Today we read aloud the dramatic adaptation of Harper Lee's stunning novel, To Kill a Mockingbird,by Christopher Sergel. We got up to page 51. The all star student cast was spectacular (smile). We will continue next week.
Homework is to write a reflection on the work. Discuss the plot, characters, themes, etc. in short 250-500 words. Respond to a classmate's post. The assignment is due by Monday.
In Writing about Literature read pp. 1-15; 92-93; look at the box on page 106. Next week we will look at Chapter 2, pp. 16-42 and Chapter 3, Common Writing Topics (43).
Chapters 1-2 should be review work. If it is not, let me know.
If the response to Mockingbird doesn't fit, post in segments. Let us know it is continued or part one and part two.
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22 comments:
uhhh... are we supposed to write our responses here? i don't see anyone else doing it, and its 9:30 on a sunday night, so I'm assuming either people haven't done the assignment or this is the wrong place.
Anyway, to kill a mockingbird is a pretty interesting plot involving a black man being falsely accused of raping a white woman and the whole town is hating on the black man and the white lawyer who is defending him. The story is told from the perspective of the lawyers young daughter.
Personally i feel like its a good storyline, all though i think i would need to read more of it to be able to write a thorough reflection on it...
Include a heading on the reflection, for credit.
Dung Le
English 1B
Professor Wanda
Reflection of the Mockingbird Play
Before reading the play the teacher asked if anyone read it before, a lot of people said they did and I was surprise that I was some of the few people that didn’t. We didn’t have time to finish reading the play; however we did complete at least half of it. As to where we stopped, I found that to me, the story isn’t what really captured my interest but rather the characters that are in it.
There are many interesting characters in this play; the ones that stand out for me are Scout, Arthur Radley and Atticus. Scout is a young girl who I almost mistaken as a young boy because of the out spoken way behavior. She doesn’t very educated, but the way she spoke is very blunt and to the point. She speaks her mind and uses basic reasoning and judgments when trying to solve problem, for example when he asked another person if they had parents and when he found out that their parent aren’t dead he assume that they do.
Arthur Radley is another person that I found quite interesting. To me, in a good story there must be a sense of mystery and the character Arthur brings that sense of mystery. In the play he’s portrayed as a person that no one knows a lot about, only that he hasn’t leave the house for a very long time. This sense of mystery makes me want to keep reading so that I discover the story behind this character.
Atticus is another character that I think is very important to the story. He’s the person that moves the story forward while on the way try and teach the reader what is right or wrong at least as what the author want or think we believe what’s right or wrong.
The setting of the story and it’s time frame results in much racism, but I think that is what makes the story more authentic and real. I find myself paying more attention to the characters rather than the storyline, but perhaps as we read more into it, I might switch my attention between the two. All in all, the story has bold and memorable characters with progression and a sense of mystery.
I still dont see a direct answer... Is this where we post by the time class meets? Or are we simply handing it in upon meeting?
Sareth Chhoth
Professor Sabir
English 1B
August 27, 2012
This is the first time that I am reading To Kill a Mockingbird. In high school, English classes read the book but my class did not. From the title, I assumed the book was about hunting or something else but I was wrong. The book is about an African American male being accused of raping a white women and the man is found guilty because of a white women’s accusations. That is the only proof that is needed to convict and find the African American male guilty. After finding out what the book was really about, I was interested in the book and wanted to find out what will happen later in the book or play. After reading the play as a class, many characters were introduced. I like how the book/play revolves around Scout and her brother Jem. I like how it revolves aroung those two because I see them as innocent kids that do not know what is going on. Scout and Jem’s father Atticus tries to teach them about respect which I think is really important. An example is when Jem destroys the neighbor’s garden out of rage and was told to apologize to the lady by his father Atticus. So far, I am enjoying the play and want to see the end of the play.
