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Well, there's thinking and then there's thinking: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTqra4YSsaM

Take care. Vern

Since we're on the subject, my guess would be Harper Lee. But sometimes I don't really want to think, just enjoy. Take care. Vern

Sorry I will miss this lively and interesting discussion in order to play golf for a few days in Charleston SC. The sacrifices we must make, but maybe I'll be lucky and sober enough to peek in on occasion. Carry on. Take care. Vern

The communication is  reinforced by the exaggeration mentioned much as your exaggeration in "fighting for peace" which is not exactly the oxymoron it is presented to be since sometimes you do "fight for peace" when faced with a bully who will beat you to a pulp if you don't stand up and fight. Been there, done that. Still it does get the message across. I suppose my take on Atticus' language is skewed because I don't see him as a racist in TKAM; that only appears to be the case some fifty years after the fact in another book which doesn't equal the first imo and just as well be a totally different character with the same name. But then I didn't read it to analyze motives, etc; I read it for fun. Each reader will see it in through their own eyes as with all books. "Fucking for virginity" now that could be a fun lesson, lol. Take care. Vern

“Atticus says cheatin‘ a colored man is ten times worse than cheatin’ a white man,” I muttered. “Says it’s the worst thing you can do.”

I don't recall the quote from reading way back when, but I do the sentiment within. As far as the above quote from TKAM is concerned, I don't see it as condescending, patronizing, belittling, or any other similar description. To me, it is a man parenting a child the best way he knows at the moment. It is little different than all the "little white lies" we all tell every single day: "Yes, that dress looks beautiful on you." "You look the same as you did in high school." "You can be anything you want to be." "Liars never prosper." and thousands of others or variations of such.

We say things which we know are "lies" because it seems the thing to do at the time and the absolute gospel truth may do more damage than it does good. We are all hypocrites in that respect. A lie is a lie; we don't get to fraction it up to make it more or less of a lie than any other lie. When you get down to it, lies actually keep society functioning a bit more smoothly than if went around stating the truth, whole truth, and nothing but the truth all the time; we'd all kill each other, lol. So, Atticus isn't completely honest with Scout in his statement, but it doesn't diminish his concern for her or his attempt to shield her from ugliness she may not be prepared to shoulder at her tender age. The quote is rather ingenious from that perspective imho and it makes for good dialogue in helping focus character.

We each have our views of what is good or bad literature and it would be a dull site/world indeed if we all agreed on everything. I enjoyed TKAM, but I certainly understand that everyone would not share my view of it or any other book in the vast known universe of books. There is no right or wrong, only different opinions. Take care. Vern

Ripped to bits? Not so sure about that. As part of the “Shred Thread” perhaps, but most on here are too concerned with reciprocation and such that it entails to rep even the ones which deserve it, let alone TKAM even if posted by one of us.

Passages that blow you away? I must admit I can’t show you those passages in TKAM, but then I can’t show them to you from any other work I’ve ever read either. I’ve never seen/read a single passage whether sentence, para, or greater length that blew me away merely from the presented words. Stories, to include their component passages, draw me in with hooks, emotion, puzzlement, humor, etc. but not because they blow my mind per se. Individual passages draw me in or keep me going because of how they relate to what will come or has already been divulged. Excerpts don’t blow my mind, but allow the imagination to consider the overall context which may spring from their placement at the beginning, end, or somewhere in-between. A passage of a story to me is like a single tree in a forest; it may stand out for some reason, but it alone can’t provide the awe of an entire forest. Only walking through the forest tree by tree captures what the forest really is and all those individual trees combine to make something greater than the sum of its parts with no particular one bringing that eureka moment of “ahh, so this is what a forest is.” The forest is what blows me away.

Great literature? I’m not sure what or who determines what constitutes great literature.  Is it sales, the number of people who read it, critical acclaim, longevity, educational …? I have no idea. At least one survey a few years back lists TKAM as the greatest novel of all time: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2138827 … -Time.html
Does that make it great literature or mean anything other than those who were surveyed liked it a lot? Probably not. But then it would mean nothing for any other work so anointed either. I suppose it all comes down to the individual reader and that might also come down to their age and mindset at the time it is read as Memphis has shared. I can certainly understand how one’s opinion of a book can change over time as we do not remain sealed in a vacuum between readings. I think particularly for folks like TNBW members, we get in the habit of looking at how it might be done differently/better as we read. We no longer read purely for enjoyment even when that is our goal. Our ingrained biases on writing sneak out and taint whatever we read. That might be especially true for a subsequent reading.

When all is said and done, our take on TKAM is filtered through our own experience. If one is forced to read it (or any book) then it will likely have an effect on how it is perceived. I was fortunate not to have been in that category so was spared the possible negative impact. Though no individual passage blew me away so to speak, I thoroughly enjoyed the reading and was a little perturbed when I had to stop for other matters on occasion – that should count for something at least since I am not as voracious a reader as probably most on this site. Take care. Vern

It was a dark and stormy night when I opened the door to vent the smoke from the fireplace, not knowing the stranger in black would take my doing so as an invitation to sit in my rocking chair. Bwhahaha. Take care. Vern

Every story is dated before it is even written as there are arguably only seven basic plots (give or take a few according to individual fine tuning), so there is nothing new under the sun; but some of those so-called dated works are vastly superior to others. To Kill a Mockingbird in its telling just happens to be one of those superior ones to a great many folks. Would that we aspiring writers and critics could all be so outdated and flawed. Take care. Vern

Vern is still around; been waiting on you to do some posting and now that you've started, I'll get to a review in a few days (I have already looked at it): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfNpHd1GaQA , lol. Take care. Vern

Edited to add link.

At least one team needs more than a dab.

LOL