Every chapter of To Kill A Mockingbird—in fact, almost every page—brings something new and interesting. This is a genuine page turner.
High Point: Lee masterfully mixes multiple themes that somehow mesh into an engaging story of life in the American South.
Low Point: The knowledge that the story accurately reflects the United States of the 1930s.
Author: Harper Lee
Publication Date: 1960
Genre: Fiction
Banned Book (Florida, Iowa, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania)
Project Gutenberg: Not available
LibriVox: Not available
Movie/TV Adaptation: To Kill A Mockingbird (1962)
A Masterful Mix of Multiple Themes
In To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee masterfully mixes multiple themes that somehow mesh into an engaging story of life in the American South.
For example, it’s a set of character studies of the residents of a small Alabama community. It’s also the story of a young girl growing up in the 1930s. In addition, it’s a mystery about a scary mad man in the neighborhood. It’s an intense courtroom drama. And it’s a portrait of American bigotry.
Despite the number of threads, Lee avoids confusion, and the narrative never bogs down. In the end, all the disparate storylines are tied together nicely.
Every chapter—in fact, almost every page—brings something new and interesting. This is a genuine page turner.
Dealing With Controversy
The book, of course, has generated controversy since the day it was published. It’s been banned in many school libraries across the United States for 65 years. Among the reasons cited are its discussions of rape and sex; its incessant racial slurs; its depiction of white intolerance; and, its portrayal of one of its characters as a “white savior.”
The fact, though, is Lee presents an accurate picture of the United States in the 1930s. Despite being a great nation in many ways, America had horrific warts. Banning the book simply avoids exposure to those flaws. And that eliminates opportunities for newer generations to understand the nation’s past problems and grow beyond them.
A Genuine Classic
The challenge with reviewing a classic like To Kill A Mockingbird is everyone’s already said everything there is to say. That’s especially true when the discussion regarding the novel has waned little since its publication in 1960.
And that’s the definition of a genuine classic.
Quotes
| Talking to Francis gave me the sensation of settling slowly to the bottom of the ocean. He was the most boring child I ever met. |
| “Don’t say n——-, Scout. That’s common.” “’s what everybody at school says.” “From now on it’ll be everybody less one—” “Well, if you don’t want me to grow up talkin’ that way, why do you send me to school?” |
| People in their right minds never take pride in their talents. |
| The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience. |
| I do my best to love everybody. I’m hard put, sometimes—baby, it’s never an insult to be called what somebody thinks is a bad name. It just shows you how poor that person is, it doesn’t hurt you. |