聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 I鈥檓 not really sure why it resonated so much with me, but one of my favourite books is 鈥淭o Kill a Mockingbird鈥� by Harper Lee.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 I think it was the way the characters were able to really grab my attention. Atticus Finch being one of these characters in particular that I enjoyed reading about. The way that Lee portrays him and the thought process of Atticus, I came to greatly respect.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 A popular quote from the book which Atticus says is, 鈥淚 wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It鈥檚 when you know you鈥檙e licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but you sometimes do.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Another Atticus quote being, 鈥淵ou never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view鈥� Until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 I feel like reading this book in grade nine had a huge impact on my life. My parents raised me to be accepting and loving, but I feel like reading this book and thinking about what its main themes and lessons were have reinforced how my parents raised me.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 You don鈥檛 really question your beliefs or wonder how people come to feel so strongly on certain issues until you鈥檙e presented something that makes you think about why you form opinions in the way that you do. This I think is what reading 鈥淭o Kill a Mockingbird鈥� did for me.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 My parents taught me everyone is the same, we鈥檙e all equal, and we all deserve to be treated with respect. I took this as how the world should work and have tried to live that way. The book, however, brought to light that not everyone believes we鈥檙e all equal and that how we鈥檙e raised or the impacts of societies popular beliefs can greatly affect how people perceive their surroundings and others in their surroundings.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Recently Lee鈥檚 friend located an old manuscript of what influenced the writing of 鈥淭o Kill a Mockingbird.鈥� Lee originally wrote the story, 鈥淕o Set a Watchman鈥� in the mid-1950s, but when she took the book to her editor Lee was encouraged to focus on Scout鈥檚 flashbacks to her youth.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淕o Set a Watchman鈥� will be published this year and it follows a grown-up Scout returning to Maycomb, Alabama to visit her father, Atticus. Scout has been living in New York and she must come to terms with her home town while grappling with people鈥檚 attitudes towards society and dealing with the feelings of looking back on growing up there.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淭o Kill a Mockingbird鈥� has sold over 40 million copies since its release on July 11, 1960. It has been banned due to its language and racial themes in various areas, but despite this it became popular enough to warrant a movie. In 1962, Gregory Peck starred as Atticus Finch, in an Oscar-winning portrayal of the character.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 All of this started with Lee鈥檚 manuscript, 鈥淕o Set a Watchman,鈥� and I am extremely excited to be able to read the book which was the basis of 鈥淭o Kill a Mockingbird,鈥� for without this manuscript we never would have had the opportunity to enjoy the classic.
