To Kill a Mockingbird’s Relevance “To Kill a Mockingbird will remain a literary mainstay for the next fifty years and beyond" (O'Neill). Harper Lee wrote a moving book about Tom Robinson, a black man who was wrongly accused of rape in 1935. It is one of the most if not the most celebrated books of all time. Harper Lee wrote in a way that captivated her readers. Although the book is over fifty years old it continues to still be relevant in today's society. Being honored by several To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the most successful books to ever be written. This literary and film masterpiece (Murphy), tells a powerful story (O'Neill). It was published in 1960 to highly celebrated reviews (Harper), strong sales (Leerhsen), and was universally loved by critics (O'Neill). Following this, the book quickly climbed the bestsellers list and remained at the top for 88 weeks, this only continues to prove how enormously successful the novel is (Harper). To Kill a Mockingbird sold the largest number of copies (Book), at one million copies per year (O'Neill). More than thirty million copies were sold worldwide and has been translated into more than forty languages (Kill). The book has won the Pulitzer Prize (Murphy), and in 2011 Lee won the National Medal of Arts (Harper). Our National Novel (O'Neill), was also voted best novel of the twentieth century (Kill), and is considered the most influential book of all time beating the Bible (Mcelwaine). This classic novel remains to be admired by many. It is one of the most beloved stories of all time (Kill), and shows no sign in waning cultural influence (O'Neill). In an interview Mary Badman said "Mockingbird changed created and shaped my life" (Mcelwaine). The classic novel (Kill), is history, fun... ... middle of paper ... ...rokaw, Rosanne Cash, Wally Lamb, James Mcbride, Anna Quinden, Richard Russo, Scott Turrow, Oprah Winfrey, and Andrew Young. FirstRun Features, 2011. Film. "Monroe County Museum." Monroe County Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2014. Mcelwaine, Sandra. "'To Kill A Mockingbird' Makes Its Mark, 50 Years After The Film's Release; In celebration of the film's half-century anniversary, Universal Studios is issuing a remastered ...." Newsweek Web Exclusives. 31 Jan. 2012 eLibrary. Web. 19 Feb. 2014. O'Neill, Aliah. "To Kill a Mockingbird Turns 50." Irish America. 01 Aug. 2010: 86. eLibrary. Web. 19 Feb. 2014. “To Kill a Mockingbird." by Harper Lee. HarperCollins Publishers. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2014. Leerhsen, Charles. “Harper Lee’s Novel Achievement.” Smithsonian Magazine. N.p.,n.d.Web.19 Feb.2014. "Harper Lee." The Big Read. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2014.
Harper Lee's novel To Kill a Mockingbird was published in the year of 1960, and is one of the few American classic novels awarded the Pulitzer Prize. The racism that is prevalent in many southern American towns in the 1930s is brought to life with profound imagery in To Kill a Mockingbird. There are several characters in the book, yet the true main character is the narrator's father, Atticus Finch. He is a man of great integrity and intelligence. A very heroic figure in more ways than one, Atticus possesses traits like being principled, determined, and, more importantly, he teaches others. When looking at To Kill a Mockingbird, one can see that Lee uses lots of description, dialogue, and actions to portray Atticus as a heroic individual.
To Kill a Mockingbird is a classic novel written by Harper Lee. The novel is set in the depths of the Great Depression. A lawyer named Atticus Finch is called to defend a black man named Tom Robinson. The story is told from one of Atticus’s children, the mature Scout’s point of view. Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, the Finch Family faces many struggles and difficulties.
Compassionate, dramatic, and deeply moving, Harper Lee's, To Kill a Mockingbird takes readers to the roots of human behavior, to innocence and experience, kindness and cruelty, love and hatred, and the struggle between blacks and whites. Atticus Finch, a lawyer and single parent in a small southern town in the 1930's, is appointed by the local judge to defend Tom Robinson, a black man, who is accused of raping a white woman. Friends and neighbors object when Atticus puts up a strong and spirited defense on behalf of the accused black man. Atticus renounces violence but stands up for what he believes in. He decides to defend Tom Robinson because if he did not, he would not only lose the respect of his children and the townspeople, but himself
Nelle Harper Lee is best known for her novel, To Kill a Mocking Bird, which was published in July of 1960. Initially named “Atticus” It was an immediate success.
To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel written by Harper lee in 1960. The novel tells the story of Atticus Finch, a white lawyer, and Tom Robinson, a black servant, accused of raping a white female. Finch defends Robinson in court arguing lack of evidence as his main point. However, the judge and jury still believe the woman’s testimony and orders Robinson to be killed. The novel has been praised for its outstanding literature since its publication. However, it remains a banned book by the American Library Association for its use of racial slurs and profanity. Due to it being banned, many high schools have reconsidered the notion of teaching it to their students. Two prominent authors wrote articles pertaining to this piece of literature: Angela Shaw-Thornburg wrote an article on her re-reading of the novel and her opinions on it; while Malcom Gladwell wrote an article comparing Atticus Finch to a state governor liberalist, James Folsom, and the restraints of liberalism in the south. In addition, Rebecca Best contributes her thought on how the novel should be taught by introducing the idea of “the other.” Regardless of the modern day political arguments surrounding this piece of literature, this novel contains a large insight into the time period of the 1960s which is an influential topic that should be taught to young high school students.
To Kill a Mockingbird is regarded as a classic, also due to the timeless moral values it holds dear. The words of others should not dictate personal values, using educated thought is crucial before acting and finally, statements should not always be acknowledged as truth until you are able to authenticate them for yourself.
A movie rarely does a book justice, the To Kill a Mockingbird movie truly brought the book to life. However, the book is still better than the movie. The book is far superior because, the movie deviates character development by leaving out certain events, the movie is missing key characters such as Aunt Alexandra, and some casting choices took away from certain characters. First of all, the movie left out specific events and characters, which deviated the story. The three summers in the book are condensed into a summer and a half.
Harper Lee uses Tom Robinson 's rape trial and story to develop her philosophy on how people should be treated. Tom understands the pre-set judgment of people towards African Americans during the time period and still makes his decision, disregarding the
Lee, Harper. "Chapter 11." To Kill a Mockingbird. Philadelphia: Harper & Row, 1960. 113. Print.
To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel about all different kinds of stereotypes. It takes place during the 30’s in the depression. It uses a young girl’s perspective to show how these stereotypes were so abundant, and how terrible they were. The novel has many themes about racism and sexism, which the author portrays in creative ways. I believe that To Kill a Mockingbird is very much still relevant today.
Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. New York, New York: Grand Central Publishing, 1960. Print.
To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel by Harper Lee published in 1960. This novel is written as a Modernist novel a type of fiction coming of age story. To Kill a Mocking bird explores the concept of moral courage, integrity and compassion. This novel accurately conveys the astrosphere of the time and many cultural attributes of the American South at the time, but also shows how the great depression effected small towns and race relations in the Deep South. The interesting literary period is the fact it was written and published during the civil rights era. This story is based on real life events in the life of Harper Lee, the author. Her father defended several innocent African American men during the famous “Scottsboro Trials”
"To Kill a Mockingbird." Sparknotes LLC. 2003. Barnes & Noble Learning Network. 2 Nov. 2003 .
Lee, Harper. To Kill A Mockingbird. N.p.: n.p., 1960. Lordmacktitan.weebly.com. TaleBooks.com. Web. 29 Jan. 2014. .
To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel that has received great acclaim, largely due to setting, themes, and accuracy. The setting, themes, and accuracy of the novel seem to fall into place in a great order, which makes this novel receive great acclaim.