It’s the first book I remember falling in love with, in 8th grade. I was always a pretty voracious reader, I would often be found with my nose in a book and would nightly stay up past my bedtime to read whatever adventure I was immersed in at the time. But To Kill a Mockingbird was different.
We read it in Language class, and I remember that our teacher had us dramatically act out scenes from the book. I still picture some of those kids when I reread this book, even after seeing the film many times.
I had moved from the big city to the suburbs the summer before school started, and I stuck out like a sore thumb. I was still a full-on tomboy, wearing hand-me-downs from my brother, while my peers were already wearing blue eye shadow, feathered hair and designer jeans. Academically, this suburban school was years ahead of the inner-city school district that I attended formerly, so the challenges to fit in were coming at me from all sides. I used books as an escape to places where I would understand the social landscape as my actual landscape seemed to be a foreign and unfriendly land.
Our teacher (Mrs. Goff) assigned us a lot of advanced fiction that year – Ayn Rand (Anthem, which I loved), F. Scott Fitzgerald (The Great Gatsby), and of course, Harper Lee. I fell in love with To Kill a Mockingbird as so many others did. The characters resonated with me (especially the coming-of-age arc of the dedicated tomboy, Scout), the southern dialect was new and exciting for this Wisconsin girl, and the story line was moving, challenging and inspiring – all wrapped up in one small paperback package.
I’ve reread the book frequently over the years and watched the movie and loved that as well (Gregory Peck as Atticus is inspired casting). Years later, when I met the man I realized would my future husband, I gave him a mix tape of love songs and my copy of Mockingbird to read, because that was a shortcut to getting to know my inner landscape.
And now, as the book celebrates 50 years, I’ve picked up a copy of Scout, Atticus & Boo, where many others share their love stories with Harper Lee’s classic tale. I’m looking forward to savoring that one.
Do you have a Mockingbird moment? Or another classic lit pick that speaks to you? Tell us about it!
Pingback: Tweets that mention Mockingbird » Book End Babes -- Topsy.com
I read To Kill a Mockingbird to my 8th grade talented & gifted classes as an introduction to our classics unit. It doesn’t matter how many times I read this book, I ALWAYS cry when Scout has burst through the lynch mob and Mr. Cunningham kneels down and takes her by the shoulders. The power of the innocence of a child touches me every single time.
I love this book so much. When I traveled to Peru, we were encouraged to leave books to allow for reading practice in English, and this is the title I chose to leave.
Inner landscape. Love it. I must re-read it. I’m sure we have a copy around here somewhere. Thank you!
This book is enjoying a sudden resurgence in popularity. My husband and I were just discussing it on the way to dinner last week.
TKAM is my favorite book. Harper Lee once said she never wrote another because she said everything she wanted to say in Mockingbird.
Well said, I say.
I adore this book and was always a bit broken-hearted when my students didn’t love it quite as much as I did. Perhaps I should have asked them to act out their favorite scenes?
I’ll definitely be tracking down Scout, Atticus, and Boo!