To Kill a Mockingbird should never be read in school. Period.
I originally read it when I was 16; it was an assignment for some class or another. I rushed through it, impatiently endured the various discussions of race and class and prejudice and ultimately felt burdened by the fact that I was supposed to like it. That was, I think, a typical reaction to class reading assignments and I know I was not alone. And I was a reader, for goodness sake, and any educational system that gets readers to disregard truly great books is obviously doing something very wrong (and very very deterimental).
Harper Lee and her pal Truman Capote are in vogue right now, thanks to the movies Capote and Infamous and I’m not ashamed to admit I’ve caught the fever (I reread In Cold Blood about a year ago). I also just finished a awfully written novel surmising about their relationship post Cold Blood. It was called Capote in Kansas (skip it, it’s not worth the time) and it kicked off a sudden desire to read that slim novel collecting dust on my shelves.
Rereading this book now, as an adult, I realize that there are few books which can be read without cynicism (or maybe which I can read without cynicism, an entirely different thing) . An experienced reader learns to like books – with reservations. We learn to tolerate poor writing in the search for a good story. We forgive or willfully deny plot holes and wide spaces of imperfect style and content. In short, we learn to say “I liked it, but. . .” Because we think that we can’t do better. That all the good books we already read with abandon by the age of seven.
With Mockingbird there are no buts or reservations. This book is simply perfect. It belongs to a short list indeed; I can count on one hand the number of books that can claim such a grand achievement.
Which to me is all the reason I need to understand why Ms. Lee never wrote again. She’s already succeeded at the unattainable. Where else could she go but down?
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April 28, 2008 at 11:40 am
Rachael
I would like to express that maybe Harper Lee wrote a great novel because this was a novel very much in her and she had a great need to write it, and perhaps she didn’t feel compelled to pursue a career as a novelist where she’d be forced to pump out novels for a paycheck. This book might be great because she meant it. (and of course had writing skills.)
May 5, 2008 at 11:01 am
Brad
As a high school English teacher, I feel it is up to the teacher to prevent great books from being rushed through etc. However, it is up to the reader to make connections on a personal level and apply them in daily life (with the direction of the teacher, of course). How many students would never be exposed to great books if it weren’t for schools? Of course, it is debatable as to whether or not most students can really understand/comprehend a book like To Kill a Mockingbird at the age of 15 or 16 (I’ve heard of 7th graders being “forced” to read TKaM!). The book’s humor, use of subtle retrospect, and life lessons may be better taken and understood by adults. Just some thoughts… Overall, I would contend that truly understanding and thinking about a book contributes to the “fun” of reading and or having read it. The enjoyment one receives from reading must always be relative…I would think.
May 5, 2008 at 11:30 am
Jessica
Some interesting thoughts Brad! Before you go away thinking I’m bashing teachers, I have to tell you that I was raised by two of them. My mother was an English teacher.
I agree that good teachers can make reading a better experience for the student. I remember I had a great 8th grade teacher who guided us through The Outsiders – a book that was relevant to us then and one that not surprisingly does not bear fruit in rereading as an adult.
I also agree that just reading the story for its superficial pleasure is not always productive (though there are plenty of books out there that offer only that). I personally enjoy a book that shows me something new or lets me into a character’s brain. If a story can do that without bashing the reader over the head with politicial or social agendas, so much the better. that is why TKaM is so amazing. It does all of that seamlessly and beautifully. It’s not weighed down by its own idea of what it needs to be.
Perhaps finding more age appropriate books is the key. There are so many great YA books now (though there were then too). I would rather have students cut their teeth on some good books that they relate to than have them feel unmoored in a sea of books they “have” to read, which they don’t get or dismiss as unnecessary. Especially if some of those books are great and should be read later in life.
