think, "Is the teacher just strange, or was is like this in the old days..?"Since I am only through the middle part of the book I am still confused and curious about how this killing a mockingbird could relate to the story. Overall, I think it's a great book. It is a fun reading; wondering what might happen in the next page.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

To Kill a Mockingbird: Reading