To Kill a Mockingbird

Classic City Readers October Selection:
Title: To Kill a Mockingbird
Author: Harper Lee
Year Published: 1960
Place on the top 100: 4
Awards Won: Pulitzer Prize, 1961; Brotherhood Award of the National Conference of Christians and Jews, 1961; Presidential Medal of Freedom, 2007



A gripping, heart-wrenching, and wholly remarkable tale of coming-of-age in a South poisoned by virulent prejudice, it views a world of great beauty and savage inequities through the eyes of a young girl, as her father -- a crusading local lawyer -- risks everything to defend a black man unjustly accused of a terrible crime.

Discussion Meeting: Saturday, November 22, 2008 @ 7:30pm
Host: Nayely
Discussion Leader: Liz


10/13 - A Note from Liz:
I'm excited for this book to be our first selection, and to lead the discussion on it! I think most of us have read this already, but I think that makes it a great first book. Nayely and I chose this as the first book for Classic City Readers for that exact reason. We feel like it's a story we all enjoyed once already, so it will be a comfortable thing to read as we work out all of the details of the group.
I had been thinking about this book recently because I ate at OK Cafe in Atlanta this past weekend; named after the cafe in this book (it only has a small mention, but still!). The cafe has a framed cover of the book, with a hand written note from Harper Lee herself! Very cool :)


11/22/08 - Our first meeting!
We met at Nayely's house to discuss To Kill a Mockingbird. Liz was the Discussion Leader, and here are some notes from the meeting:

Introduction/Background to the Book
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee was published in 1960 and won a Pulitzer Prize in 1961. It is loosely based on true events from Harper Lee's life; while it is not entirely autobiographical, the character of Scout somewhat shadows Harper as a child. She also grew up in Alabama, and her father was a lawyer. Like in the book, Harper's father defended two black men charged with murder. They ended up being convicted, tortured, and hanged; her father never practiced law again after that. The character of Dill is modeled after the author Truman Capote who was a childhood friend of Harper's. By 2004, 25 communities had chosen To Kill a Mockingbird for a citywide reading program, more than any other book. It is also #23 on the list of top 100 most frequently banned books. The 1962 film of the book starred Gregory Peck as Atticus. It won 3 Oscars and was nominated for 5 more.

Why do you think this book get banned?
The book was first challenged in 1966 in Virginia, where a parent said using rape as a plot point was immoral. The 'N' word is used 48 times in the book, as well as other forms of profanity and racial slurs.

Some of our thoughts...

• The book was published in a time when people were trying to forget race problems of the past, so maybe people were upset that this book brought all of that back to light.

• Yes it was vulgar in some parts, but it was also a very realistic view of what race relations were like at that time. We might not want to remember what it used to be like, but it's important to know where we have come from.

What do you see as some major themes in the book? Which were most important to you or affected you most?

• Themes included race, law, family, class and gender roles. We all seemed to agree that family and learning lessons were the themes that stuck out the most for us. As Nayely said, the lessons of growing up happen without you even realizing it!

Some people say that the two major storylines in the book (Tom's trial and Scout/Jem/Dill's fascination with Boo) aren't really connected. Did you feel that way? Was Harper Lee successful incorporating the story lines?

• The two lines do come together at the very end, when Boo saves the Scout and Jem from Bob Ewell, who was a central role in Tom Robinson's trial.
• Harper Lee created two worlds in her book; they are happening to the same people at the same time, just in differen capacities. The trial is important, but Boo is important, too.
• It created a very circular look at Scout and Jem's life.
• At the beginning of the book, the focus is more on Boo, but as the story continues, and Scout and Jem grow up, their focus turns away from Boo and towards the affect the trial is having on their lives. Then they both cross paths again at the end of the book.

Was Atticus a good father? How did he manage his role as a single parent?

• He did the best he could and tried his hardest to be there for his children; he doesn't know how to be a mom but he is raising them the best way he knows how.
  
• If he was a dad in 2008 and acting the same way, people would probably think that he was weird or uncaring.
• Atticus was an older man so it's not like he could run around and play with them. It was also during a hard time so it's understandable that he would have to work so much.
• He was very honest with his children and answered questions truthfully and frankly. He respected his children and understood that they could comprehend some 'adult' topics.
• Everything was a lesson whether Scout and Jem realized it or not. He was a great role model.
  
• Always patient, never too tired to talk to them.

Other topics of discussion included...

• Calpurnia and her mother role with the children.
• Our general love for the book and adoration of Atticus!
• We recounted a lot of our favorite parts of the book (and there were a lot!)