As discussed in class, please comment on at least one of the links on the right. Let us know what you found interesting or enlightening, or your thoughts on how what you read will afect your reading of the novel.
27 comments:
Anonymous
said...
I read the Guardian feature on Harper Lee, looking at the way she vanished out of the public spotlight after writing "To Kill a Mockingbird." It was interesting to find out that a lot of the book is closely related to her experiences living in the deep south at the time of racial segregation for example the Scattsboro boys' trial which seems to be closely related to that of Tom Robinson. It also discussed why Harper Lee didn't write another novel - possibly because great writers have one great idea and once they have written about it they don't write anything else.
I checked out the link on 'The Little Rock Nine', which looked at how a group of black students were racially discriminated and not allowed to join the Little Rock High School, but then protested and managed to join the once racially segregated High School. I can see that this was a slow but steady change for racism in America as I also ready the difficulties of growing up in America.
I also found that the Scottsboro Boys' trial bore a likeness to Tom Robinson. It was entriguing seeing how the trial proceeded in that it was two random lawyers that defended all nine of the defendants. I also looked at the Photographs of Signs Enforcing Racial Discrimination: Documentation by Farm Security Administration-Office of War Information Photographers article. It was astounding to see the amount of racial segregation that took place, even leading up to and including the 1960s. It must be weird for older Americans to have adjusted to the new laws in the late '60s, early '70s. There is a new movie, Gran Torino, which looks like it has a relation to racism.
I read the review of the unauthorised Lee biography 'Mockingbird' written by Charles J.Sheilds. The article looks at several ideas as to why the author of the best selling novel of the 20th century, never wrote another. Lee was quoted to have said that 'she hoped she lived to see it [her second novel] published', imlpying that it was slow work. Suggestions have been made that Truman Capote, a childhood friend, had ghost-written the novel, or that she had slipped into alcohlism and was unable to complete another book. The truth is that nobody knows why she never wrote another novel, with her merely stating that all she really needed to be happy was 'pen, paper and privacy'
I read the link about Harper Lee on Wikipedia. It had a very informative biographical section which was useful as it helped with my understanding of where the idea of the book originated from. It became clear that Harper Lee is very similar to the character of Scout which is interesting. From this we could assume that 'To Kill A Mocking Bird' is slightly autobiographical with Scout being Harper Lee and Truman Capote, Lee's close friend, being Dill. The link also contained information about other things Lee has written and the fact that she won a literature award. Overall, the link gave me a better understanding of how the book came about and what the author is really like.
I also read the Review of the Unauthorised Lee Biography. The article about Lee talks about how Harper Lee combined her real life stories with her ideas that were put into her novel. The text also discusses how Harper Lee stopped answering peoples questions about when Lee was going to publish her next book. Harper Lee also dicussed that nothing important or special had happened to her in around about 34 years until she wrote "To Kill a Mockingbird". I found this biography very good as I thought that it was interesting how Lee combined real life with her novel, the biography also let me find out more about the author of the book. Bye Emma B
I read "the Trials of the Scottboro boys," which gave a summary of the trials of a group of teenage boys who were accused of raping two white girls, similar to the Tom Robinson case in "To Kill a Mockingbird".The long and complicated trials are interesting as they show how the white judges are reluctant to be as harsh as they would have been in previous years.Despite the massive segregation at the time, a few of the Scottboro boys avoided the death penalty. It bearing such a close resemblance to Harper Lee's novel it does make you question racism in our society today. It was a useful article to read as it gives a real life example of the events in "To Kill a Mockingbird".
I foud the page about the Scottsboro boys very interesting, as it was a story extremely similar to "To Kill a Mockingbird." Like Kerr, i also enjoyed looking through all the pictures, and finding links to many famous trials, as I am personally very interested in law. I also found the pictures on the Libary of Congress link very interesting, as it suddenly dawns on you just how much some people were discriminated against.
I read the link on the trial of the "Scottsboro Boys". This is about nine black boys who were accused of raping two white girls. All nine boys were represented by only two lawyers and were trialed two or three at a time. All of the boys were found guilty apart from one boy who was aquitted because he was only twelve years old.
I found this very similar to the Tom Robinson case and this led me to believe that "To Kill a Mockingbird" was not entirely fictional and Harper Lee based some of the novel on experiences and events that took place when she was growing up.