Porsha Hadden Mocking Bird
Professor Sabir
English 1 B
August 26, 2012
Reflection Paper on To Kill A Mocking Bird
To Kill A Mocking Bird, is really great story because the theme is that some innocent black man named Tom in Maycomb, Alabama gets accused of rape by a white woman named Mayella, and is immediately seen as guilty simply because of his race. There is one white attorney named Atticus who agrees to represent him, and because Atticus agrees to represent him Mr. Ewell gets pissed because Mayella is his daughter and he feels like Atticus is taking the wrong side simply because he was defending a black man. What truly makes this story intriguing is that not only does Atticus suffer for taking the case but his kids by the name of Scout (whose a girl) and Jem (whose a boy) suffer as well because they end up getting teased and even having to fight all behind defending there father’s name. Though, what happens in the plot is even sadder because Tom ends up being wrongfully convicted when it was clear he was innocent and then to top thing’s off he ends up being killed. There was a whole list of other characters that had vital roles but to me these characters were the main characters of the story.
In my opinion, this whole story is jacked up and no one wins. I wouldn’t read this if I had the choice because it’s just a horrible thing to have happen to somebody even though it is just a play. It’s like there is this big emphasis on respect in this play yet no one is willing to show it except Atticus and that’s why he is my favorite person in this play. If there were more people like Atticus in the world the world would shore be a whole lot nicer.
Porsha Hadden
Professor Sabir
English 1 B
August 26, 2012
Reflection Paper on To Kill A Mocking Bird
To Kill A Mocking Bird, is really great story because the theme is that some innocent black man named Tom in Maycomb, Alabama gets accused of rape by a white woman named Mayella, and is immediately seen as guilty simply because of his race. There is one white attorney named Atticus who agrees to represent him, and because Atticus agrees to represent him Mr. Ewell gets pissed because Mayella is his daughter and he feels like Atticus is taking the wrong side simply because he was defending a black man. What truly makes this story intriguing is that not only does Atticus suffer for taking the case but his kids by the name of Scout (whose a girl) and Jem (whose a boy) suffer as well because they end up getting teased and even having to fight all behind defending there father’s name. Though, what happens in the plot is even sadder because Tom ends up being wrongfully convicted when it was clear he was innocent and then to top thing’s off he ends up being killed. There was a whole list of other characters that had vital roles but to me these characters were the main characters of the story.
In my opinion, this whole story is jacked up and no one wins. I wouldn’t read this if I had the choice because it’s just a horrible thing to have happen to somebody even though it is just a play. It’s like there is this big emphasis on respect in this play yet no one is willing to show it except Atticus and that’s why he is my favorite person in this play. If there were more people like Atticus in the world the world would shore be a whole lot nicer.
Marianne De Guzman
English 1B
Prof. Sabir
I'm also one of the few people that haven't read To Kill a Mockingbird prior to the play. Only having read the first fifty pages of the play, I can tell that the story and its characters has piqued my interest. The reader is first introduced to the main character, Scout and from then on one can tell that the story takes place in the South because of the manner in which she speaks. In this time period, racism was prevalent.
Since the play revolves around a Black man falsely accused of raping a white woman and a white lawyer defending him, there's bound to be conflicts especially good versus evil and social class. In addition, there's the issue with inequality. Atticus Finch will have to deal with people who have their own set of beliefs and morals. It might take a lot of effort to make the community to be able to understand one another.
I found the character of Dill Harris to be the most interesting in the story. He reminds me of Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer. His personality and way of thinking bears a similarity to Tom. For example, he devises a plan to lure Boo Radley out of his house. Scout is also an important character because the story is told from her viewpoint. Her age quite surprised me a bit. I thought she might be at least eleven or twelve years old. Nevertheless, she possesses intelligence for someone her age.
Anna HY Lim
Professor Wanda Sabir
English 1B
27 August 2012
Reflection On To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is truly a masterpiece. Each time I read it again, I gain a new understanding and perspective about life and humanity. Reading it in a script form with my classmates out loud in the class was yet another new experience. I was delighted to find that the story has not grown old on me; if anything, I found its plot to be as intriguing as the first time I read it. This time, the issue of racial prejudice in the story made me question why prejudices form initially. Where do prejudices come from?
The story takes place in a town called, Maycomb, Alabama. From the beginning of the novel, segregation is blatantly obvious. The narrator of the story, however, is a little girl named, Scout, whose father defends a Negro man falsely accused of committing rape against a white female. Scout does not have the same bias about blacks as other children for her father does not judge a person according to his or her skin color; nevertheless, she is too young to appreciate the difficulty and the cause of her father’s position. She is perplexed by the situation and bothered by how her schoolmates begin to taunt her about it.
