Any quest for relaxation must involve books, at least for me. Yet, when I searched the thinned shelves (after my purging donation of over 1000 books last spring), I was at a bit of a loss. I took a trip to the bookstore, armed with gift cards, and was confounded. While I enjoy contemporary fiction occassaionally, this summers offerings were such typical romantic tales that bore me, and there was nothing new in the historical fiction of interest either. Turning to paperbackswap, I used a few credits to get "March" by Geraldine Brooks, a fictional account of the father's tale in Little Women; and "Hill Country" by Janice Woods Windle, a semi-biographical account of her grandmother's life on the range and political arenas of Texas in the 1900s. I made quick work of both of those.
Then, Buzz got his summer reading assignment of Harper Lee's "To Kill A Mockingbird." I had donated my tattered ex-library copy earlier in the year, and was thankful for an excuse to pick up a nice hardcover for our home. Buzz asked me the general theme, and while I remembered the basics, I realized I had forgotten a great deal since I had first read it when 14-15 yrs old. A pitcher of sun tea and a day in the sun later, I was thrilled that I had decided to revisited this amazing classic to see it through new eyes.
One subtheme that I delight in, yet had totally forgotten, is Lee's utter disdain for the establishment of public education. She illustrates how Scout is reprimanded by her teacher in first grade for having the audacity to already know how to read and write with such biting humor that I sat laughing as I read. "All the smartest people I know where taught at home; I just don't understand why I need to be shipped off to school ?" is the repeated question of the youngest Finch child. I find it interesting that Lee was able to see the flaws and hypocrisy of the system long before standardized tests and "No Child Left Behind."
Another subtheme I surely missed as a youth, but relish as a parent, is the strong conviction with which the Finch children were raised. Sure, they spent their days running about with freedom and little supervision, yet there was such a definite sense of right and wrong. This is illustrated so directly when Jem looses his temper on his cantankerous neighbor's flower bed. He was certainly antagonized, yet still his father made him endure hours of unpleasant retribution reading to this woman. What a lesson in character training!!
Most importantly, I had forgotten the poignancy in Lee's tale. A good man of the wrong color is falsely accused and convicted of a crime in the South. The theme is pretty common of that period, yet Lee creates such deep and contradictory characters that cause the reader to really feel the injustice. I am definitely adding this to Honey's reading list as well...what great discussions to be had in analyzing it!
Next, I am revisiting Jules Verne "Journey to the Center of the Earth."
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Helen will be reading "To Kill a Mockingbird" this year. She is really looking forward to it. I will also now!
Funny, I have also been thinking about re-reading To Kill a Mockingbird myself lately. Oh, and I re-read Journey to the Center etc last year. Enjoyed it much, much more this time around!
I haven't read that book in a long time myself but remember enjoying it. Maybe it needs to go on our list of read-togethers. Maybe I should make a list of ... ;-)
Post a Comment