To Kill A Mockingbird: Part I

Skills- free writing

I can play the piano.I have done exams, but mostly it is about the feeling of being talented, being expressive. It is playing something that someone might want to listen to. It is practicing and practicing every week for six years and finally being good at it, finally enjoying it. It is crying and laughing at the same time. Though the music may have been written by the composer, when you play it, it becomes yours, each time you play it is the first time and you always know more about your mistakes than a listener. It can hurt your back and your fingers and your mind, but when it flows perfectly all you do is listen to yourself like the piano doesn't even exist. You can learn through endless repetition and an 'ear' for the music, and somehow the hours become justified, even when the mistakes never leave. It is the only thing.

To Kill a Mockingbird: First Impressions

In the opening chapters of To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee introduces us to Jem and Scout, the town of Maycomb, and their families, histories, everyday lives... We meet characters, such as Dill, who will help to shape the rest of the story. We are also introduced subtly to the issues with race and the upcoming court case of their father.

Harper Lee uses a writing style very similar to many other books of the period, such as ‘The Help’. It is detailed, uses the first person, and uses lots of description. In my opinion, this style is fairly tedious. It is intended to be from the point of view of Scout, a young girl, but the narrative voice sounds nothing like a young child. The detailed descriptions give us an impression of Maycomb, but do not allow us space to become emotionally involved with the characters.

Many of the characters seem extremely one-dimensional, such as Atticus (the wise, perfectly moral example of a father figure), and the many prejudiced inhabitants of Maycomb. This caused me to lose interest in reading about them. Using a child who does not understand the events and prejudices rising around her is interesting from one perspective, but can also be very frustrating and cause you to feel patronised when other characters explain fairly obvious points.

The tension and mystery surrounding the Radley house adds interest and drama to the book, but this is let down by the very slow build-up and lack of a climax. Many different views surround Arthur ‘Boo’ Radley, creating an air of mystery, but the fact that we hear he is fairly normal from the most rational characters in the book tells us this is probably true. We have only reached chapter 6, but this means that, if and when we meet Boo Radley, his character is unlikely to surprise us or be a twist in the book.

In my opinion, Jem is the most interesting character we have so far met. He is a fairly true representation of a child of his age, and I find his interactions with his father and his perspective of Boo Radley the most noteworthy points of the book so far. In addition, he seems to be changing and developing as the book goes on.

The best thing about the book so far, in my opinion, is the impression it gives us of Southern America at the time. This was a fascinating and sometimes distressing period, with its many conflicting prejudices and motivations. To Kill a Mockingbird perfectly captures the small-town feeling and casual racism, and cleverly, subtly hints at tensions just beneath the surface. The biggest issue is that the hints are too subtle, and the main overlaying story not captivating enough, for me to really be drawn in.