Question
"Book Review: 'To Kill a Mockingbird' by Harper Lee" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Adapted by Newsela Staff
It would take many years for me to understand why Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" is considered an important novel. When I first read it at 11, I was simply absorbed by the way it evoked the mysteries of childhood, of treasures discovered in trees and games played with a
summer friend. I loved that the narrator was a girl named Scout, which isn't a very girly name. I loved her unsentimental nature, her sharp tongue and her humor.
She reminded me of the imagined version of myself I liked best. Her older brother Jem was very much like my brother Okey. Her small Southern American town of Macomb, Alabama, was similar to my town, Nsukka in eastern Nigeria. It was a place of open doors, where people had petty loyalties and gossiped about the one strange family in town. But Macomb was also much less sophisticated than Nsukka, in a way that was fascinating, with little boys who did not bathe for weeks and people who sealed deals by spitting into their palms and shaking hands.
The Second Part Represents A Loss Of Innocence
I was taken by how incredibly funny the novel was. Some scenes made me laugh out loud, such as when Scout's teacher at school is horrified to discover that her student can read. At 11, I read the novel with great pleasure. Or rather I read the first part with great pleasure and mostly skipped the second part. Perhaps it was because I wasn't able to understand the social and political details or because I was unprepared for the loss of innocence that the second part represents. In this half of
the novel, Scout and her brother observe their father, Atticus Finch, as he defends a black man named Tom Robinson. Tom is accused of attacking a white woman, and Finch becomes his lawyer. The racism hinted at in the first part explodes in all its savagery, and the town becomes a cesspit.
Rereading the novel as an adult, I came to admire it for its clear-eyed description of American prejudice. Few modern American novels have the confidence to take on social issues in the way Harper Lee does. Much writing today about racism is cloaked in humor or in so much poetic language that it becomes vague. Lee refuses to hide behind literary effects. Her writing is so beautiful, so steady and clear, that she could have evaded confronting prejudice head-on, but she doesn't.
Lee Creates Complicated Characters
Nor does she create perfect characters — although Atticus Finch comes close. She complicates them all, so that while Scout is the lovable narrator whose family hates racism, we are not allowed to forget that she and her family benefit from being white. When their summer friend, Dill, is upset by the cruel way that the black man is treated in court, Scout is dismissive. "He's just a negro," she says. It does not occur to Scout to question her attitudes, just as it does not occur to her to question why black adults rise in the courtroom to give up their seats to little white children. The most moving line in the novel, for me, is spoken by the accused black man Tom. When someone asks why he would be scared if he was innocent, Tom responds that if they were a black man, they'd be scared, too. That simple statement says all the reader needs to know about the larger system that Lee questions. In Macomb, being black is considered evidence of guilt.
That other great writer of the American South, William Faulkner, writes of racism as though it were something unavoidable. Lee, on the other hand, writes about racism in a way that questions its very foundation. She does so with confidence and skill that always carries the reader along. Her children characters may be politically smart, but they are still children, rather than adults in little bodies. Her anger is present, but the issues are always surrounded by a wonderful humanity.
She Writes About Class Differences Too
While racism might be America's gravest sin, class discrimination comes a close second. Macomb does not appear to have middle-class black people, or if it does, Scout does not meet them. But even within the white community, the class differences are glaring. The Ewells are racist, but they are also seen as "trash." They sign welfare checks and never bathe, and serve as a form of entertainment for the better-placed whites. The white woman who accuses a black man of attacking her is so unused to being spoken to courteously that she thinks she is being mocked. Lower-class children are clearly marked and the other children know them.
"Important Without Being Like Medicine"
Sometimes novels are considered important in the way medicine is: They taste terrible and are difficult to swallow, but are still good for you. The best novels are those that are important without being like medicine. They have something to say and are intelligent but never forget to be entertaining and to have character and emotion at their center. Harper Lee's triumph is one of those.
his question has two parts. First read "Book Review - To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, adapted by Newsela Staff. Then, answer the question Part A, and then Part B.
Part A: According to the book review, what makes Lee’s writing about racism unique?
Responses
She tackles racism clearly and head-on without hiding behind literary tricks.
She tackles racism clearly and head-on without hiding behind literary tricks.
She writes only from a modern perspective to keep the reader comfortable.
She writes only from a modern perspective to keep the reader comfortable. EndFragment
She uses poetic metaphors to soften the message.
She uses poetic metaphors to soften the message.
She avoids directly addressing the issue of race.
She avoids directly addressing the issue of race.
Question 2
Part B: Based on both the novel and the book review, which idea do they agree on?
Responses
Innocence and empathy are essential to fighting injustice.
Innocence and empathy are essential to fighting injustice.
The Ewells are misunderstood and deserve sympathy.
The Ewells are misunderstood and deserve sympathy.
Childhood should be the focus of all serious novels.
Childhood should be the focus of all serious novels.
Justice is always served when the law is followed.
It would take many years for me to understand why Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" is considered an important novel. When I first read it at 11, I was simply absorbed by the way it evoked the mysteries of childhood, of treasures discovered in trees and games played with a
summer friend. I loved that the narrator was a girl named Scout, which isn't a very girly name. I loved her unsentimental nature, her sharp tongue and her humor.