Hello This is Rory by the way. I read the article about the "Little Rock Nine", it was very encouraging how the governer at the time eventually stepped in to get these 9 black pupils into a white school and break the mold that had been kept for centuries. Though i was shocked at how the pupils already at the school and their parents behaved i was happy that they were offered protection from the more dangerous members of the community. But the treatment of Minnijean Brown was terible after she was only retaliating from being abused. P.S-Cyy-why did you delete about 5 of your comments???????? Byee
Hi Mr B, I had a look at the interview with a black woman called Mrs Barge. I found it fascinating to hear about life as a black during and after the slave trade. It was especially interesting to read about Mrs Barge's father who, like atticus in the book, fought a battle that he knew he wouldn't win when he tried to win full possesion of his house. It showed that the events in to kill a mockingbird really happened and that there were people who tried to challenge the racist mentality of America at that time. Max
I had a look at the photos of signs enforcing segregation. They made my realise how deep racism went into society and how accepted it was which shocked me. I also has a look at the link about the Little Rock Nine and how that showed something of a positive step towards overcoming racism. I also reflected on how terrifying it must have been for the nine involved.
i also looked at the signs that enforced racial segregation. i was surprised to see that there were over 30 signs and how deeply racism ran into the community. the fact that racism was not questioned then as it would be now shocked me. i also read the "little rock nine" and i thought that it was good that the governor actually got these black people into a white school.
I read the interview of Mrs. Barge, who lived in the 1930’s in Birmingham, Alabama. It is very difficult in this modern age of freedom and democracy for us to understand the depth of suffering that people who are racially discriminated against face. I was interested in her first hand version of description of life in the 1930’s in America as a black child. Her grandparents were slaves, her parents suffered in poverty and lived at a time when black and white people could not share the same space in a bus or the same hospital, and yet the encouraging part of the story is that her three children have been college educated and are professionals. I also found it interesting that despite the maltreatment of blacks at the hands of the white people, she does not rush to condemn white people due the colour of their skin and is willing to believe that generalisations and stereotyping of human beings by their appearance is incorrect. This interview enhanced my understanding of the problems faced by Tom Robinson and his community in ‘To Kill a Mocking Bird’ by Harper Lee.
Hi hugo here I checked out the mockingbird links which I thought were very interesting. I was surprised that Harper Lee kept such a low profile The little rock nine case was very interesting too. I think it was wrong that people were not allowed to get into school because of their colour. I also liked the scotboro boys case link because it was related to the plot of the book. The pics were also good and gave an insight to what life was like as a black person back then. see ya
I read the Scottsboro Boys' link and thought it was interesting how similar the story was to Tom Robinson's case. I also noticed how the black boys only had 2 lawyers between all nine of them and the lawyers were obviously less than competant. When I was looking at the signs and photos that blatantly encouraged racism the penny dropped just how discriminative so many people were and how it wasn't like 200 years ago it was less than a lifetime ago for some people. EmmaG
I read a writer’s story: The Mockingbird by The Independent. Harper Lee's attitude to fame and celebrity life has really impressed me. She experienced great success when her book was published, however she hated the celebrity life and quickly decided it was not for her. She liked the simple life, living in a small town, visiting her coffee shops, her church and reading. Her privacy was very important to her. Her passion brought her great fame, but she hated it. Possibly the fame destroyed her passion. Turning her back on the celebrity life is an admirable quality. We should be thankful for her one amazing novel rather than criticize her for the ten she failed to deliver.
Hi, i read the Guardian article on Harper Lee's life story. It was wierd, but interesting to find out that Lee drew back from the limelight after writing To Kill a Mockingbird. It was also interesting to discover that, significantly large part of the novel had to do with her past experiences, at the time of racism between blacks and whites. I had a look at the Scattsboro boys' trial, and it seemed to be related to the Tom Robinson trial in her novel. The long trials that proceeded, in this event of 9 black teenagers raping 2 white girls, are interesting as they show how the white judges are hesitant to be as harsh as they would have been.
Hey, sorry im late, but i did have a look at the links you posted and found them very interesting and some of them were quite closly linked to the novel. I looked at the Scottboro boys link whick was about the trial of a group of boys that were accused of raping two white girls. it was very interesting and showed a close link to the trial in "to kill a mockingbird" I also looked at some of the photographs of signs which showed how every thing from shops and theatres to even water fountains were affected by racism, i found it shocking how everyone just accepted it. This clearly shows how life has changed.
