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...
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...rokaw, Rosanne Cash, Wally Lamb, James Mcbride, Anna Quinden, Richard Russo, Scott Turrow, Oprah Winfrey, and Andrew Young. FirstRun Features, 2011. Film.
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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.
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.
Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. New York, New York: Grand Central Publishing, 1960. Print.
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 was 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.
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
Shaw-Thornburg, Angela. “On Reading To Kill a Mockingbird: Fifty Years Later.” Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird: New Essays. Meyer, Michael J. Lanham, Md: Scarecrow Press, 2010. 113-127. Print.
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 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.
"To Kill a Mockingbird." Sparknotes LLC. 2003. Barnes & Noble Learning Network. 2 Nov. 2003 .
An important reason why To Kill a Mockingbird is relevant today is the ever growing resurgence of racism throughout the country. Events such as the ones in Jena, Louisiana, seem to become more common each day. Recently, a black professor at Columbia University had a noose placed on her door. The novel, which was an attempt to spread knowledge of the racism in the south, was trying to stop the very things that happen everyday now. As racism becomes more and more prevalent, this novel will be a good tool to help teach the next generation about racism, and about how it is wrong.
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
Harper Lee’s only book, To Kill a Mockingbird, is the stereotypical tale of childhood and innocence, yet it successfully incorporates mature themes, like the racism in the South at the time, to create a masterpiece of a work that has enraptured people’s minds and hearts for generations. According to esteemed novelist Wally Lamb, “It was the first time in my life that a book had sort of captured me. That was exciting; I didn’t realize that literature could do that” (111). Scout’s witty narration and brash actions make her the kind of heroine you can’t help but root for, and the events that take place in Maycomb County are small-scale versions of the dilemmas that face our world today. Mockingbird is a fantastically written novel that belongs on the shelves for classic literature that everyone should take the time to read and appreciate for their execution of style and the importance of their content.
Lee, Harper. "Chapter 11." To Kill a Mockingbird. Philadelphia: Harper & Row, 1960. 113. Print.
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.
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”