To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

I had to read this book for the first time in tenth grade English, which was the schoolyear of 1990-1991. I don't remember much about it from that time, except that I liked the second half of the book better than the first half. We also watched the film for that class, although looking back I can't fathom what the point is of doing that. Why do they show movies at school? How does that enhance the reading experience?

Anyway, I asked my cousin in an e-mail if she had ever read any Shakespeare for school. She responded no, and that she usually hated stuff that they made her read for school. I sympathized. I usually hated required reading material in high school too. But she said that she did like To Kill A Mockingbird. She had to watch the movie too, and didn't like it.

Having been interested in "the classics" of late, I decided to give To Kill A Mockingbird another try. It had been over ten years, so the changes in myself since that time were likely to have an impact on my personal interpretation of the novel. They did, and I enjoyed it immensely this second time around. Poignant. Moving. I was able to see it as a whole this time, rather than seeing it as two unrelated halves like I did before. Such an incredible strategy, to tell this serious story of turmoil in the South as seen through the eyes of a child.

I borrowed the movie from the library when I finished the book and it had just as much of an impact on me. Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch was exquisite. The children playing Jem and Scout and Dill were great. Everything about the movie was spectacular. It did what very few films have ever been able to do: capture the essence of the original story. Magnificent.