To Kill a Mockingbird(Round 5)

Book Update/Coming of Age Connection

    I am reading To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. So far, it is about Jem and Scout being attacked after Maycomb's Halloween carnival. After the trial of Tom Robinson, Bob Ewell threatens Atticus, but ends up going after his kids that night. Arthur(Boo) Radley saves them, and the kids realize that he is actually a nice person. One characteristic of a coming of age story in this book is Scout psychologically maturing. She learns to empathize with other people. For example, when she is at Arthur Radley's house, she tries to see her actions from his point of view.

Characterization

    I would be friends with Jem Finch. He is brave and kind. He is protective of his younger sister. He believes in equality and can't stand racism and unfairness. He would impact my life because we would go on many adventures together and explore Finch's Landing.

Characterization 2

    A character who is different from Jem is Bob Ewell. He is a mean and racist man. He tries to convict an innocent man for rape, and hits his own daughter. However, it doesn't seem plausible to me that he is as lazy as described in the story. 

Setting

    I think the author did a good job with world building. It was hard to remember exactly what places were near each other, but I got the general idea of the layout of Maycomb.

Conflict 

    I think the main conflict of the book is thought provoking and interesting. I enjoyed seeing Atticus Finch stand up for what he believes and prove Mr. Ewell wrong. However, I think the conflict could be resolved better because Tom did not have to die. 

Connection

    My family friend Ashwini would like this book. She just finished studying to be a lawyer. She also really likes reading. I think she would really like Atticus and things he says to Jem and Scout.

To Kill a Mockingbird(Round 4)

Book Update

    The book I am writing about is To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. So far, the book is about the trial of Tom Robinson and the racism that exists in Maycomb. One example of a coming of age characteristic is struggling with the knowledge that the adult world is complex. Because of the trial, she learns that juries can be unfair and that evil people like Bob Ewell can get away with their crimes.

Characterization

    Scout's father, Atticus, has influenced her the most. He teaches her and Jem how to respect people and treat everyone equally. He tells them, "You'll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but...whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash." Atticus strives to teach Scout about injustices in the world and wants her to understand right from wrong. Atticus also teaches her important lessons she will use throughout her life.He tells Scout, "You just hold your head high and keep those fists down. No matter what anybody says to you, don't you let 'em get your goat." Atticus clearly influences her because she doesn't try to hit anyone for saying something about her dad after that.

Characterization 2

    A character my family would hate is Bob Ewell. He lied about Tom Robinson raping his daughter, tarnishing Tom's reputation. He also beat his own daughter, which is horrible and unforgivable. He is racist towards black people. Ewell also spits on Atticus and curses at him after the trial, showing that he is an angry, malicious man.

Setting

    The time period that the story is written in is the 1930's. This is similar to our time period because people say we might go through another Great Depression, which was the big event of the 1930's. Our time period is also different from the 1930's because we don't have segregation laws anymore.

Conflict

    An internal conflict that Jem is facing is that he is angry that the jury was unfair and did not step up to save Tom Robinson. People in his town are racist and will always believe a white man over a black man. Today, the American South is still a racist part of the country. A lot of white people in the South today don't understand the impact of slavery that still makes it harder for black people to get ahead today.

Connection

    An issue raised in the book is an innocent person being punished for a crime that they did not commit. This still happens from time to time today. People are given life sentences for something they didn't do. Thankfully, now our courts treat all people the same and most people understand that no one is less of person because of their skin color. We are also reviewing cases with new DNA evidence and acquitting innocent people who are sitting in jail.

To Kill a Mockingbird(Round 3)

Book Update/Coming of Age Connection

    The book I am reading is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. So far, it is about the trial of Tom Robinson, who was accused by the Ewell family of raping their daughter. Aunt Alexandra has come to visit and wants Scout to act more ladylike, though Scout despises the idea. One coming of characteristic in the story is having an education outside of school. Scout learns a lot about the injustices of life through Atticus. Also, when Calpurnia takes her to her church, Scout learns how black people worship at church.

Characterization

    A character I would like to interview is Atticus Finch. 
1. How do you stay so calm when other people say bad things about you?
        I would ask him this because Atticus always seems to keep his cool when Scout complains that someone said something bad about him. Also, he doesn't seem to care that the whole town thinks he's crazy.

2. Do you think Aunt Alexandra is a good influence on Scout?
        I would ask him this because he always acts nice to her but it seems like he would rather not have her at their house.

3. What made you decide to become a lawyer?
        I would ask him this because Atticus is passionate about his job and there must have been something in his life that pushed him to study to become a lawyer.

Characterization 2

    The story might be different if Scout, the main character was a boy. Aunt Alexandra wouldn't be so obsessed with making Scout behave like a girl. Also, she wouldn't have gotten "engaged" to Dill, and their friendship might be different. The relationship between Scout and Jem would change too. They would be brothers, and that might make them closer.

Setting

    If this story took place in our present, things would be a lot different. First, there are no more segregation laws so there would be less racism in the story. Atticus defending a black man would be completely normal and wouldn't solicit rude remarks from the residents of Maycomb.

Conflict

    Scout just made the decision come out of hiding and run to Atticus after following him to the county jail. The advice I would have given her is not to run out because she doesn't know the people who are talking to him. She might also get hurt by the strange men. I would tell her that there is a reason that Atticus didn't tell her where he is going.

Connection

    I would jump into the story in the part when the trial starts. I would like to see the trial of Tom Robinson and Atticus in action. The story would change with my arrival because it would be strange to see an Indian person in the 1930's in the United States.