27 comments:
I read the Guardian feature on Harper Lee, looking at the way she vanished out of the public spotlight after writing "To Kill a Mockingbird." It was interesting to find out that a lot of the book is closely related to her experiences living in the deep south at the time of racial segregation for example the Scattsboro boys' trial which seems to be closely related to that of Tom Robinson. It also discussed why Harper Lee didn't write another novel - possibly because great writers have one great idea and once they have written about it they don't write anything else.
I checked out the link on 'The Little Rock Nine', which looked at how a group of black students were racially discriminated and not allowed to join the Little Rock High School, but then protested and managed to join the once racially segregated High School. I can see that this was a slow but steady change for racism in America as I also ready the difficulties of growing up in America.
Respect.
Cyyyyyy
P.S Bet Ross forgets to post a comment.
I also found that the Scottsboro Boys' trial bore a likeness to Tom Robinson. It was entriguing seeing how the trial proceeded in that it was two random lawyers that defended all nine of the defendants. I also looked at the Photographs of Signs Enforcing Racial Discrimination:
Documentation by Farm Security Administration-Office of War Information Photographers article. It was astounding to see the amount of racial segregation that took place, even leading up to and including the 1960s. It must be weird for older Americans to have adjusted to the new laws in the late '60s, early '70s. There is a new movie, Gran Torino, which looks like it has a relation to racism.
Kiiiieeeeeerrrrrrrrrr
I read the review of the unauthorised Lee biography 'Mockingbird' written by Charles J.Sheilds. The article looks at several ideas as to why the author of the best selling novel of the 20th century, never wrote another. Lee was quoted to have said that 'she hoped she lived to see it [her second novel] published', imlpying that it was slow work. Suggestions have been made that Truman Capote, a childhood friend, had ghost-written the novel, or that she had slipped into alcohlism and was unable to complete another book. The truth is that nobody knows why she never wrote another novel, with her merely stating that all she really needed to be happy was 'pen, paper and privacy'
I read the link about Harper Lee on Wikipedia. It had a very informative biographical section which was useful as it helped with my understanding of where the idea of the book originated from. It became clear that Harper Lee is very similar to the character of Scout which is interesting. From this we could assume that 'To Kill A Mocking Bird' is slightly autobiographical with Scout being Harper Lee and Truman Capote, Lee's close friend, being Dill. The link also contained information about other things Lee has written and the fact that she won a literature award. Overall, the link gave me a better understanding of how the book came about and what the author is really like.
I also read the Review of the Unauthorised Lee Biography. The article about Lee talks about how Harper Lee combined her real life stories with her ideas that were put into her novel. The text also discusses how Harper Lee stopped answering peoples questions about when Lee was going to publish her next book. Harper Lee also dicussed that nothing important or special had happened to her in around about 34 years until she wrote "To Kill a Mockingbird". I found this biography very good as I thought that it was interesting how Lee combined real life with her novel, the biography also let me find out more about the author of the book.
Bye
Emma B
I read "the Trials of the Scottboro boys," which gave a summary of the trials of a group of teenage boys who were accused of raping two white girls, similar to the Tom Robinson case in "To Kill a Mockingbird".The long and complicated trials are interesting as they show how the white judges are reluctant to be as harsh as they would have been in previous years.Despite the massive segregation at the time, a few of the Scottboro boys avoided the death penalty. It bearing such a close resemblance to Harper Lee's novel it does make you question racism in our society today. It was a useful article to read as it gives a real life example of the events in "To Kill a Mockingbird".
Matthew :)
I foud the page about the Scottsboro boys very interesting, as it was a story extremely similar to "To Kill a Mockingbird." Like Kerr, i also enjoyed looking through all the pictures, and finding links to many famous trials, as I am personally very interested in law. I also found the pictures on the Libary of Congress link very interesting, as it suddenly dawns on you just how much some people were discriminated against.
S'up guys ?
I read the link on the trial of the "Scottsboro Boys". This is about nine black boys who were accused of raping two white girls. All nine boys were represented by only two lawyers and were trialed two or three at a time. All of the boys were found guilty apart from one boy who was aquitted because he was only twelve years old.
I found this very similar to the Tom Robinson case and this led me to believe that "To Kill a Mockingbird" was not entirely fictional and Harper Lee based some of the novel on experiences and events that took place when she was growing up.
Byee =]
Hello
This is Rory by the way.
