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A review by the_ya_assassin
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
5.0
Wow. This book is a really sad, angering, and educational story. Not only did Harper Lee write this story well, but she also made it more bearable. I'm very glad she wrote it from Scout's POV because if she hadn't, I doubt I'd have been able to understand while reading. I think if she had done it from Atticus's POV, it would've been too grown up and a hard read. If she had done it from Jem's POV, I think it would've been a little interesting, but I think it was best written with Scout because it allowed us to learn of the events from a child's POV.
It made me very angry when Tom Robinson was found guilty. I mean, I knew it would happen, or else there wouldn't be a book about it, but it still made me upset. At this point, I understand all of the hardships African-Americans went through to get to this point in our history, but it still surprises me how much race mattered back then and even now. Also, the HYPOCRISY. It was bad in this book (but in a good way?). In addition, when Bob Ewell tries to get revenge on Atticus by killing Scout and Jem . . . I was REALLY angry.
I get that this book is about racism in the DEEP South. It is the most race-centered book I've ever read. And I know it was written by a white woman with white main characters. While I think it might've been beneficial to the story if there were scenes with JUST Tom Robinson and Atticus or something from the African-American community SOMEWHERE, I think it would've been hard for a white author to write about how the black community reacted to the situation since she was not a part of it. In fact, the story is loosely based on her OWN experience when her father defended two falsely accused black men for rape when SHE was young. I believe the point of this novel was simply to address the racism in the US during the time period and provide an educational, yet understandable read for younger generations.
This book was sad as well. The noticeable loss of innocence that happens to Boo Radley, Tom Robinson, and Jem was REALLY depressing.
I liked how between each main action (Atticus getting the case, the trial, etc.), Harper Lee wrote something lighter and fun to help break up the heaviness of the story. I really enjoyed the younger scenes of summers with Dill, Jem, and Scout and it was nice to see how much family mattered to everyone. Calpurnia and Miss Maudie were also lights in the dark.
Overall, I really enjoyed this school read. I connected to it and feel like I applied my knowledge of the time period (the '30s) to the story. I'm thankful it was a required read - EVERYONE should read this book.
It made me very angry when Tom Robinson was found guilty. I mean, I knew it would happen, or else there wouldn't be a book about it, but it still made me upset. At this point, I understand all of the hardships African-Americans went through to get to this point in our history, but it still surprises me how much race mattered back then and even now. Also, the HYPOCRISY. It was bad in this book (but in a good way?). In addition, when Bob Ewell tries to get revenge on Atticus by killing Scout and Jem . . . I was REALLY angry.
I get that this book is about racism in the DEEP South. It is the most race-centered book I've ever read. And I know it was written by a white woman with white main characters. While I think it might've been beneficial to the story if there were scenes with JUST Tom Robinson and Atticus or something from the African-American community SOMEWHERE, I think it would've been hard for a white author to write about how the black community reacted to the situation since she was not a part of it. In fact, the story is loosely based on her OWN experience when her father defended two falsely accused black men for rape when SHE was young. I believe the point of this novel was simply to address the racism in the US during the time period and provide an educational, yet understandable read for younger generations.
This book was sad as well. The noticeable loss of innocence that happens to Boo Radley, Tom Robinson, and Jem was REALLY depressing.
I liked how between each main action (Atticus getting the case, the trial, etc.), Harper Lee wrote something lighter and fun to help break up the heaviness of the story. I really enjoyed the younger scenes of summers with Dill, Jem, and Scout and it was nice to see how much family mattered to everyone. Calpurnia and Miss Maudie were also lights in the dark.
Overall, I really enjoyed this school read. I connected to it and feel like I applied my knowledge of the time period (the '30s) to the story. I'm thankful it was a required read - EVERYONE should read this book.