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《To Kill a Mockingbird》书评及影片

(2012-04-25 21:31:11) 下一个

spring 027

《To Kill a Mockingbird》was a book my husband bought for my daughter to read when she was only eight years old. My daughter was a very advanced reader, she was reading at fifth grade level in the Accelerated Reader program when she was six-year-old and in first grade. My husband said that the book was narrated by an eight-year-old girl, the same age as our daughter was, therefore, he believed our daughter would enjoy reading it herself.

That year for spring break, we went to stay at the Dillon Beach house with a few of our good friends Kathy m, Leslie c and their families, when I chatted with Leslie, she was so shocked and said, "Nooooo...Have you read it yourself? The language and storyline are way too rough for an eight-year-old!"

Back then I was more interested in "classic" books, I had two lists of hundred best novels that I was working on.《To Kill a Mockingbird》is on the reader's choice list of the 20th century modern library 100 best novels. I decided to give it a try myself. To tell you the truth, I did not like it so much the first time reading it. The girl was a tomboy, she even had a boy's name~Scout, she called her father who was a lawyer by his first name directly~Atticus. The story was a little spooky and it disturbed me.

This spring I wrote a review on the book & Oscar nominee《the Help》, it was being compared to 《To Kill a Mockingbird》by critics. I got out the latter book and read it again, I savored every page of it. I watched the movie as well, it helped me visualize the characters and scenes in the story. I saw new light through it, I found Scout and her brother Jem very advanturous. Just think about it, I played a lot with my brother and the boys in the neighborhood when I was little, we played war, we played in the dirt, we fished and swam in the lake... There was nothing wrong with being a tomboy! 

Scout and her brother met up with the neighbor's nephew Dill in the summer, and they got into all sorts of mischief. They tried to have their mysterious neighbor Boo coming out, they were never successful. However, once in a while they would find some pieces of treasure hidden in an old tree knothole~old Indian pennies, chewing gum, an old pocket watch, two soap dolls carved to look like Scout and Jem...These were treats given by Boo, a silent gesture of kindness.

Scott and Jem's father Atticus was a true gentleman. I found the book very humorous. For example, an old lady, Mrs Dubose, was always sitting in her front porch. When Scout walked by and said "Hey", the old lady jumped out of her skin and said:" Don't you say 'hey' to me, you ugly girl! Make sure you say 'good afternoon, Mrs. Dubose'..." Scout ran away before the old lady could complain any further, she bumped right into her father on his way home. The gentleman father took off his top-hat and bowed to the old lady "Good afternoon, Mrs Dubose, you look like a picture this afternoon. Goodness gracious, have you ever seen such a garden more beautiful this side of Mississippi!" Some people just need sweet words fed into their ears ~ even if it was exaggerating. In the movie, you would find Scout and Jem hiding and joking behind their father, so their father, played by the famous actor Georgery Peck, giving his children a "love spank" with his hat.

The little town Scout and Jem lived in was called Maycomb; it was an old-fashioned, tired town. Everybody knew everybody else, yet they didn't necessarily talk or interfere with each other. There were a lot of invisible lines between parties: the rich and the poor, the city-folks and the farmers, the grown-ups and the kids, the lawful and the outcast, the white and the black... People tended to take things matter of factly, no one was brave enough to stand up and question the custom.

Not the case in the household of Atticus and his children. That is why I call Atticus a true gentleman: he raised his children truthfully and with integrity. He gave them the freedom to be different, to explore the world, to keep their innocence...Above all, he taught his children to behold the virtues of life ~ sometimes it is the children who could see & tell the truth ~ just like the the boy in《the Emperor's New Clothes》.

At a age when law was not enough to protect everyone equally, Atticus stood up to defend Thomas Robinson, a black young man wrongly accused of raping a white young woman. He tried all his might peeling off the layers of lies to reveal the truth. Yet the jury still found Thomas Robinson guilty because no one had the courage to cross over the "invisible line" . What a pity!

Atticus tried to shake people awake by putting courage and conscience back into their hearts. The author Harper Lee wrote the novel in 1957, the eve of the civil right movement, a true courageous act and timeless piece. Atticus had always taught his children, "It is a sin to kill a mockingbird, mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy . . . but sing their hearts out for us. " Thomas Robinson lost his life by trying to run away when he was being transported to another jail... a life seemed like soon no one would remember...

But we do remember, he did not shed his blood in vain ~ 60 years after the book was first published, the story echoed and touched the hearts of millions.

I believe one of the reasons that I like this story more now is that I am keeping an open-mind. I've learned to accept and cherish the life of myself and others, to forgive and forget, of all the hurts we went throughyears and years ago...- especially the political turmoils of 1989. Will justice ever come to a generation of chineses students who gave up their youth, even their lives?
 
 


《To Kill a Mockingbird》clips 







~thanks for reading, may we find peace~

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阅读 ()评论 (28)
评论
京燕花园 回复 悄悄话 回复点缀的评论:
多谢点缀兄,您是文学评论大家,得到您的肯定深感荣幸。原来格利高里•派克先生还因此片获得了那么多奖,名至实归。他扮演的Atticus也成为人们心目中的道德典范。

谢谢阅读,祝福(^O^☆♪
点缀 回复 悄悄话
非常有意义,又有价值的一部片子。格里高利·派克出色地塑造了一个捍卫正义的英雄与一个好父亲的形象,所以凭此角色一举拿下金球奖和奥斯卡奖影帝的桂冠。感谢京燕君的分享点评!观点明确,叙述中肯,是很好的书评与影评,学习了。。。
京燕花园 回复 悄悄话 回复御树林枫的评论:
Thanks sis Lin. When we open up our minds to accept the differences of others, to let go of the hurts, we open up our hearts for more peace and love.

