The End of a "Simple Love Story"

Can you believe that our time with Scout, Jem, Atticus, Dill and Boo is coming to an end?  As I reflect back on the novel, certain parts in the story stand out to me as beautiful, tragic, funny, and infuriating.  The children running through the Radley yard and getting shot at by Nathan Radley, the cruelty of the town of Maycomb toward Tom Robinson, Bob Ewell's appalling attack on the children, and Scout walking Boo home all come to mind as moments in the text that shocked and moved me.  What was your favorite (or least favorite) moment(s) in the book?  What made this moment so great or so horrible.  Explain.  If you could change anything or add on to the story in some way, what would you do?   

The Longest Journey

As Scout's story of how Jem broke his arm begins to reach its climactic moment, familiar characters will take center stage.  Consider the following quotation from John Petit-Senn:  "True courage is like a kite; a contrary wind raises it higher."  Does this quotation connect to the events in chapter 28?  To the novel as a whole?  To Boo Radley?  (Hint:  the quote connects to the story and its characters on many levels.)  If so, how?  Explain the connections that you see. 

Aunt Alexandra's Tea Party

After you complete your reading of chapter 24 in Mockingbird, please read the following quote from Leo Tolstoy (famous 19th century Russian author of War and Peace as well as Anna Karenina):
"Hypocrisy in anything whatever may deceive the cleverest and most penetrating man, but the least wide-awake of children recognizes it, and is revolted by it, however ingeniously it may be disguised."

What message do you believe Tolstoy was trying to convey through this statement?  What does the quote mean to you?  How does it connect to Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, specifically the events at Aunt Alexandra's tea party?

To Kill a Mockingbird: and so we begin...

Finally, we’ve met the Finches:  Scout, Jem and Atticus.  Not to mention the various other characters including Dill and Calpurnia.  As Scout’s story continues, we will get to know each of these characters as individuals and feel a connection to them (you will, really!).  Before we can further embark upon our study of these characters and their experiences, though, we must pay attention to how Harper Lee chooses to begin her story.  She opens with the following epigraph by Charles Lamb, “Lawyers, I suppose, were children once.”  Lee opens To Kill a Mockingbird with this quote for a reason—but what, exactly, is that reason?  How do you think this quote relates to the novel’s point of view?  How do you think it will come into play as the story progresses?  How should it guide us, the readers, as we continue with the story?

Books We Love

Hurrah!  I finally got the blog page up and running.  Use this post as an area to blog about books that you want to recommend to your classmates; all you have to do is add a comment.   If you're posting an IRB assignment, be sure to double check the quality of your writing and title your comment appropriately.