Until then keep torturing students with Anna Karenina and The American Tragedy. 😉
May 5, 2008 at 2:39 pm
Brad
Interest and identification with the novel is soooo key! And yes, so much of what we teach in high school is more appropriate later on in life. I like your phrase, “cutting their teeth”… Expecting kids to digest vocabulary such as that found in TKaM is almost unfair. Expecting them to look up the words and make sense of them on their own is maybe an unrealistic expectation.
As a final thought, there don’t seem to be many differences in the fiction novels taught at the college level and those at the high school level. The young adult genre is still coming into its own etc, but valuable novels for those who are 12-17 years old are hard to come by. Moreover, finding YA lit. that includes concepts like symbolism, extended metaphor (allegory), etc is even tougher. It is as if public schools have built their standards around books that are too difficult and or uninteresting for average students… Welcome to my nightmare.
May 6, 2008 at 10:20 am
Jessica
Ah, and now we get to the real topic – why aren’t there are “good” YA books out there? I think there are, especially nowadays. There are a few authors who are tuned into kids very well – Lois Lowry comes to mind first – and they are all underestimated. It seems that society thinks that if a book is “just for kids” it’s not worth reading (or teaching). I’m sure teachers have books they would rather teach but I’m equally sure that they wouldn’t be approved on a curriculum.
I’m of the school that all reading is good reading at a certain age because that is how you build your vocabulary and reading skills. Even if you don’t entirely “get” what you are reading you are sure to pick up something (as long as you are paying attention). The problem lies in force feeding kids stuff they hate and then they decide they hate reading altogether – which means they never gain the skills or experience in reading. Nor do they have the motivation to read great works later in life. So, let them read something that isn’t as intellectually appropriate, just to get them reading (enter Harry Potter).
Though I politely passed on all the works I was supposed to study in high school (and some in college) I have reread them now with a great appreciation (well most of them). If I had been entirely turned off of reading I never would have gotten here.
I feel for dedicated educators like yourself. It’s hard to pass on a passion for literature to kids who play video games out of the womb. You’ve been set up to fail and then blamed for it. Keep up the good work though!
October 25, 2010 at 9:52 pm
Books I Should Have Read Before « What We're Reading Now
[…] read in high school that I managed to avoid by taking extra Latin classes (Catcher In the Rye, To Kill a Mockingbird). Books I know I love from reading passages and visiting museum exhibits that I still haven’t […]
October 25, 2010 at 10:26 pm
Jesse
Perfectly said. I was thinking exactly this while I read it last month (for the first time!). The only thing I would add/differ on is that this, of all the assignment books, might be most appropriate for kids since it’s about kids. And not stupidly about kids but sincerely, honestly about kids.
From what I heard of the book I expected a courtroom drama or a kind of “I’m angry at the man now” tale of injustice. But instead, it’s a love poem to being a kid. I wish teachers would teach it that way. You can use a million real world historical events to open up a discussion about racism in America but this is a book that can get to kids where they live — the inevitable loss of their summer vacation (literal and metaphorical).
As for reading age-appropriate books, I totally support you in that. All reading is good reading. When I was in late grade school and reading novels with wild abandon, no teacher dissuaded me from reading Stephen King or the Three Investigators or any other kind of pop junk food. The only book any teacher suggested I put down was . . . wait for it . . . Moby Dick. She told me that I should read it when I was older because I would understand it better. She was smart enough to see that I had no idea what I was doing and just picked up the book to show off. She was right — diving into that beast at the age of 11 could very well have turned me off to reading, while diving into Pet Semetary turned it on.
October 25, 2010 at 10:27 pm
Jesse
Oh, and you know what book really shouldn’t be taught in schools? Catcher In the Rye. Holy crap. When I write about it later this week I’m going OFF on that! There is no way anyone under the age of 30 or so can possibly appreciate it as much as it should be appreciated.
January 1, 2011 at 9:39 pm
A Separate Peace: Team Finny or Team Gene « What We're Reading Now
[…] gotten on my soapbox before about how high school English ruins reading for kids. And be forewarned, here we go again. But before I begin, I just want you to read […]