Blessings to you and your family (^O^☆♪
京燕花园 回复 悄悄话 回复御树林枫的评论:
Thanks sis Lin. When we open up our mind to accept the differences of others, to let go of the hurts, we open up our hearts for more peace and love.

Blessings to you and your family (^O^☆♪
御树林枫 回复 悄悄话 I am keeping an open-mind
=========================
That is critical to you and your family~~Thanks for sharing~~
京燕花园 回复 悄悄话 回复九月独处的评论:
Thanks dear sis. September & sis. Leaf. Atticus tried to shake people awake by putting courage and conscience back into their hearts. The author Harper Lee wrote the novel in 1957, the eve of the civil right movement, a true courageous act and timeless piece.

Enjoy your weekend.(^O^☆♪
京燕花园 回复 悄悄话 回复尼斯的评论:
亲爱的尼斯美眉好,希望你喜欢。我们很有幸不是五十或一百年前移民,社会的多元化和包容性都更好了。

周末愉快(^O^☆♪
京燕花园 回复 悄悄话 回复林贝卡的评论:
谢谢亲爱的贝卡,你做过大学老师,是英语专家,我真是班门弄斧了。孩子们小的时候陪他们读书,后来自己有空也念一点儿。

祝福你的全家,可爱的孩子们进步(^O^☆♪
九月独处 回复 悄悄话 回复~叶子~的评论:
"It is sad that Thomas Robinson was mistakenly accused guilty simply because he was a black man. While no one dared to defend him, Scout had courage to stand up telling the truth. Despite the result not in Scout's favor, I still salute him for what he had done for Thomas." --- cannot agree with you more...oftentimes, it's not the brain people are lacking, it's not the heart people don't have, it is the courage people are missing!

"the result was not in Scout's favor", yet, this is only "human result", it's not God's judgement, which is the ultimate result for human beings.

Great job,燕儿 :-)
尼斯 回复 悄悄话 谢谢燕子的详细介绍,故事内容很吸引我,已在网上找到了,抽出时间一定去看。

再谢!
林贝卡 回复 悄悄话 写得真好,京燕儿读了不少的书。
京燕花园 回复 悄悄话 回复南山松的评论:
亲爱的阿松,希望你喜欢。本来我喜欢小温柔的电影和书,对深刻社会议题避而远之,不过我觉得自己多看了几遍对这个故事有了新的理解,是思想成熟些了吧。这部电影还被列为百年百大经典影片,喜欢格利高里•派克扮演的父亲和律师形象,他的孩子们也有那么清澈的眼神。

周末愉快(^O^☆♪
京燕花园 回复 悄悄话 回复tenyu的评论:
亲爱的藤玉姐姐看你很久没更新,又听蓝宝宝说孩子春季升学,想必前些天你和小顽童度春假去了吧!

我们都好,春暖花开,很想听你最近的故事。(^O^☆♪
京燕花园 回复 悄悄话 回复清风明月的评论:
多谢清风君的共鸣。When we let go of the hurts we clear out more space in our hearts for love.

周末愉快,顺祝春安(^O^☆♪
南山松 回复 悄悄话 谢谢燕子的精彩介绍。给了电影的连接,真太好了。回头要好好看看,谢谢燕子,周末快乐!
tenyu 回复 悄悄话 燕儿刚回日本先来看看你!一切都好吧?
清风明月 回复 悄悄话 “I've learned to accept and cherish the life of myself and others', to forgive and forget, of all the hurts we went through, years and years ago...”

Good points,

燕子. 周末快乐


京燕花园 回复 悄悄话 回复尼斯的评论:
尼斯美眉好,谢谢你来看我。≪杀死一只知更鸟≫这本书也算是美国文学一部经典了,小小知更鸟除了唱歌从未伤害谁,写评论的人很多,电影和书我都反复看了几遍,感慨万千又不知从何说起,就壮着胆子写了篇英文的。

带中文字幕的电影链接在此
http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/popplayer.action?iid_code=THoPTN1zJcM&playTimePos=0你在欧洲,可能有影片和书翻译成了当地语言。作者以一个八岁小女孩斯考特的眼睛观察世界,纪录了三十年代的美国南方小镇“梅冈城故事”。女孩的父亲是真正的慈父和绅士,他抛开种族歧视的偏见勇敢地为一位年轻黑人辩护,然而未能保全黑人性命,也在社会道德良心和成见的方面引起地震。此书曾获普利策文学奖,看似深刻的内容,语言却诙谐而不费吹灰之力。

我们的力量是如此微薄,学会祈祷和平,珍爱生命。祝福春安(^O^☆♪
尼斯 回复 悄悄话 燕子,问好你!

俺就不做任何评价了,英文水平有限哦~~~~
京燕花园 回复 悄悄话 回复~叶子~的评论:
Thank you so much, dear sis.

Scout's father Atticus became the moral hero for readers. Although he was not able to save Thomas Robinson's life, he tried to shake people awake, put their consciousness back into their hearts.

This story took place in the 30s, the book was published in the 60s. Let's hope history move forward.

Offering you a cup of tea, sis, enjoy the movie(^O^☆♪
~叶子~ 回复 悄悄话 Excellent review, dear.

It is sad that Thomas Robinson was mistakenly accused guilty simply because he was a black man. While no one dared to defend him, Scout had courage to stand up telling the truth. Despite the result not in Scout's favor, I still salute him for what he had done for Thomas.

I will find time to watch this movie. It must be a very touching one.
Thank you for sharing this wonderful review with us!

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