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Jayson's Reviews > To Kill a Mockingbird
To Kill a Mockingbird
by
by
Jayson's review
bookshelves: read-in-2024, 300-399-pp, author-american, era-cold-war, genre-literary-fiction, genre-small-town, genre-gothic, try-again, era-edwardian-to-ww2
Jan 01, 2024
bookshelves: read-in-2024, 300-399-pp, author-american, era-cold-war, genre-literary-fiction, genre-small-town, genre-gothic, try-again, era-edwardian-to-ww2
(A-) 83% | Very Good
Notes: On ugly truth, fading youth, dead appeals, courage, morals, community quarrels and fallible humans spoiling ideals.
*Check out progress updates for detailed commentary: (view spoiler)
Notes: On ugly truth, fading youth, dead appeals, courage, morals, community quarrels and fallible humans spoiling ideals.
*Check out progress updates for detailed commentary: (view spoiler)
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Reading Progress
November 25, 2023
– Shelved
November 25, 2023
– Shelved as:
to-read
January 1, 2024
–
Started Reading
January 1, 2024
– Shelved as:
read-in-2024
January 1, 2024
– Shelved as:
300-399-pp
January 1, 2024
– Shelved as:
author-american
January 1, 2024
– Shelved as:
era-cold-war
January 1, 2024
– Shelved as:
genre-literary-fiction
January 1, 2024
– Shelved as:
genre-small-town
January 4, 2024
– Shelved as:
genre-gothic
January 4, 2024
–
16.67%
"Notes:
(1) The most striking thing so far has to do with people's names. The brother and sister, Jeremy and Jean, are nicknamed Jem and Scout.
- It's notable that practically everyone calls them by their nicknames, which are both decidedly unisex—I can't be the only one who saw "Jem" and thought "and the Holograms"?
- Possibly it's to underscore a time of innocence, before sexuality kicks in.
(Continued in comments)"
page
56
(1) The most striking thing so far has to do with people's names. The brother and sister, Jeremy and Jean, are nicknamed Jem and Scout.
- It's notable that practically everyone calls them by their nicknames, which are both decidedly unisex—I can't be the only one who saw "Jem" and thought "and the Holograms"?
- Possibly it's to underscore a time of innocence, before sexuality kicks in.
(Continued in comments)"
January 5, 2024
–
30.36%
"Notes:
(1) "[Jem] went through a brief Egyptian Period that baffled me—he tried to walk flat a great deal, sticking one arm in front of him and one in back of him, putting one foot behind the other. He declared Egyptians walked that way."
- Hmm, I wonder if that's where The Bangles got it from?
- Rural American children learning about Egypt just seems odd. Greece and Rome seems more natural.
(Continued in comments)"
page
102
(1) "[Jem] went through a brief Egyptian Period that baffled me—he tried to walk flat a great deal, sticking one arm in front of him and one in back of him, putting one foot behind the other. He declared Egyptians walked that way."
- Hmm, I wonder if that's where The Bangles got it from?
- Rural American children learning about Egypt just seems odd. Greece and Rome seems more natural.
(Continued in comments)"
January 6, 2024
–
45.83%
"Notes:
(1) This is an odd sort of novel. So far, it's been more interconnected short stories than anything all that cohesive.
- Perhaps I'm just too used to the pace and plotting of modern books. Halfway through this and I don't really know where it's going, only an inkling based solely on the book's reputation.
(2) The whole First Purchase Church section is a fascinating bit of anthropology.
(Continued in comments)"
page
154
(1) This is an odd sort of novel. So far, it's been more interconnected short stories than anything all that cohesive.
- Perhaps I'm just too used to the pace and plotting of modern books. Halfway through this and I don't really know where it's going, only an inkling based solely on the book's reputation.
(2) The whole First Purchase Church section is a fascinating bit of anthropology.
(Continued in comments)"
January 7, 2024
–
60.71%
"Notes:
(1) This has been a real slow burn. Not that it's been bad, just it's been going at a leisurely pace and hasn't been at all what I expected.
