Harper Lee
- gali
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Harper Lee
Harper Lee
Pronouns: She/Her
"In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you." (Mortimer J. Adler)
- Gannon
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- Readaholic24
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-- 05 Mar 2016, 08:32 --
To Kill A Mockingbird definitely beats Go Set A Watchman when it comes to content. Go Set A Watchman deconstructs the idealistic, morally straightforward plot of To Kill A Mockingbird, so it didn't impress me greatly. Hey, call me a goody-two shoes, but idealistic is the way I roll. That's probably why I love Captain America...
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nytimes.com/2016/03/05/books/judge-seal ... ;smtyp=cur
A world is born again that never dies.
- My Home by Clive James
- Gannon
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Hmmmm.... very interesting.Fran wrote:I see on Twitter Harper Lee's will is to be sealed after being lodged with the court ... why I wonder?
nytimes.com/2016/03/05/books/judge-seal ... ;smtyp=cur
- DATo
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Perhaps Harper Lee wanted the people/institutions she endowed with her bequests to be protected from the publicity, scrutiny, and exploitation from which she had always tried to protect herself. There is a very clear message suggesting "harm" to those mentioned in the will but we are left to speculate as to the manner of harm to which this refers.Fran wrote:I see on Twitter Harper Lee's will is to be sealed after being lodged with the court ... why I wonder?
nytimes.com/2016/03/05/books/judge-seal ... ;smtyp=cur
Considering how privately she conducted her personal life it would seem to me that this imperative was something that she had considerately wished for those mentioned in her will and perhaps that (privacy) is / was her sole purpose in wanting the will sealed; but, as always, there will probably forever remain a niggling doubt as to whether there is more to the story.
I am more intrigued by the story of Jacqueline Kennedy having time sealed a letter which is to be opened 25 years after the death of her two children - the implications are staggering - or, it may prove to be a dud like the Fatima letter.
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- moderntimes
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Let me illustrate my point by referring to a fairly popular movie a few years ago, "Crimson Tide". In the film, Gene Hackman plays the rancid commander of a strategic sub. He's an "old school" guy who hates dissent, set in his ways, rough and not a very nice person. Now we meet Denzel Washington as his new exec. Denzel is everything his boss is not. He's gentle, educated, smart, decent. Now there's a nuclear threat and the sub deep dives, and their code transmissions from HQ are jumbled. The argument is whether they should fire their missiles at the Russians. Naturally, Hackman wants to, Denzel does not, and there's a near mutiny. Then after a lot of confrontations, the sub surfaces and they find, surprise, that there was no war and that Denzel was right.
But we knew from the START that he'd be right. He's smart, handsome, young, black, professional, all the good things for a Hollywood movie, whereas Hackman is the opposite. So there's really no surprise in the movie. Now what I'd have done was reverse the roles. Make Denzel the commander, Hackman the underling, and have Denzel wanting to fire the missiles. Now, we'd be unsure who was right or wrong. But as Hollywood did it, the deck was stacked from the outset and therefore there was no real suspense.
Now imagine that Finch, at the end, discloses that the black guy was guilty and that he nevertheless defended him strongly. The conflict we'd see in his kids and friends would be a much more vivid situation. Whereas, with the deep South's racism, the black guy being totally innocent, we have no real tension or payoff.
Nevertheless, the book was well written, but the outcome was predictable and that made the book much less intriguing for me.
Just my 2 cents.
I am very saddened however that Harper Lee was apparently "held hostage" by her caregivers who made a mint off the "Watchman" book and much to Lee's likely denial. I don't think she'd have wanted that book published if she had a say in things.
- WillWalter13
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- moderntimes
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But what if the attorney knew for a fact that the black kid was guilty and still defended him, and when the daughter learns that he knew of the client's guilt, she was baffled that her father defended him anyway? That would have made the story so very much more intense.
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I however was very saddened to hear about her publishing process. I think she had plenty more novels in her that could have been even better if the weight of TKAM hadn't settled. Sadly I won't be picking up "Watchman" because *SPOILER* Jem died prior.
- Fran
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I disagree, IMO Atticus was fighting for the rule of law and legal process rather than specifically because the accused was a black kid.moderntimes wrote:I liked the book, don't get me wrong. But is was seizing "low hanging fruit" which means that it took easy targets -- a black kid accused in a racist south, a stalwart and campaigning lawyer fighting for the black kid, he's sedate and kind hearted father and a great attorney while all the other white folks are stereotype racists. With that forumulaic concept, of COURSE people will be fans of the novel. It's the "right" think to do.
But what if the attorney knew for a fact that the black kid was guilty and still defended him, and when the daughter learns that he knew of the client's guilt, she was baffled that her father defended him anyway? That would have made the story so very much more intense.
A world is born again that never dies.
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- DATo
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Bear with me ....Fran wrote:I disagree, IMO Atticus was fighting for the rule of law and legal process rather than specifically because the accused was a black kid.moderntimes wrote:I liked the book, don't get me wrong. But is was seizing "low hanging fruit" which means that it took easy targets -- a black kid accused in a racist south, a stalwart and campaigning lawyer fighting for the black kid, he's sedate and kind hearted father and a great attorney while all the other white folks are stereotype racists. With that forumulaic concept, of COURSE people will be fans of the novel. It's the "right" think to do.
But what if the attorney knew for a fact that the black kid was guilty and still defended him, and when the daughter learns that he knew of the client's guilt, she was baffled that her father defended him anyway? That would have made the story so very much more intense.
I'm going to have to agree with @Fran on this one. Atticus would have defended Tom Robinson with equal effort regardless of whether Robinson had been black or white; however, he was mindful that the deck was stacked against him because of Robinson's race. Atticus Finch emerges as perhaps the greatest moral champion of literary history because he was willing to courageously accept the case despite knowing the obstacles he was facing but also because he knew of the probable effect this would have on the lives of his children ... his own children!
@moderntimes - Harper Lee came from the deep south (Monroeville, Alabama). She was obviously not a racist and I'm sure she probably knew others who also were not racists. It must be remembered that the jury in the Tom Robinson Case was out for several hours. If they were all racists the verdict would have been returned in a matter of minutes. There were at least some jurors who accepted Atticus' presentation of the facts. The reason the verdict came back the way it did was in all likelihood the result of the jurors knowing that they would have to remain in this community and be forever remembered as the people who had sided with a black man over a white woman. No one wants to be ostracized in their own community.
We see the same dynamic playing out today in African-American communities. When a white police officer makes an arrest in a black neighborhood it seems the entire community is on the side of the black criminal. Why? Because they will have to remain in that community and accept the censure and perhaps even reprisals of their neighbors who will consider them traitors. Even if they know the truth is on the side of the police officer they will remain quiet. But sometimes the opposite occurs. I have seen with my own eyes several black people coming to the defense of a white girl in opposition to a black woman claiming the girl was the cause of a traffic accident. I clearly heard a black woman who was a witness to the incident shout, "I will not lie for you." An older black man dressed in a work uniform approached the white girl and handed her a piece of paper - obviously his contact information in the event he was needed as a witness.
Elements of integrity and courage reside in all people of all races as does fear, and sometimes we witness integrity and courage rise to the surface in the face of fear. When we see it we know it, and we honor it. I think this is what Harper Lee was shooting for in her presentation of Atticus.
― Steven Wright