tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068873.post6118254098009256147..comments2024-03-20T19:40:58.078-05:00Comments on The OF Blog: Today is the 50th anniversary of Harper Lee's To Kill a MockingbirdLarry Nolenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16001420558511460998noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068873.post-44450907844495008792010-07-12T00:37:09.975-05:002010-07-12T00:37:09.975-05:00What an extraordinarily momentous occasion. Hopefu...What an extraordinarily momentous occasion. Hopefully their will be a few retrospectives. I heard The Committee for Media and Newspaper Integrity might be doing something interesting. http://www.newspaperintegrity.comTomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068873.post-34627930239863084942010-07-11T17:48:00.471-05:002010-07-11T17:48:00.471-05:00I agree entirely with Mr. Hull regarding high scho...I agree entirely with Mr. Hull regarding high school--this book was beyond most of my peers in Honors English, and although I got the major themes, the nuances and subtleties were lost on me. I wasn't experienced enough of a reader. That and, unfortunately, English high school courses usually boil everything down to a stark sterility where symbolism is rote, something you need to know for a test, and all of the emotional investment in a work is sucked out.<br /><br />I've been meaning to return to this book for a long time. I'm not sure if I'll ever get to it--there are more books I want to read than hours in a lifetime. But I believe that, fifteen years later, I'll get much more out of this book than I did when I was a kid.Dave Cesaranohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01454928720043301400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8068873.post-47362636852650105602010-07-11T09:42:53.754-05:002010-07-11T09:42:53.754-05:00For me, that's the most compelling commentary ...For me, that's the most compelling commentary I've read of yours. Though I don't think it's en vogue with most readers, I enjoy reading about a works strength where the person writing doesn't tell me what the books explicitly about. Most online reviewers stick with plot summaries which are a dime a dozen and defeat the purpose of reading the book.<br /><br />I often wonder if the educational systems are making a mistake with books like this in high schools. I wasn't mature enough to read, or appreciate To Kill a Mockingbird when I was first made to. And though I'm far removed from today's high schoolers, I don't think they are either. <br /><br />The subtleties that are inherent to the stories power--of which racism may be the least, as you mention--are harder to appreciate as readers are further removed from the events at inspired the narrative. I think a lot of the 'classics' suffer from similar contextual displacement. Furthermore, I'm not sure that growing older is all that is need to grasp better understanding. <br /><br />To admit my own colossal ignorance, I had no idea Harper Lee was a woman; I learned something new today.Chad Hullhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17774092046594256969noreply@blogger.com