To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbirdby Harper LeeI had planned to record more thoughts on my reading of this book as I did for the first 8 chapters, however fate seemed to have other ideas.Unfortunately (or, fortunately) I have no means of making another video since the first one (in which I ramble on about my thoughts of To Kill a Mockingbird). I am out of batteries for my digital camera and my husband's MacBook Pro is in the shop for 2-4 weeks to replace the CD drive.I shall just ramble away here in text form.Firstly to remind everyone, this past July 11th marked the 50th anniversary of this classic by Harper Lee. I had never read it before now. I always wanted to, but we never did this in school and I wasn't about to buy a classic and read it on my own! Imagine! I'm not smart enough for "classics" and "books that teachers force you to read against your will". (Hello? King Lear? Yeah, what the hell was that all about!?) But I couldn't resist the pitch and thought, why this is the perfect opportunity to read this book.And yes, multiple times I had it confused with One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest which I had confused with Of Mice and Men. Both of which I have been told are completely different stories than the one I am writing about right now!Who knew?This isn't a book that is easily made fun of. Not that I was making fun of anything in my video, I was just stating things that came to my head as I read. I will say this though:To Kill a Mockingbird is the first book I have ever read in my entire life that has made me WANT to take notes as I read. To the point that I had a note pad and pen next to me every time I picked up the book. Hell, I never even did this in SCHOOL when I HAD to. This book was so rich and so complex and so deep that I wanted to write down page numbers and thoughts as I came across them so that I could remember what I felt while reading and not just forget about it when I closed the book.Aside from my outrage at the grade one classroom scene with the disapproval of reading at home and learning to read and write outside the class room I was also highly touched by the scene where Calpurina takes Jem and Scout to her church and the reactions and lessons learned there.This is also where I get into nervous territory because there are words and slang in this book that I was brought up being told were WRONG and RACIST so I don't want to inadvertently offend anyone or suddenly get hate male for the use of words I shouldn't be using. So I am not going to use any words and just be as vague as possible. As a 30-something, white female I do not know what I can and cannot say without getting into trouble. And I don't want to get in trouble, so I am refraining!The church scene was powerful and emotional and I felt sick to my stomach that there was even separation of church back then (and still now?). I grew up not even realizing that the kids in my class were anything other than just kids in my class. (A fact about which we all laughed when we met up after 20 years and one girl said to us "I realized in 10th grade, holy cow! I'm black! It wasn't something any of us ever noticed or thought about! We were all just kids in the class!" I like that about the town that I grew up in.)I disliked Mrs. Sat on Her Porch and Insulted People as They Went By and Was Addicted to Morphine. I disliked her a lot and when Jem got in trouble for standing up to her for something she said about his father I don't think he should have been punished by having to read to that sour old woman for over a month until she died. To be quite frank (not to be confused with Frank, the Mockingbird) I was happy when she died. I thought she deserved it. I don't care if Atticus was trying to teach Jem a lesson. I think the old coot should have died alone.Unlike the killing of the "mad" dog. That made me sad and I don't think the dog should have been shot. And what was all that about "there can't be a mad dog, it's February and not August" stuff? Is that some sort of Southern superstition? I have no idea what was going on there. I think the dog was sick, or choking on something and they should have just had a vet take a look at it. Shooting it. Bastards. (if anyone can shed some light on the August mad dog thing I'd appreciate it!)Did not like Aunt Alexandra and was happy that as much as she tried to throw her weight around the kids never listened to her and for the most part Atticus let them do what they wanted. She was way too focused on trash and status in the community. I hated her and was also glad she didn't have as big of a part in the story as I thought she was going to.When book changed modes and focused on the trial of Tom Robinson I could not put it down. I was captivated by the story and the testimonies and was sure, like Jem, of the no-brainer verdict although I knew deep down that it wasn't going to turn out the way it should. I mean, that was the point of the story, right? To show the differences between whites and blacks in the south in the 30s? To show that all men were not created equal? Makes me sick.I loved that Scout could see the similarities between what Hitler was doing with the Jews and what the whites were doing with the blacks in her own town but no one else would listen to her. I think that was a pretty awesome comparison to make in this book and that Scout, at almost nine, could see it with clarity though the adults couldn't was something. I also loved this little bit:

Cecil Jacobs knew what one was, though. When his turn came, he went to the front of the room and began, "Old Hitler-""Adolf Hitler, Cecil," said Miss Gates. "One never begins with Old anybody.""Yes, ma'am," he said. "Old Adolf Hitler has been prosecutin' the-""Persecuting, Cecil...""Nome, Miss Gates, it says here - well anyway, old Adolf Hitler has been after the Jews and he's puttin' 'em in prisons and he's taking away all their property and he won't let any of 'em out of the country and he's washin' all the feeble-minded and-""Washing the feeble-minded?""Yes ma'am, Miss Gates, I reckon they don't have sense enough to wash themselves, I don't reckon an idiot would keep hisself clean."

I know it's not really funny in a ha-ha way, but I had to laugh at Cecil keeping the "old" in Hitler's name and the "washing of the feeble-minded". If only all that happened was that a few people got an extra scrubbing and bath! There wouldn't have been much of a war.I was saddened by the death of Tom Robinson and indifferent about the dead of Bob Ewell. In fact the hole end of the book had me confused. It seems obvious to  me that Jem had nothing to do with Ewell's death and yet Atticus is adamant that his son be tried for this "murder". I think the sheriff is honestly telling Atticus the truth that Jem did not kill Ewell and yet Atticus won't listen. And the fact that Boo Radley came out of his house and brought the kids home - doesn't that mean that HE might have done it? I read the last two chapters over twice and was still in the dark as to why Atticus won't believe that Jem was unconscious and did not kill Bob Ewell. Can anyone shed some light on this for me? (Along with the mad dogs in August thing?) I'd be mighty appreciative!Oh, and after reading this book for 5 days I felt that I would want to break into the same patterns of speech that I was reading in the story. It had this flow to it, lazy sunny days on the front porch with a glass of lemonade and I reckons and never you mind's. Once I got into the flow of the writing and dialect I found it rather mesmerizing and I'd start to phrase things in a 1930s Southern manner around the house.I also drank a lot of lemonade while reading this book.And I have to thank Harper Collins for giving me the push I obviously needed to read this classic novel because I fell in love with it. I have been told by many people that I should now check out the original movie and I think I just might. I'd like to see the movie adaptation of this story. I have had friends tell me it has made them cry every time.If I can read this book, maybe I can read other classics! Onward to tackle Of  the One Mice that Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest of Men!(...and hey! I only found out by the last 5 chapters, when I read the back for the millionth time, that Harper Lee is a WOMAN! The entire time I thought she was a man. Oops. You learn something new ever day!)