Prejudices can be formed at a young age. Scout’s schoolmates’ reaction shows that even young children are not carefree of social prejudices. Does this mean that prejudices are initially formed because everybody is disposed to believe whatever the majority believes? But what about even before the majority existed?
Perhaps prejudice first began as a way to justify rejecting and mistreating others solely based on their differences—whether ethical, cultural, personality, opinions, beliefs, and etc. Because having to deal with somebody or even something different means having to face the unknown. And having to face the unknown often makes us afraid.
Perhaps prejudice comes from within ourselves when we validate ourselves for judging a person or a situation because they are different from what we are used to; because we hate to feel fearful or step out of our comfort zone.
@ Dung Le: I find Arther Radley's character interesting too. I definitely agree with you: Radley's role in the novel definitely adds more interest and mystery to the story.
(Anna Lim)
@ Porsha Hadden:
When I first read To Kill a Mockingbird, I remember feeling rather disappointed. How the trial ended at the end of the story left me feeling raw. There was no sense of triumph.
But over the years, I have read the book several times. And each time I read it, I gain something new.
Although it certainly is a sad story, I now see that there is still a triumph--a victory--by the mere fact that Atticus remains firm in doing what is right till the very end.
In that sense, he does not loose. He wins!
I enjoyed reading what you wrote =). (Anna Lim)
Michael Kearney
To Kill A Mockingbird:
Having read the book this particular play adaptation was based on, I have a couple of issues with the way that this adaptation is constructed. In an effort to fully fit a novel into the space of a two hour play, much of the book was shortened or simplified in order to get everything that the playwright felt was important into the play.
For example, critically important scenes for the plot, such as the court scene where Atticus unsuccessfully tries to prevent Tom Robinson's conviction are shoe horned around pieces that originally provided character depth and color to the story.
However, these character studies are so brief as to be distracting. Dill's line about being able to read is ripped straight from the novel, but his entire part is so staccato that the shape of his character is bland and unimportant. Characters like Boo Radley have their motivations so severely simplified, that their actions no longer make sense.
I would say that if you're interested in this story, read the book. Harper Lee is a much more capable and interesting storyteller than Christopher Sergel understands or communicates.
Matt Dillon-Guerrero
Professor Wanda Sabir
To Kill a Mockingbird:
This is the first time I have ever read To Kill a Mockingbird. However I am familiar with a few of themes that are present in the book. One such theme that immediately struck me is social inequality. Social inequality has existed in the United States of America ever since it was colonized. For instance, the absolute lowest person of the civilization’s social hierarchy was the servant. At first the servants were indentured but were quickly followed by slaves. This stratification is continued in the book. The Finches occupy the upper echelon of the sleepy Alabama community of Maycomb. The majority of the townspeople are below them, below them are the Cunninghams and below them are the Ewell. Harper Lee uses perfectly Scout’s confusion as to why her father is treated the way he is by the rest of the community, simply because he is defending somebody. The narrator of the story is Jean Louise “Scout” Finch. She lives with her father, Atticus, her brother Jem, and their black cook Calpurnia. Atticus is a lawyer and a widower with a dry sense of humor. He agrees to defend Tom Robinson, a black man who stands accused of raping a white woman. Atticus is also one of the few members of the community who remains committed to racial equality. Jem is Scout’s brother and he is a playful child who makes friends with a quirky boy who calls himself Dill. His real name is Charles Baker Harris, this character is based upon the interactions that the author Harper Lee had with Truman Capote.
Very interesting perspective regarding prejudices and where some folk's hatred towards others are derived. That's a very good question, and an especially proufound question from individuals who may not have experienced racism or prejudices themself. Robin DeLaney
Ngawang Passang
Course: English1B
Instructor: Wanda
Reflection Paper on To Kill A Mocking Bird
I think, "To Kill a Mockingbird" story is very interesting. I like the way teacher give each person character to read. It helped us to understand story better when each person read their character so we know who is who. The story goes like this, A african american male (Tom) who is innocent, but he is accussed by raping white women name Mayella. However, the white guy name atticus is the only one who is helping Tom because Atticus also think that tom is innocent and he is not guilty. Mayella dad and neighbourhood people think that atticus doing wrong because attorny atticus is agreed to represents Tom. I really like Atticus because he is one who don't compared white and black like others. Also, he is good father too because he teach their kids what is the value of respect and teach how important the respect is. Later, Atticus son named Jem and daughter named Scout got suffer too because they been teased and got fight in school because his father defend Tom. For me, this story is very sad because one innocent person became guilty and suffer too because he is different race. It shows that people are being rasicm in this story and they have no respect for different race.
