On this day in 1960 the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, made its debut across the country. The book was an instant success and the author, Harper Lee, spent the rest of her life - she passed away in 2016 - seeking anonimity in her home town of Monroeville, Alabama. I doubt the place has been the same without her. She spent her entire life there living a rather reclusive existence with the help of locals who spent a half century sending curious fans everywhere but to Miss Nelle's place.
Between 1960 and 1964 she published a few essays and participated in interviews then quietly "retired" until the publication of her second novel in 2015.
We can only imagine how many millions of American high school students have read To Kill A Mockingbird. I graduated from high school in the mid-60's and don't recall if the book was required reading; however, it did make the list in college. In fact, I still have that paperback, scuffed, tattered, dog-eared, and stained after several readings by me and my children.
In the face of political correctness and wokeism, Mockingbird has recently come under attack for its language (the N-word and other slurs) and subject (rape) as well as its portrayal of oppression and paternalism. Today, movements to ban the book from schools and libraries have resulted in only one outright banning but the controversy has unfortunately rendered the book untouchable as a learning tool in middle and high schools across the nation.
For more on the book and it's impact on American culture here is an article in The Huffington Post featuring four defenses of this enduring work. And here is a link to a more critical review by Allen Barra from The Wall Street Journal. Barra's observations are brief and well worth reading. For a fine summation of the life of the author, here is her obituary by William Grimes that appeared in The New York Times, February 19, 2016.
In the face of political correctness and wokeism, Mockingbird has recently come under attack for its language (the N-word and other slurs) and subject (rape) as well as its portrayal of oppression and paternalism. Today, movements to ban the book from schools and libraries have resulted in only one outright banning but the controversy has unfortunately rendered the book untouchable as a learning tool in middle and high schools across the nation.
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| My copy - scuffed, tattered, dog-eared, and stained |
For more on the book and it's impact on American culture here is an article in The Huffington Post featuring four defenses of this enduring work. And here is a link to a more critical review by Allen Barra from The Wall Street Journal. Barra's observations are brief and well worth reading. For a fine summation of the life of the author, here is her obituary by William Grimes that appeared in The New York Times, February 19, 2016.
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