瑩瑩花語 京燕花園
京城燕子的小花園
《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~
多謝點綴兄，您是文學評論大家，得到您的肯定深感榮幸。原來格利高裏•派克先生還因此片獲得了那麽多獎，名至實歸。他扮演的Atticus也成為人們心目中的道德典範。
謝謝閱讀，祝福（＾Ｏ＾☆♪
非常有意義，又有價值的一部片子。格裏高利·派克出色地塑造了一個捍衛正義的英雄與一個好父親的形象，所以憑此角色一舉拿下金球獎和奧斯卡獎影帝的桂冠。感謝京燕君的分享點評！觀點明確，敘述中肯，是很好的書評與影評，學習了。。。
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＾☆♪
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＾☆♪
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That is critical to you and your family~~Thanks for sharing~~
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＾☆♪
親愛的尼斯美眉好，希望你喜歡。我們很有幸不是五十或一百年前移民，社會的多元化和包容性都更好了。
周末愉快（＾Ｏ＾☆♪
謝謝親愛的貝卡，你做過大學老師，是英語專家，我真是班門弄斧了。孩子們小的時候陪他們讀書，後來自己有空也念一點兒。
祝福你的全家，可愛的孩子們進步（＾Ｏ＾☆♪
"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,燕兒 :-)
再謝!
親愛的阿鬆，希望你喜歡。本來我喜歡小溫柔的電影和書，對深刻社會議題避而遠之，不過我覺得自己多看了幾遍對這個故事有了新的理解，是思想成熟些了吧。這部電影還被列為百年百大經典影片，喜歡格利高裏•派克扮演的父親和律師形象，他的孩子們也有那麽清澈的眼神。
周末愉快（＾Ｏ＾☆♪
親愛的藤玉姐姐看你很久沒更新，又聽藍寶寶說孩子春季升學，想必前些天你和小頑童度春假去了吧！
我們都好，春暖花開，很想聽你最近的故事。（＾Ｏ＾☆♪
多謝清風君的共鳴。When we let go of the hurts we clear out more space in our hearts for love.
周末愉快，順祝春安（＾Ｏ＾☆♪
Good points,
燕子. 周末快樂
尼斯美眉好，謝謝你來看我。≪殺死一隻知更鳥≫這本書也算是美國文學一部經典了，小小知更鳥除了唱歌從未傷害誰，寫評論的人很多，電影和書我都反複看了幾遍，感慨萬千又不知從何說起，就壯著膽子寫了篇英文的。
帶中文字幕的電影鏈接在此
http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/popplayer.action?iid_code=THoPTN1zJcM&playTimePos=0你在歐洲，可能有影片和書翻譯成了當地語言。作者以一個八歲小女孩斯考特的眼睛觀察世界，紀錄了三十年代的美國南方小鎮“梅岡城故事”。女孩的父親是真正的慈父和紳士，他拋開種族歧視的偏見勇敢地為一位年輕黑人辯護，然而未能保全黑人性命，也在社會道德良心和成見的方麵引起地震。此書曾獲普利策文學獎，看似深刻的內容，語言卻詼諧而不費吹灰之力。
我們的力量是如此微薄，學會祈禱和平，珍愛生命。祝福春安（＾Ｏ＾☆♪
俺就不做任何評價了，英文水平有限哦~~~~
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＾☆♪
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!