A thematic guide on Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird"

books:


	• To Kill a Mockingbird (Literature Made Easy Series) Mary Hartley, Tony Buzan Barron's Educational Series, 1999 - 96 pages average customer review:based on 5 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

A thematic guide on Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird"

Here in Duluth everybody in town is supposed to be reading Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird," and there are all sorts of literary discussions, dramatic events, and the like going on all month long. In addition to rereading the novel, which is probably my favorite in American Literature, I have been looking over the various study guides available. Barron's "Literature Made Easy" guides are based on "modern scientific knowledge of how the brain works," which means not only using pictures and graphics, but unique "mind maps" that summarize details students need to learn. The idea with these is that you use them to take notes and develop a personal outline of your thoughts about the character and plot of the novel which branch out from a central point. Now, this might look a bit intimidating to me, but the goal is to build simple chains of key associations regarding what is happening in a novel and what it means. Ah, the joys of 21st century education.

This book, written by Mary Hartley, also makes use of icons for key themes from Harper Lee's novel: growing up is a cake, courage is a heart, racial prejudice a face half black and half white, etc. A typewriter is used to highlight commentary about Lee's choice of words and imagery (i.e., style and language). These icons pop up during the commentary section so that students can trace the develop and interaction of the various themes. The guide begins with some background on the author and the time in which "To Kill a Mockingbird" is set, followed by a synopsis, a discussion of the main characters, and an overview of the main themes of the novel.

The commentary section breaks each chapter into sections. For example, Chapter 1 is broken down into The start of it all, Atticus and the Finch family, Dill's arrival, Boo and the Radleys, and "Just go up and touch the house." Each section starts with the first and last sentence that define it, followed by a list of what happens in that part, commentary, and questions marked with stars which young readers are supposed to stop and think about. In comparison to similar study guides, such as Cliffsnotes, this approach has the key values of inviting active participation from the readers and dealing with more discrete units within each chapter. The little pieces add up to some significant whole without the students realizing what is going on.

The back of the book has Topics for Discussion and Brainstorming, suggestions on How to Get an "A" in English Literature (which probably translates to American Lit as well), an Exam Essay, a Model Answer and Essay Plan, Glossary and Index. My feeling is that this book is geared more towards junior high students, which is fine since that was the grade level at which I taught "To Kill a Mockingbird." Teachers can certainly find some useful things to emphasize in class discussions, even if students are not using the guide. Other volumes in the "Literature Made Easy Series" look at "Animal Farm," "Julius Caesar," "Lord of the Flies," "MacBeth," "Of Mice and Men," "Pride and Prejudice," and "Romeo and Juliet."

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This book is sensational!

To Kill a Mocking Bid is definitely one of the best books in American history. It clearly describes the unjust discrimination against the blacks in the south in the 1930's. It taught me alot about racism in the south. I really admire Atticus Finch, the main character in this novel, he stepped up to defend a black man despite losing all his friends and reputation.

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to kill a mockingbird

This is a story about a man named Atticus Finch an attorney who lives in small town who is considered to be well off. He lives there with his daughter called Scout and his son Jem. Atticus is a man of convictions, he does not see any place for prejudice of any kind. He is called upon to defend a blackman Tom Robinson who is accused of raping a white girl. He knew this case would be difficult to win and could totally change his life. The story seems to focus on the representation of the mockingbirdas a symbol of innocence.
Atticus was portrayed as a good father who taught his children honesty and compassion. He had a tough time as a lawyer who was labeled as a "Nigger Lover" because he showed respect towards the black community. He took many risks to stand up for his beliefs.
I related well with "Scouts", Jean Louis who was strong willed and loved to be involved with everthing. She could not understand why people dislike other people just because they were different. Scout idolized her brother and preferred to hang out with Jem than anyone else.
Jem was just an ordinay boy who supported his father's beliefs. He looked out for his sister Scout. He would become his sister's hero when Scout was attacked in the woods by a crazed man whose heart was full of hate.
The character Boo Radley was a bit confusing. I could not quite follow the author's portrayal. It was a mystery that did not unravel until the end of the story. It was reassuring to find out that Boo turned out to be sweet and kind but an introverted soul.
Tom Robinson the alleged rapist's personal life was not really described until they went to trial. It was definitely unfortunate that he was the center of so much ignorance, prejudice and in my opinion, blindness which prohidited the pursuit of justice. The story was easy to read but difficult to follow. It was a little drawn out but once i became familiar with the characters I could not put it down.
The mockingbird that was mentioned repeatedly represents innocence. This novel makes us all look at innocence and try to understand it. It made us see how some people are capable of killing the innocent because of their own ignorance and prejudices. It also makes us realize how we judge those people who are different and eccentric like Boo Radley who turns out was more humane than the townspeople who feared him. We all began as children who look at things innocently but as we grow older are influenced by others that changed our opinion on how we think of people.

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Unusual and effective guide for teachers and students

I purchased this guide on a hunch. Every spring I teach my eleventh grade English students this novel, and I was looking for new ideas. The concept of the Mind Map presented in this guide has been significant in my students' understanding of the novel. I use three Mind Maps, presenting them on transparencies and adding to them as needed: Characters, Themes, and Plot Occurrences. Students have grasped the novel better since the first day because they have been instrumental in the gradual construction of the Mind Maps. I highly recommend this, especially for the Mind Maps which are shown as examples. Also, the chapter synopses are extremely well-done, organized, and easy to follow. The guide contains some of the best talking points I have ever seen for this novel. This book is unlike Cliff's Notes or Spark Notes; I recommended it to my students because it is actually thought-provoking rather than just a summary review. HIGHLY recommended! It's the best money I've spent on a teaching aid all year!

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A wonderful book for all ages.

Great life lessons, on racism and hate. It makes you sympathetic towards the outsiders.

TheLiterature Made Easy Series is more than just plot summaries. Each book describes a classic novel and drama by explaining themes, elaborating on characters, and discussing each author's unique literary style, use of language, and point of view. Extensive illustrations and imaginative, enlightening use of graphics help to make each book in this series livelier, easier, and more fun to use than ordinary literature plot summaries. An unusual feature, "Mind Map" is a diagram that summarizes and interrelates the most important details that students need to understand about a given work. Appropriate for middle and high school students.

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