Comments on: Book: To Kill A Mockingbird http://TomsDiary.com/2010/03/10/book-to-kill-a-mockingbird/ The Life and Times of Thomas J. Hesley Wed, 26 Oct 2011 19:51:43 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Tom Hesley http://TomsDiary.com/2010/03/10/book-to-kill-a-mockingbird/comment-page-1/#comment-762 Tom Hesley Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:39:18 +0000 http://TomsDiary.com/?p=5868#comment-762 10:35 AM: Read chapters thirteen through twenty-four. The author focused on the trial beginning in or around chapter fifteen. I wondered when she'd get to it. To avoid spoiling the book for other readers, I'll just iterate that the verdict, my twenty-first century mind found surprising. But given the time of the story line (circa mid 1930s), it really wasn't so surprising. 02:25 PM: Read the rest of the book; chapters twenty-five through thirty one. These represented the afterglow of the book's main event; the trial of Tom Robinson. I enjoyed this work; couldn't put it down overnight. It confirms my belief that forces such as station, caste, and destiny play much bigger roles in what a person achieves in his life than today's you-can-do-anything-if-you-really-want-to ideology does. The choices we make get us far, but by no means the entire way. Sometimes, people have no choice; like Tom Robinson. 10:35 AM: Read chapters thirteen through twenty-four. The author focused on the trial beginning in or around chapter fifteen. I wondered when she’d get to it. To avoid spoiling the book for other readers, I’ll just iterate that the verdict, my twenty-first century mind found surprising. But given the time of the story line (circa mid 1930s), it really wasn’t so surprising.

02:25 PM: Read the rest of the book; chapters twenty-five through thirty one. These represented the afterglow of the book’s main event; the trial of Tom Robinson. I enjoyed this work; couldn’t put it down overnight. It confirms my belief that forces such as station, caste, and destiny play much bigger roles in what a person achieves in his life than today’s you-can-do-anything-if-you-really-want-to ideology does. The choices we make get us far, but by no means the entire way. Sometimes, people have no choice; like Tom Robinson.

]]> By: Tom Hesley http://TomsDiary.com/2010/03/10/book-to-kill-a-mockingbird/comment-page-1/#comment-757 Tom Hesley Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:26:13 +0000 http://TomsDiary.com/?p=5868#comment-757 10:00 AM: Read the first four chapters in this comparatively short work. So far, I'm enjoying the tale, although I've not reached the central story line yet. I often dread reading the books labeled as <em><strong>classics</strong></em> because in high school, when I was compelled to read them, and then five years later in college, I often got lost in the first few pages. Then, a few chapters in, I frequently felt totally confused and that I was not following the various threads in the story at all. But so far, staying abreast of this book is easy. 12:00 PM: Read chapters five through eight. 01:45 PM: Read chapters nine and ten. We’ve finally met the alleged Negro defendant finally, in chapter nine. So far, I’m enjoying the book although I think the author portrayed the female protagonist a bit too precociously for a first and second grader. This little girl had way more of a grasp on life issues than similarly-aged folks I’ve known. So I might have found the story a trifle more believable if this character had been a high-school aged instead. But that’s nothing major. I suppose she could have been that smart while being so young. I just haven’t encountered others so gifted at that age. But this is still a great story, and my sense is that I’m only just now getting to the “juicy” part; the litigation regarding Tom Robinson, the accused Negro rapist. 10:50 PM: Read chapters eleven and twelve. I'm surprised that after this many pages into the book, only cursory mentions of the alleged Negro rapist have been made so far. When will focus shift to his case? 10:00 AM: Read the first four chapters in this comparatively short work. So far, I’m enjoying the tale, although I’ve not reached the central story line yet. I often dread reading the books labeled as classics because in high school, when I was compelled to read them, and then five years later in college, I often got lost in the first few pages. Then, a few chapters in, I frequently felt totally confused and that I was not following the various threads in the story at all. But so far, staying abreast of this book is easy.

12:00 PM: Read chapters five through eight.

01:45 PM: Read chapters nine and ten. We’ve finally met the alleged Negro defendant finally, in chapter nine. So far, I’m enjoying the book although I think the author portrayed the female protagonist a bit too precociously for a first and second grader. This little girl had way more of a grasp on life issues than similarly-aged folks I’ve known. So I might have found the story a trifle more believable if this character had been a high-school aged instead. But that’s nothing major. I suppose she could have been that smart while being so young. I just haven’t encountered others so gifted at that age. But this is still a great story, and my sense is that I’m only just now getting to the “juicy” part; the litigation regarding Tom Robinson, the accused Negro rapist.

10:50 PM: Read chapters eleven and twelve. I’m surprised that after this many pages into the book, only cursory mentions of the alleged Negro rapist have been made so far. When will focus shift to his case?

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