Wednesday, January 20, 2010

To Kill A Mockingbird


Hey guys! This is Hye Jin. I guess I'm the first one to post on this blog!
So, the first thing that came up to my mind when I thought about a representation of the South was a book called 'To Kill a Mockingbird' by Harper Lee.

The book is basically about a widow lawyer father with two children living in Maycomb, Alabama. The father, Atticus is appointed by the court to defend a black man name Tom Robinson. Although he tries his best to prove Tom innocent, the court convicts him.

'To Kill a Mockingbird' was the first book I read that gave me an overview of the South during the 1960s. After learning some facts about the South and the history of racism, I thought that this book best represents the situation at that time. Like Tom Robinson was accused for rape, although in reality he was innocent, the white people were arguing for guilt and lynching. (I was quite surprised that lynching was mentioned in this book, since we briefly talked about it during the class other days. I didn't really realize how much lynching was done at that time to the blacks.) Moreover, humiliated by the trial, Bob Ewell revenges by spitting at Atticus and threatening Tom Robinson's widow. Due to these events, I think that 'To Kill a Mockingbird' accurately portrays the South.

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