Boo !!

 

 

“To Kill a Mockingbird was the second navel written by Harper Lee. The first one, “Go Set a Watchman”, was released years later.

 

To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel by the American author Harper Lee. It was published in June 1960 and became instantly successful. In the United States, it is widely read in high schools and middle schools. To Kill a Mockingbird has become a classic of modern American literature; a year after its release, it won the Pulitzer Prize. The plot and characters are loosely based on Lee's observations of her family, her neighbors and an event that occurred near her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama, in 1936, when she was ten.

Despite dealing with the serious issues of rape and racial inequality, the novel is renowned for its warmth and humor. Atticus Finch, the narrator's father, has served as a moral hero for many readers and as a model of integrity for lawyers.

The historian Joseph Crespino explains, "In the twentieth century, To Kill a Mockingbird is probably the most widely read book dealing with race in America, and its main character, Atticus Finch, the most enduring fictional image of racial heroism." As a Southern Gothic novel and Bildungsroman, the primary themes of To Kill a Mockingbird involve racial injustice and the destruction of innocence.

Scholars have noted that Lee also addresses issues of class, courage, compassion, and gender roles in the Deep South. Lessons from the book emphasize tolerance and decry prejudice. Despite its themes, To Kill a Mockingbird has been subject to campaigns for removal from public classrooms, often challenged for its use of racial epithets. In 2006, British librarians ranked the book ahead of the Bible as one "every adult should read before they die".

Reaction to the novel varied widely upon publication. Despite the number of copies sold and its widespread use in education, literary analysis of it is sparse. Author Mary McDonough Murphy, who collected individual impressions of To Kill a Mockingbird by several authors and public figures, calls the book "an astonishing phenomenon" It was adapted into an Academy Award-winning film in 1962 by director Robert Mulligan, with a screenplay by Horton Foote. Since 1990, a play based on the novel has been performed annually in Harper Lee's hometown.

To Kill a Mockingbird was Lee's only published book until Go Set a Watchman, an earlier draft of To Kill a Mockingbird, was published on July 14, 2015. Lee continued to respond to her work's impact until her death in February 2016, although she had refused any personal publicity for herself or the novel since 1964.

 

Over her lifetime, Harper Lee earned more than $3 million dollars for her novel.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Kill_a_Mockingbird

The movie won Best Picture in 1962, and Gregory Peck (Atticus finch) won the Best Actor award.

Almost forgotten is the character of Boo Radley.

This is what AI said about him this morning:

In the sleepy town of Maycomb, Alabama, there lived a man named Arthur “Boo” Radley. Boo was a recluse, rarely seen outside the decaying walls of the Radley Place. His literal and symbolic invisibility made him a subject of fascination and fear among the townspeople.

As children, Scout and Jem Finch spun wild tales about Boo. They believed he was a malevolent phantom who haunted the night, lurking in the shadows. The gossip of adults fueled their imagination, and they whispered that Boo had once killed the neighbors’ pets.

But the truth was more tragic. Boo had been mistreated by his father, who locked him away for a minor offense when he was young. Fifteen years passed before Boo resurfaced, stabbing his father with a pair of scissors. His life became a mystery, shrouded in darkness.

Boo’s presence permeated the novel, even though he only appeared in the final chapters. He symbolized the town’s past—a past marked by intolerance, inequality, and slavery. Like Boo, these ghosts continued to shape Maycomb’s present.

 

On screen, Boo was portrayed by Robert Duvall in his first movie appearance. His name is not on the list of credits, but he eventually got the recognition that he deserved.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Duvall

Robert Selden Duvall^[January 5, 1931 is an American actor and filmmaker. With a career spanning seven decades, he is the recipient of an Academy Award, four Golden Globe Awards, a BAFTA Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

 

Slavery is now a thing of the past, but intolerance and inequality are still with us today, in large part fueled by the MAGA crowd.

In recent years, progress has been made in eliminating Gerrymandered voting districts, and progress has been made in providing more opportunities to people who are not Caucasian.

We can continue with that progress if we do one simple thing.

Vote.