She reminded me of the imagined version of myself I liked best. Her older brother Jem was very much like my brother Okey. Her small Southern American town of Macomb, Alabama, was similar to my town, Nsukka in eastern Nigeria. It was a place of open doors, where people had petty loyalties and gossiped about the one strange family in town. But Macomb was also much less sophisticated than Nsukka, in a way that was fascinating, with little boys who did not bathe for weeks and people who sealed deals by spitting into their palms and shaking hands.
The Second Part Represents A Loss Of Innocence
I was taken by how incredibly funny the novel was. Some scenes made me laugh out loud, such as when Scout's teacher at school is horrified to discover that her student can read. At 11, I read the novel with great pleasure. Or rather I read the first part with great pleasure and mostly skipped the second part. Perhaps it was because I wasn't able to understand the social and political details or because I was unprepared for the loss of innocence that the second part represents. In this half of
the novel, Scout and her brother observe their father, Atticus Finch, as he defends a black man named Tom Robinson. Tom is accused of attacking a white woman, and Finch becomes his lawyer. The racism hinted at in the first part explodes in all its savagery, and the town becomes a cesspit.
Rereading the novel as an adult, I came to admire it for its clear-eyed description of American prejudice. Few modern American novels have the confidence to take on social issues in the way Harper Lee does. Much writing today about racism is cloaked in humor or in so much poetic language that it becomes vague. Lee refuses to hide behind literary effects. Her writing is so beautiful, so steady and clear, that she could have evaded confronting prejudice head-on, but she doesn't.
Lee Creates Complicated Characters
Nor does she create perfect characters — although Atticus Finch comes close. She complicates them all, so that while Scout is the lovable narrator whose family hates racism, we are not allowed to forget that she and her family benefit from being white. When their summer friend, Dill, is upset by the cruel way that the black man is treated in court, Scout is dismissive. "He's just a negro," she says. It does not occur to Scout to question her attitudes, just as it does not occur to her to question why black adults rise in the courtroom to give up their seats to little white children. The most moving line in the novel, for me, is spoken by the accused black man Tom. When someone asks why he would be scared if he was innocent, Tom responds that if they were a black man, they'd be scared, too. That simple statement says all the reader needs to know about the larger system that Lee questions. In Macomb, being black is considered evidence of guilt.
That other great writer of the American South, William Faulkner, writes of racism as though it were something unavoidable. Lee, on the other hand, writes about racism in a way that questions its very foundation. She does so with confidence and skill that always carries the reader along. Her children characters may be politically smart, but they are still children, rather than adults in little bodies. Her anger is present, but the issues are always surrounded by a wonderful humanity.
She Writes About Class Differences Too
While racism might be America's gravest sin, class discrimination comes a close second. Macomb does not appear to have middle-class black people, or if it does, Scout does not meet them. But even within the white community, the class differences are glaring. The Ewells are racist, but they are also seen as "trash." They sign welfare checks and never bathe, and serve as a form of entertainment for the better-placed whites. The white woman who accuses a black man of attacking her is so unused to being spoken to courteously that she thinks she is being mocked. Lower-class children are clearly marked and the other children know them.
"Important Without Being Like Medicine"
Sometimes novels are considered important in the way medicine is: They taste terrible and are difficult to swallow, but are still good for you. The best novels are those that are important without being like medicine. They have something to say and are intelligent but never forget to be entertaining and to have character and emotion at their center. Harper Lee's triumph is one of those.
his question has two parts. First read "Book Review - To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, adapted by Newsela Staff. Then, answer the question Part A, and then Part B.
Part A: According to the book review, what makes Lee’s writing about racism unique?
Responses
She tackles racism clearly and head-on without hiding behind literary tricks.
She tackles racism clearly and head-on without hiding behind literary tricks.
She writes only from a modern perspective to keep the reader comfortable.
She writes only from a modern perspective to keep the reader comfortable. EndFragment
She uses poetic metaphors to soften the message.
She uses poetic metaphors to soften the message.
She avoids directly addressing the issue of race.
She avoids directly addressing the issue of race.
Question 2
Part B: Based on both the novel and the book review, which idea do they agree on?
Responses
Innocence and empathy are essential to fighting injustice.
Innocence and empathy are essential to fighting injustice.
The Ewells are misunderstood and deserve sympathy.
The Ewells are misunderstood and deserve sympathy.
Childhood should be the focus of all serious novels.
Childhood should be the focus of all serious novels.
Justice is always served when the law is followed.
Answers
GPT-4o mini
**Part A:** According to the book review, what makes Lee’s writing about racism unique?
**Response:** She tackles racism clearly and head-on without hiding behind literary tricks.
---
**Part B:** Based on both the novel and the book review, which idea do they agree on?
**Response:** Innocence and empathy are essential to fighting injustice.
**Response:** She tackles racism clearly and head-on without hiding behind literary tricks.
---
**Part B:** Based on both the novel and the book review, which idea do they agree on?
**Response:** Innocence and empathy are essential to fighting injustice.