I've finished To Kill a Mockingbird, and I have to say that it was a great read. I was reading it for a class, so it benefited me in that regard, but its great even as a pleasure read. As for the themes, they were great, too, though I'm not going to get into that tonight. I'll just say that if you haven't read the book, I suggest you do; both the themes and the story itself are excellent.
On my blog, Scout's role as narrator has been discussed to some degree. I've also discussed in ENED 450, the class for which it was read. In both places, Scout's being young has been an important topic. We've spoken of her innocence and and what that does for the novel. However, the fact that the narrator is Scout as an adult (or at least older than she is during the last scene of the novel) hasn't been brought up. We're listening to an account of a girl's childhood from an adult narrator. The entire process of her loss of innocence is put out on display from start to finish. We watch a child's innocence disappear piece by piece. At the end, she agrees to lie for an entirely good reason; nevertheless, her innocence is gone. I guess I've never read a loss of innocence story that I've found so compelling.
I'm glad I had the opportunity to read TKaM. I can definitely see myself using it in the classroom; it offers so, so, so much.
Indeed, the loss of innocence. In Boo Radley there's such a perfect foil though because he retains his innocence through it all. Lee asks us to question the role of society and our interaction with it in maintaining or losing that innocence. Boo is necessarily outside, and perhaps can't lose his. Scout and Jem as they walk through the world as their father's children encounter the cruelty and compassion that are present in the adult community.
ReplyDelete