- The story doesn't really find a clear direction until the jailhouse scene. After that it's been laser-focused on the trial of Tom Robinson.
- From Chapter 17 onward, it's been pretty much a pure law procedural, albeit from a child's perspective.
(Continued in comments)"
page
204
(1) This has been a real slow burn. Not that it's been bad, just it's been going at a leisurely pace and hasn't been at all what I expected.
- The story doesn't really find a clear direction until the jailhouse scene. After that it's been laser-focused on the trial of Tom Robinson.
- From Chapter 17 onward, it's been pretty much a pure law procedural, albeit from a child's perspective.
(Continued in comments)"
January 8, 2024
–
74.11%
"Notes:
(1) Mayella, we learn, has no friends. Even among her many siblings, they're always out with each other while she does the household chores alone.
- Of course, solitary individuals in this book are either taken as monsters (Boo Radley) or prone to making poor and impulsive decisions (Dill). Mayella is arguably both.
(2) Speaking of which, why was Boo Radley the primary focus of Part 1?
(Continued in comments)"
page
249
(1) Mayella, we learn, has no friends. Even among her many siblings, they're always out with each other while she does the household chores alone.
- Of course, solitary individuals in this book are either taken as monsters (Boo Radley) or prone to making poor and impulsive decisions (Dill). Mayella is arguably both.
(2) Speaking of which, why was Boo Radley the primary focus of Part 1?
(Continued in comments)"
January 9, 2024
–
87.2%
"Notes:
(1) Atticus: "There’s nothing more sickening to me than a low-grade white man who'll take advantage of a Negro’s ignorance."
- I feel like modern audiences reading this line, specifically "a Negro's ignorance," might be quick to label Atticus a racist.
- I know, it's ridiculous given the overall context of the book and of this quote. Though, I've seen harsher reactions to milder words.
(Continued in comments)"
page
293
(1) Atticus: "There’s nothing more sickening to me than a low-grade white man who'll take advantage of a Negro’s ignorance."
- I feel like modern audiences reading this line, specifically "a Negro's ignorance," might be quick to label Atticus a racist.
- I know, it's ridiculous given the overall context of the book and of this quote. Though, I've seen harsher reactions to milder words.
(Continued in comments)"
January 10, 2024
–
96.13%
"Notes:
(1) It's always difficult to write reviews and form opinions on books people hold in high esteem, enthuse about, and even herald as classic literature.
- What if I don't like it? Will people forever swarm and pester me?
- Thankfully, I liked this book a lot. I wouldn't rank it among my all-time favorites, but I'm notoriously stingy with five-star ratings and effusive praise in general.
(Continued in comments)"
page
323
(1) It's always difficult to write reviews and form opinions on books people hold in high esteem, enthuse about, and even herald as classic literature.
- What if I don't like it? Will people forever swarm and pester me?
- Thankfully, I liked this book a lot. I wouldn't rank it among my all-time favorites, but I'm notoriously stingy with five-star ratings and effusive praise in general.
(Continued in comments)"
January 10, 2024
–
Finished Reading
February 1, 2024
– Shelved as:
try-again
February 29, 2024
– Shelved as:
era-edwardian-to-ww2
Comments Showing 1-15 of 15 (15 new)
date
newest »
newest »
One of my favourites.
MissBecka wrote: "One of my favourites."Happy to hear that, MissBecka! 😁👍
Interesting comments!
Audrey wrote: "Interesting comments!"Thanks! Thrilled you think so 😁👍
Wow , how do you get time to write updates while reading books? I'm doing it since sometime and I find it exhausting.
The Bibliophile Doctor wrote: "Wow , how do you get time to write updates while reading books? I'm doing it since sometime and I find it exhausting."It doesn't really take much time at all. I'm always taking notes while reading anyway, and this is just transcribing some of my better ones. The only extra time would be for typing, and it's fairly fast since I'm not concerned with copying word-for-word.
A near perfect one sentence review of my all-time favourite read :)
Baba wrote: "A near perfect one sentence review of my all-time favourite read :)"Thanks, Baba! Happy to hear you enjoyed the book so much 😁👍
I really enjoyed reading your breakdown of this book! I haven't reread it in a while, so it's nice to be reminded of the story and see someone else's interpretation.