I read the article about the "Little Rock Nine", it was very encouraging how the governer at the time eventually stepped in to get these 9 black pupils into a white school and break the mold that had been kept for centuries. Though i was shocked at how the pupils already at the school and their parents behaved i was happy that they were offered protection from the more dangerous members of the community. But the treatment of Minnijean Brown was terible after she was only retaliating from being abused.
P.S-Cyy-why did you delete about 5 of your comments????????
Byee
Hi Mr B, I had a look at the interview with a black woman called Mrs Barge. I found it fascinating to hear about life as a black during and after the slave trade. It was especially interesting to read about Mrs Barge's father who, like atticus in the book, fought a battle that he knew he wouldn't win when he tried to win full possesion of his house. It showed that the events in to kill a mockingbird really happened and that there were people who tried to challenge the racist mentality of America at that time.
Max
I also read the Guardian feature on Harper Lee and think that she wrote "To Kill a Mockingbird" very well.
I had a look at the photos of signs enforcing segregation. They made my realise how deep racism went into society and how accepted it was which shocked me. I also has a look at the link about the Little Rock Nine and how that showed something of a positive step towards overcoming racism. I also reflected on how terrifying it must have been for the nine involved.
i also looked at the signs that enforced racial segregation. i was surprised to see that there were over 30 signs and how deeply racism ran into the community. the fact that racism was not questioned then as it would be now shocked me. i also read the "little rock nine" and i thought that it was good that the governor actually got these black people into a white school.
I read the interview of Mrs. Barge, who lived in the 1930’s in Birmingham, Alabama. It is very difficult in this modern age of freedom and democracy for us to understand the depth of suffering that people who are racially discriminated against face. I was interested in her first hand version of description of life in the 1930’s in America as a black child. Her grandparents were slaves, her parents suffered in poverty and lived at a time when black and white people could not share the same space in a bus or the same hospital, and yet the encouraging part of the story is that her three children have been college educated and are professionals. I also found it interesting that despite the maltreatment of blacks at the hands of the white people, she does not rush to condemn white people due the colour of their skin and is willing to believe that generalisations and stereotyping of human beings by their appearance is incorrect. This interview enhanced my understanding of the problems faced by Tom Robinson and his community in ‘To Kill a Mocking Bird’ by Harper Lee.
Hi hugo here
I checked out the mockingbird links which I thought were very interesting.
I was surprised that Harper Lee kept such a low profile
The little rock nine case was very interesting too. I think it was wrong that people were not allowed to get into school because of their colour.
I also liked the scotboro boys case link because it was related to the plot of the book.
The pics were also good and gave an insight to what life was like as a black person back then.
see ya
I read the Scottsboro Boys' link and thought it was interesting how similar the story was to Tom Robinson's case. I also noticed how the black boys only had 2 lawyers between all nine of them and the lawyers were obviously less than competant.
When I was looking at the signs and photos that blatantly encouraged racism the penny dropped just how discriminative so many people were and how it wasn't like 200 years ago it was less than a lifetime ago for some people.
EmmaG
I read a writer’s story: The Mockingbird by The Independent. Harper Lee's attitude to fame and celebrity life has really impressed me. She experienced great success when her book was published, however she hated the celebrity life and quickly decided it was not for her. She liked the simple life, living in a small town, visiting her coffee shops, her church and reading. Her privacy was very important to her. Her passion brought her great fame, but she hated it. Possibly the fame destroyed her passion. Turning her back on the celebrity life is an admirable quality. We should be thankful for her one amazing novel rather than criticize her for the ten she failed to deliver.
Hi, i read the Guardian article on Harper Lee's life story. It was wierd, but interesting to find out that Lee drew back from the limelight after writing To Kill a Mockingbird. It was also interesting to discover that, significantly large part of the novel had to do with her past experiences, at the time of racism between blacks and whites. I had a look at the Scattsboro boys' trial, and it seemed to be related to the Tom Robinson trial in her novel. The long trials that proceeded, in this event of 9 black teenagers raping 2 white girls, are interesting as they show how the white judges are hesitant to be as harsh as they would have been.
Hey, sorry im late, but i did have a look at the links you posted and found them very interesting and some of them were quite closly linked to the novel. I looked at the Scottboro boys link whick was about the trial of a group of boys that were accused of raping two white girls. it was very interesting and showed a close link to the trial in "to kill a mockingbird"
I also looked at some of the photographs of signs which showed how every thing from shops and theatres to even water fountains were affected by racism, i found it shocking how everyone just accepted it. This clearly shows how life has changed.
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