Tag Archives: To Kill a Mockingbird

Read to Resist: An Introduction

Thursday I share today the introduction to my upcoming book, which is still in draft form and whose title I keep changing. Latest title: Read to Resist: Classic Lit Provides Tools for Battling Trump and Trumpism. I’m still not entirely satisfied with that and so will keep tinkering. In any event, here’s my first attempt […]

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments closed

Beware of Literature’s Purity Police

Laura Moriarty’s “American Heart” has been attacked for being a white savior narrative. Such stories should in fact be critiqued, but the attackers are often a bigger problem.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments closed

Mockingbird Discomfits the Wrong People

If teachers should teach controversial lit to discomfit their students, is “To Kill a Mockingbird” a good choice? There’s a problem if those most discomfited are black students.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , | Comments closed

Foes of Mockingbird Have a Point

I’m somewhat sympathetic with the Biloxi parents who want to ban “To Kill a Mockingbird” in an 8th grade classroom. At the very least, I want it supplemented with works by writers of color.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , | Comments closed

Obama’s Problematic Allusion to Atticus

In his farewell speech, Obama quoted Atticus Finch in “To Kill a Mockingbird.” In light of the white backlash against having had a black president, however, the Atticus Finch of “Go Set a Watchman comes to mind, making Obama’s allusion seem a bit weak.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , | Comments closed

Toni Morrison: White Panic Led to Trump

As Toni Morrison sees it, William Faulkner’s observations about white panic go a long way toward explaining Trump’s victory.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments closed

Harper Lee’s Book Became Less Honest

“Gp Set a Watchman” is not as polished a book as “To Kill a Mockingbird” but it is more ambitious and more honest. Something important got lost in the editing process.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , | Comments closed

Top 10 Parent-Child Classics (Positive)

A top ten list of classics with positive depictions of parent-child relationships.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments closed

In Solitary Others We See Ourselves

When a Maine hermit is arrested after 27 years in solitude, we project our stories upon him.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , | Comments closed