Boo Radley's secret diary

Day 1: Today as I woke up I saw that the 'Finches' and a random guy I've never seen before were playing, they seem to be so interested on meeting me and making me go out to the world, i just cant... I mean its so hard to go out and face people again after what my father has done with me, what would people think about me? i've wasted a lot of years just being here in my house doing nothing. Today they also tried to lure me out, haha they had a rod and they putted it on the window, after some time i had to scare them.

Day 2: Today i was able to saw a huge thing going on, and i hate to say it but i enjoyed it, long time i didnt saw something impressing, Ms. Maudie's house burned down and I had to run outside and cover 'Lil' Scout with a blanket so she wouldn't get burnt, well im glad everything went well and no one got harmed, im still feeling bad for poor Ms. Maudie, pheraps wasnt that angry, or sad.

Day 3: Today it was a nice day here in Maycomb, i could see lots of kids running thru' the streets on costumes, such as hams, everything haha, it just makes me think of the good old days, when i was just a kid, a happy one, before the incident with my father, i just hate to lose everything just for some mistakes I've made, i would like to go out and enjoy but i cant.

To Kill a Mockingbird: Part 2 Questions #2

1. What is the Ku Klux Klan? What do you think of Atticus' comment about it?

The 'KKK' is a extremely racist clan which took racism to the extreme, ending it up as murder, several injuries, etc. Atticus thinks that they dont really matter as long as they dont come back.

2. How does Jem react when Atticus tells him to go home, and why?

Well he didnt reacted at all, he just stayed there trying to protect hes father, because defending a negroe may give bad results to a white.

3. What persuades the lynching-party to give up their attempt on Tom's life?

The innocense of the children made him give up, mainly Scout, this is why Harper chosed an innocent main character such as Scout.

4. What sort of person is Dolphus Raymond and what is your opinion of him?

I think he's not a real character, i mean that he's just false, prettending to make people think that he's drunk so they wont bother him for hangin' out with some negroes... thats just false, not like Atticus who even defends negroes, going against politics.

5. How does Reverend Sykes help the children see and hear the trial? Is he correct in doing so?

He helped the childs understand how prestigeable is the job their father, Atticus, he was very helpful to them, guiding them and giving an space on the balcony so they could see what his father is doing.

6. Choose three quotes from chapter 17. Explain the context of each, the characters involved, and their relevance for the story, themes and overall message of the novel.

-"There have been a request that this courtroom be cleared of spectators, or at least of women and children, a request that will be denied for the time being" This is a crucial momment on the trial, because it was important to Jem and Scout to watch the trial so they could see what such of a father they have, otherwise if the jury had approved this all the Reverend Sykes would've been unuseful.

-"Didn't call a doctor?" - Atticus
"No sir," repeated Mr Tate.

After that we can see that theres no real proof to get this mockingbird to jail, if they didnt call a doctor how could they say that he was the real raper in this case? It's impossible, refuting every charge said to Tom.

-"No, I don't recollect if he hit me. I mean yes I do, he hit me" - Mayella.

Well its pretty obvious, she was confused and probably accused the wrong person, maybe just a lie to win the trial and avoid looking stupid in front of the perfect society they had in those times... I dont really know, its just suspicious and I'd had supported Tom all the way as the proposition had no real evidence to accuse him of rape.

To Kill a Mockingbird: Part 2

1. Comment on Jem's and Scout's visit to First Purchase Church. What does Scout learn about how black people live?

They first noticed that Calpurnia changed the way of speaking to a "Ebonic" english, they were confused and didn't knew why she would do that, she explained that if she would talk as a white she would look bad at his community, also they noticed how poor they were.

2. Explain why Calpurnia speaks differently in the Finch household, and among her neighbours at church.

Well as I said before thats the Ebonics, how she speaks in her society, otherwise she would lose her respect and be looked as white maid or something.+

3. Aunt Alexandra thinks Scout is "dull" (not clever). Why does she think this, and is she right?

Well aunt Alexandra says this because she thinks that Scout is not a lady at all because of how she dresses, again more pre-judges and ignorance.

4. How does Aunt Alexandra involve herself in Macomb's social life?

She earned her respect and gained some friends quickly, you could say she had a decent life-style on Maycomb, she got used to drink tea and talk with her friends.

5. Comment on Aunt Alexandra's ideas about breeding and family, in contrast to Atticus' visions. Who's right, do you think? Why?

Atticus all the way, at the end they go against, while Atticus thinks that she raised a good girl, Alexandra says she's not behaving as a Finch should and that Atticus hasn't made a good job, I think that Atticus gave his child's a good vision of the society and that negroes should not be abused.

6. Comment on Atticus' definition of rape. How suitable is this definition as an answer to Scout?

Atticus said rape is "Carnal knowledge of a female by force and without concern". Which is completely right and direct, and thats just how Atticus teach his kids.

The Help Analysis

1. In your own words, write what was meant by "separate but equal." How did people in Jackson, Mississippi - including the ladies of the Junior League in "The Help" - try to apply this principle?

