TKAM Book Talk

Transcript:
The book I chose was To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. The genre of this novel is realistic fiction.

To Kill a Mockingbird is in Maycomb County, Alabama, during the early 1930's. This was taking place during the Great Depression when a lot of the country was in poverty and had lost money. The main character in this novel was Scout, she is a bit of a trouble maker and rude, but also pretty funny and smart. She has an older brother named Jem and her best friend Dill. She is very curious and sees the world more innocently and doesn't quite understand everything yet. Her problem throughout is the way others want her to grow up and that she doesn't understand her brother growing up. At first Jem is her friend but then he becomes more distant and wants to become more of a young man. With her everyone wants her to wear dresses and behave like a little woman but thats not what she has in mind, which I enjoy reading about. What I like about this book was that you never feel one emotion for most of the book, it changes your feelings constantly. When Harper Lee shows the racist aspect you feel disgust and sadness for those at the time. When the kids are attacked you are very curious in wanting to know who did it. When Scout, Jem and Dill are trying to find out more about the neighborhood legend Boo Radley it is amusing and exciting seeing what they plan to do. The theme of this book for me was coming of age and racism and how they influence you as a person.

I know we have made blogs about this book already but this was a book that I liked, that I could write this blog about. The reason I liked this book is because it provides a large story told all in the span of one book. It provides a glimpse of how it was to grow up during racism and the Great Depression. I really like that it provides this because usually you learn about this from biographies but this time you learn it from a more humorous side and you can make the connection because it is another kid. Also I usually don't learn about like stories of personal experiences and in this book you see how people could really be affected, like some kids who hardly went to school or couldn't pay for anything. The thing I remember the most is how Harper Lee creates this bond between the children and the local legend Boo Radley and how it kind of fades away from him but then in the end shows his large role in the book. I would recommend this book for early teenagers because it is a good story about a young child who is different from most but also allows you to learn a little about the lifestyles of kids during the 1930's which you usually don't get to learn too much about. I think you should want to go out and read this book because it is a classic piece of literature and really provides a big story. From childhood play, to a story of racism, local legends, and seeing several people grow up and change over the course of about two years.

Comments: Damia M, Natalie W, Sheyanne H