Do you think this book, written in 1960, is
still relevant to us and our current culture/time?
To Kill A Mockingbird, though first published fifty-two years ago, is still very relevant to American society and culture. The book deals with issues still within the American psyche today, if not at the forefront, such as racism, innocence, and growing up. It touches on these issues in ways that no book had ever tried before, and still not many have tried since. As a Bildungsroman (coming-of-age novel), it resonates with America's children throughout every generation, and as a Southern Gothic, it deals with darker themes with which adults can identify. Even though this book is older that our current President, it arguably has had an effect of equal size, if not larger, on how we as Americans view ourselves and our community.
Do you disagree on whether TKAM is resonant still? Do you think any other books have impacted America the way TKAM did? What have you personally learned from TKAM?
TKAM is definitely resonant still. As Josiah said before, it touches on important topics that affect everybody who reads it. That is what truly makes it a classic. Everybody in America has known the feeling of coming of age, and most have experienced or seen racism in their life. The way that Harper Lee constructs this novel makes it so that there is always something that when you read it you think, "I know how that feels." Whether it is being left behind by Jem and Dill, or snuggling in your dads lap, or even getting mad and freaking out over something emotionally close to you. This is what makes TKAM a classic and what makes it last 52 years without ever dying down.
ReplyDeleteWhy do you think Harper Lee never wrote a sequel? What other ways did this book personally affect you, besides coming of age? Do you think Harper Lee was emotionally/personally attached to this book?
Absolutely!!!! Yes yes yes it is relevant now, it was relevant then, and it will be relevant as long as humans are alive and still have the decency to read books. The fact is that it is truly timeless- sure, it has components that were more relevant to the time it was written in, but the main theme is growing up, and every single person in the world will or has gone through that. It's mandatory. The way Lee has written in is very brilliant- she doesn't do what most coming of age novels do. She treats coming of age with a fresh look. She doesn't disrespect it, she approaches it as someone going through it would. Usually it's not hard (especially with novels written by adults and narrated by children) to scrape the top layer of the narrator's voice off and hear a bored adult talking underneath. To me, this novel was written by Scout. Harper Lee remained totally dormant during this novel. It sounds like an actual child, learning and figuring things out at the same pace as the reader. It's so easy to relate to, and the issues it deals with are, I'll say it again, timeless.
ReplyDeleteYes, I believe that To kill a mockingbird is still relevant today. Although it was written over 50 years ago it still has life lessons that can be learned. The novel goes into great depth showing how Jem and Scout have matured over the course of the novel and that is true with people today and people in another 100 years. The vantage point of young 6 year old compared to a 9 or 10 year old. The view of life/society changes dramatically not necessarily to a correct view, but a much more adult like/mature look. Also, a huge point Harper Lee points out is racism. Although racism has gone down a significant amount in the past 50 years a lot of racism still goes on and it will continue to happen throughout the rest of time. This proves the point that Harper Lee did not only write an incredibly interesting novel as well as a fun read, but she had extraordinarily important lessons that can be learned/taken from it 50 years later.
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