Mandy Ho
English 1B
Wanda Sabir
The novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a story revolving around a family in Maycomb, Alabama. Atticus, a single father, is a lawyer representing a young negro male who is accused of raping a caucasian female. The story, narrated by Atticus' young daughter, Scout, follows him through his ordeals regarding the trial while also following Scout and her older brother, Jem's, mischief. The events are portrayed much from Scout's point of view.
To Kill a Mockingbird is interesting and can be looked at in many different ways. In my opinion, the novel doesn't necessarily have one main focal point. There are several factors that make the story unique and each can represent a different theme. In one aspect, there is the issue of racism and inequality being represented in the trial of Tom Robinson, represented by Atticuz, allegedly raping Mayella Ewells. Other themes could be the issue of respect, either for another person or for privacy, represented in the mischief of Jem and Scout regarding their neighbor Arthur "Boo" Radley.
Having read this story in high school, I agree with Anna, in the sense that i catch different things each time i read the story. Also, being able to read it as a play definitely gives a new experience. I agree with Dung about how the characters are interesting, for example, how Boo Radley really gives the story a sense of mystery. Like Porsha stated in her review, no one seems to win in the story, but it's such an interesting novel and this was definitely one of my favorite readings while in high school.
Reflection on: To Kill a Mockingbird script
Robin DeLaney
Professor Sabir
English 1B
August 28, 2012
Technology is fascinating... Today, my laptop crashed, however; if this catastrophe didn't occur, I would have never discovered that I had the ability to do my homework on my Blackberry! What a life saver! Ok, maybe TMI, but I just had a minor heart attack trying to figure out how I would be submitting this reflection, so I just want to tell anyone who will listen. ;)
To Kill A Mockingbird was one of 6 books assigned for Freshmen reading at my High School and I've read the novel, however; when asked the question in class, I reluctantly raised my hand because that was in 1989, and I couldn't remember the plot, characters, setting, or anything other than it was about racial matters in the deep south. I also remember the controversial and racially charged dialog that proceeded during class while reading it.
Reading the play oppose to the novel, is a powerful way to delve deeper into the characters and have a broader understanding of their role within the plot. So far, I am drawn by 2 main characters, Scout and Culpurnia, slightly due to the wonderful performances of my fellow classmates! Culpurnia, playing the role labeled "the housekeeper," however; additionally she is the teacher, a friend, provider, comforter, listener, disciplinarian, caregiver and cook, as where many "housekeepers" in the South during the 30's. The difficult role and balancing act the housekeeper maintained while effectively doing their job everyday in the face of a bigotry environment, is developed nicely in Culpurnia's dialog with Scout, the family and the neighbors.
Scout is perfect as the role of narrator in this story because the reader is navigating the unknown, unbiased perspective of the race relation journey right along side her. Her youthful ignorance is useful throughout the plot, generally because it makes the right or wrong ideology regarding racism very blatant.
Comment for Anna Lim
Chelsea Green
I really liked your observation about biases being confirmed when one justifies hatred and intolerance repeatedly and, in my opinion, in a personal enough manner as to somehow dismiss the immoral and impractical nature of bigotry and hatred.
I now realize this is late- I had some issues with the blog but I'm crossing my fingers that I'll finally get it to post this time...
