To Kill a Mockingbird: The Themes - The Characters - The Language and Style - The Plot Analyzed

Harper Lee was encouraged to write some of her childhood memories. What in the beginning seems like the story of three childhood friends in depression era Macomb, Alabama, turns out to be packed with insights to the makeup of human kind. This story is intriguing on many levels from the history of the area to the stereotyping of people. Most of all every turn was a surprise as told in the first person from the view of Scout Finch. And instead of telling the story in a six year old vocabulary she uses an exceptionally large repertoire to describe the people and events. This story is not as slow passed as one may guess from first glance as every remark and every action will be needed for a future action. A major controversial part of the story is the trial of Tom Robinson. Hoverer this is just a catalyst to help Scout understand the nature of people including her father Atticus and you will find that as important as it is it is just a part of the story with other major characters such as Arthur "Boo" Radley. Even thought it appears that Scout is the recipient of the insights, I believe we the reader is the real recipient. I can truly say that this book has changed my outlook in life. To Kill a Mockingbird (Collector's Edition)

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!

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,

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.

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