Pooja wrote: "I really enjoyed reading your breakdown of this book! I haven't reread it in a while, so it's nice to be reminded of the story and see someone else's interpretation."Thanks so much, Pooja! Glad you enjoyed my commentary. I've been sort of experimenting with longer-form reviews and so I'm happy it went over well and you found it worthwhile 😁👍
It didn't need that many words to say its one great book!!!!
Mike wrote: "It didn't need that many words to say its one great book!!!!"
Ramiyan wrote: "-/;()�&"That literally makes no sense. 🤨
Ramiyan wrote: "1244567"Please elaborate. 🤨
01/10/2024 - Chapters 28�31
(1) It's always difficult to write reviews and form opinions on books people hold in high esteem, enthuse about, and even herald as classic literature.
- What if I don't like it? Will people forever swarm and pester me?
- Thankfully, I liked this book a lot. I wouldn't rank it among my all-time favorites, but I'm notoriously stingy with five-star ratings and effusive praise in general.
- Bonus points for justifying and tying-in the Boo Radley plot from the first half of the book.
(2) Atticus' confidence in pacifism fails him at the end when his children are attacked.
- He'd previously expected Bob Ewell had blown off all his steam and wouldn't stoop so low as to attack children.
- This is a symbolic repeat of the jury verdict. Atticus' impassioned idealism and confident logic loses out to the darkness in the hearts of men.
(3) Presuming Jem was right about Boo Radley not leaving his house for fear of facing the cruel world outside his doors, it turns out Boo was right.
- Leaving his house meant facing dark and dangerous things. First, earlier in the book, with the fire at Miss Maudie's house, and the end when the children are attacked by Bob Ewell.
- Really, Boo is the prime exemplar of Atticus' definition of courage. That is to know you'll be facing pain and discomfort, but going through it anyway because it's the right thing to do.
(4) Even though it would guarantee Jem wouldn't face trial, Atticus wants his son to go through the legal process to clear his name the proper way. He doesn't want any whispers of anything improper. He values his reputation too much.
- This is the same legal confidence that Atticus held regarding Tom Robinson's appeal. He's a true believer in the legal process. But human nature (Tom's escape attempt, for example) continually thwarts him. The sheriff, on the other hand, knows human nature better than Atticus, and would rather justice be achieved without the complication of human error.
(5) Heck Tate reasons that Jem could never have killed Bob Ewell because his arm was busted and the night was pitch black.
- This is a nice callback to Atticus' defense of Tom Robinson, where he used the exact same argument: Tom could not have beat Mayella Ewell with his crippled arm.
- The sheriff is literally using Atticus' own argument against him. Atticus being convinced that Jem killed Ewell in self-defense, and only through due process of the law can he be completely exonerated.
(6) Sheriff Tate: "To my way of thinkin', Mr. Finch, taking the one man who's done you and this town a great service an' draggin' him with his shy ways into the limelight—to me, that’s a sin. It's a sin and I'm not about to have it on my head. If it was any other man it'd be different. But not this man, Mr. Finch."
- Sheriff Tate pieces together that Boo Radley killed Bob Ewell, but decides on the story that Bob Ewell fell on his knife and killed himself.
- To make known that Boo killed Ewell would make Boo a hero, which would be the cruelest punishment to inflict on a solitary man.
- In sort of a twist, Tom Robinson isn't the only mockingbird in this story. The book's title could also refer to Boo Radley. We again have the association of sin with mockingbirds, and if it wasn't clear enough, Scout spells it out at the end of the chapter: "It'd be sort of like shootin' a mockingbird."
(7) The children, appalled throughout the book by the prejudices of their community, come face to face with their own prejudices and assumptions at the very end.
- Far from the monster that might attack them if they crossed his house, Boo Radley is in fact their savior, simply because they happened to cross by his house.
- He's very much Stoner's Boy from Jem's Gray Ghost stories: "When they finally saw him, why he hadn’t done any of those things ... he was real nice." (hide spoiler)]