Well its just a very true phrase, blacks and whites are separate but equal as they are all humans, but they are separated because of the pre-judges and all. Of course they cant be together because in thos times there was a huge problem in the society so if you were seen with a negro, good bye reputation.

2. Do a simple online research about Jim Crow Laws. Identify what outcomes - forced upon domestic workers - were present in "The Help".

Jim Crow Laws may be appreciated through all the movie. As this laws was working between 1876 and 1965, the times of the movie include some of their commands. Which made blacks look like slaves.

3. Explore the themes in "The Help" and develop your ideas by continuing the following sentence:
"The maids in The Help took a risk by telling their stories. Even though they knew they could be shot to death in their front yards, they went ahead with the project. If people are not willing to take risks, they will never solve their problems".

To kill a mockingbird part 1.

1. What is the reason for the author's choice of a young narrator?In my opinion Harper Lee used an "innocent character" like a young girl so she could explain in a better way why its a sin to kill a mockingbird, expressed as a metaphor of how the society is killing negroes for no reason but prejudges and ignorance.2. How does Jem and Scout's views of Boo Radley change during  part 1 of the book?At the start they had a lot of questions of this Boo Radley, it just seemed so scary, a guy who never goes out, with a not really great past, living in a house with his brother, was just mysterious for them and of course they had a lot of questions about him, why?, how?, etc. It's that why they have a lot of interest with him in the first chapters, but with time they lost the interest because of many facts such as the burn of the house of their neighbor and such.

3. Atticus tells the children several times that they need to walk in someone else's shoes before judging the person. Describe times when Atticus, Scout or Jem walk in someone else's shoes. How does this change how they view the situations? What role does this advice play in sympathy and compassion? 

Well I think that Atticus is always trying to teach his kids not to be a racist and prejudging people, thats why he gives them lots of advice so they don't become a part of the crazy society they we're having on those times, thats why he teaches them how to behave well and respect Negroes. This changes a lot of things in the way of thinking from Scout and Jem, as well the sin he told them  helps them understand why the society is being damaged by the society itself and what kind of world they're living in.

4. How do you think Atticus managed his role as a single parent? 

I think he did a good job raising his child's, giving them good moral lessons, good education. such as writing, reading, etc. and gave them a good sustain in the economic way.

5. Discuss race issues in part 1 of the book.

Well of course there was a lot of rational issues in the book, mainly because of the context of production, thats why it shows a lots of issues such as Calpurnia, Tom Robinson, etc. I think it was a real issue in those days but it wasn't an issue for white people then, still they were damaging the society.

6. From your reading of part 1, What does To Kill a Mockingbird teach us about how people cope with issues of race and class? Do you classify people in your world as different "folks?" Do you see those sort of distinctions 

The title thing is all a metaphor of how we damage the society, using the Mockingbirds in comparison to Black people, of how we're killing people slowly, damaging them with no reason but pre-judges. I always thought that theres different class of people, Asians, Jews, Christians, Rich, Poor, and infinite number of examples, but if we look through the skin we all have the same, a heart, a brain, etc. we're all equal after all.

7. Who is your favorite character from part 1 and why?

I think that Scout its my favorite, she is just too innocent and makes everything so easy, but Atticus is also important because she does what Atticus says and learns from him, so without Atticus theres no real Scout, these both characters are really important for the book and they both complement themselves.

"To Kill a Mockingbird": Contexts of Production.

Historical Context:

-Economic Depression: After the great 1920s, US went through a hard and long crisis. Many people went to live away from the cities because they didn't have money. This quickly traduced in unemployment and poverty in the country, which of course, ended up in a Economic Depression.

-The Dust Bowl: It was an ecological disaster caused by drought and wind, which made most of the crops in the US to disease, which was one of the facts that started the huge economic problems of USA  in those years.

-Racial Segregation: In the past, US people made great differences between black and white people. Blacks were discriminated and had less rights. A great example of this are the Jim Crow Laws, which ruled in the US between 1876 and 1965, this was a great issue in the country, as many people in there were afro-american and all we're treated as slaves or so.

Harper Lee's Biography:
Nelle Harper Lee, the youngest of four children of Amasa Coleman Lee and Frances Cunningham Finch, was raised in Monroeville, Alabama. Nelle, her first name, was "Ellen", her grandmother's name, spelled backward. Her mother was a homemaker; her father, a former newspaper editor and proprietor, practiced law and served in the Alabama State Legislature from 1926 to 1938. Before A.C. Lee became a title lawyer, he once defended two black men accused of murdering a white storekeeper. Both clients, a father and son, were hanged.

What is context

Context is one of the things that we should always be aware of while reading a text, why? well its important because in that way we can understand the main idea tried to be given by the author, so we could say that there's two contexts the one that the author had when he/she wrote the book, and the one we have while reading it, each one, respectively is the context of production and the context of reception.

Context of production: This context makes references to the circumstances that surrounded the writer of the text when he wrote it. 

Context of Reception: This type of contexts refers to the conditions that surround the reader when he reads a text. 

The context varies in time and it can go to extreme cases.