Chelsea Green
ENGL 1B WANDA SABIR
AUGUST 27, 2012
To Kill a Mockingbird has been one of my favorite stories of mine since early childhood, but this is my first time reading the play and my first time reading it as an adult. The themes of power, respect, race, moral ambiguity, and the human impulse to be consistent in one’s own version of integrity, right or wrong, until the bitter end are only made more intriguing and complex because of the story’s settings. Both Scout and the town of Maycomb represent to me the idea of simplicity and innonence, and the problems that arise out of desperately and stubbornly trying to contain the world and condense its intricacies into right and wrong and overly simplified values. Reading this as a child, I always paid more attention to the celebrity and imaginative grandiosity of the characters, all of it feeling so far away and unreal to a young girl being raised in the bay area. However, now I read it from the lenses of a young woman who has had her own encounters with race, justice and societal schemas both in metropolitan areas, as well as towns I have lived in in the deep south as an adult. This new delivery of the story leaves a completely different taste in my mouth; Attitcus is still my archetypal lone and somewhat tortured soul endlessly seeking objectivity and justice during a very personal and unjust time and Scout is still so relatable to me but I now read this not so much as a story, but more of a commentary about universal problems. The contexts of racial, political and economical instability are very real today, as well, and offer new perspectives with every read. However, one of the reasons I continue to love this story is for its characters’ and settings’ ability to personalize these very heavy themes; the contexts of the story are loaded enough that it is refreshing (and in my opinion, genius) to have such a human cast so as to be able to read it as a beautiful and tragic editorial on human behavior or to be able to enjoy it for its easy-to-read dialogues between characters that are actually believably real. The relationships between the people in the town are one of the key ingredients in TKAM keeping its status as a classic- there are contradictions and surprises that keep the story from being preachy and allow it to be read in a never-ending assortment of perspectives. I hope I never stop loving this story and I’m really pleased that it was chosen to be read this semester.
@ Dung Le
I felt the same way about the plot thus far. But I am sure the more we read the more we will learn.
Rosetta Egan
Reflections on To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Harper Lee grew up in the Southern part of the United States, born in 1926, just before the Great Depression, just 62 years after the end of slavery. As a child, Lee was exposed to the overt racism and oppressive Jim Crow laws. Lee’s one and only book is a powerful fictional story of a man who was unjustly accused of rape and held for trial. Lee set the story in a small town in the South of the 1930’s just 71 years after the end of slavery and right in the middle of the Great Depression. Each of the characters as well as the plot portrays or describes some aspect of life in the South in the 1930’s.
The book has been adapted for the stage and in Act I we meet several characters. Scout, who is nine years old, is a motherless child, precocious and a tomboy. She has a levelheaded older brother, Jem and a not so sensible friend Dill, a young neighbor boy. The housekeeper, Calpurnia is very protective of Scout and Jem but has hard time managing a willful Scout. There is one elderly neighbor; Miss Maudie presents herself as respectful and purposeful. The other elderly neighbor, Mrs. Dubose voices the intense racist views of the townspeople.
Scout and Jem are upset about being teased by other children in the town because their father, Atticus Finch, has been appointed to represent Tom Robinson, the accused man at trial. The children ask Finch why he is defending Robinson. He answers: “If I didn’t defend him, I couldn’t really have much respect for myself, could I?” Finch, a regular guy not seeking notoriety nor hero status, has been appointed by the court, expresses his displeasure with this responsibility when he says: “To tell the truth, I’d hoped to get through life without a case of this kind, but Judge Taylor pointed at me and said, ‘You’re it’.”
Finch is approached by the Sheriff, Heck Tate and Judge Taylor as a mob is gathering in the town to storm the jail and lynch Tom Robinson. Scout and Jem have always thought of their father as old and weak but Finch grabs a chair and goes straight to the jail where he sits on the chair reading the paper as the mob approaches. Here he is maintaining self-respect. Scout, Dill and Jem follow Finch to the jail.
It was not uncommon for mobs especially in the South to lynch accused African American prisoners before trial. Typically the rest of the townspeople would gather round the mob or sit on their porches to view the unfolding horrific spectacle. This case was no different. Miss Maudie’s porch was the “Best view in town . . .” according to Miss Stephanie who stopped by for a visit. The mob is eventually turned away by Scout’s innocent declaration to the townspeople of their relationships to each other. Scout’s precocious reminder to one of the men in the mob that she, a child, is a friend of his child and it is her father at risk in the chair in front of the jail. Dill now sees Finch as brave and looks at him with admiration.
For Anna Lim
by Rosetta Egan
You said: "prejudices can be formed at a young age". The way this happens is that the children are taught by the adults in their lives. Since children usually live and learn from their families it will be difficult to end prejudice. One hopeful sign is social media and the internet. Now children are exposed to greater numbers of people and ideas than ever before.
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